7 programs to tidy up your files

1. DropIt

Platform: Windows.
Price: is free.

A handy open source application. The principle of its operation is simple: you create your own rules (or associations), and DropIt performs certain actions on files that meet the specified criteria.

The program can take into account a bunch of parameters (name, extension, type, date of opening, and others) and perform 21 actions (moving, copying, renaming, archiving, gluing and splitting documents, sending by e-mail, and so on).

After creating rules for processing objects, drag the files you need to the application icon, which is displayed on top of other windows. Alternatively, select the items and in the Explorer context menu click Send → DropIt.

And if you want to completely automate everything, hide the icon, then specify in the program settings which folders you want to monitor, and DropIt will perform operations with files on its own.

2. TagScanner

Platform: Windows.
Price: is free.

It is a more specialized tool that deals with organizing your music library. If you still can't get used to streaming services and prefer to store your music on your computer or home media server, TagScanner is incredibly useful.

The program allows you to bulk edit the tags in your music and then sort the songs into folders based on their metadata. For example, add a large folder with randomly scattered music files to the TagScanner window, specify the rules for sorting them, and click the button. Songs will be categorized by genre, artist and album automatically.

In addition, TagScanner can search for lyrics, download album covers from the Internet, substitute missing tags and rename music files so that they look consistent.

3. PhotoMove

Platform: Windows.
Price: is free; $ 8.99 for the Pro version.

If you have a lot of photos, then you probably know how tedious it is to maintain order among them. PhotoMove will help you to cope with this task. The application reads EXIF data from your pictures, then puts them into folders depending on the date of creation according to the "year - month - day" pattern. A "year - month - day - camera model" template is also available.

The free version of PhotoMove has only two sorting options. There are 10 of them in the Pro version, and you can also track duplicate photos in it.

4. XnView

Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux.
Price: is free.

PhotoMove is easy to use and lightweight, but the free version has cut-down options. If you want a little more sorting options but don't want to pay, give XnView a try. This application for organizing and organizing your photo library is completely free and open source.

Install XnView, open it and click Tools → Batch. Here you can bulk sort your pictures into folders according to EXIF data, rename them to your liking and, if necessary, convert to another format. And XnView can also search for duplicates.

5. Hazel

Platform: macOS.
Price: $ 32, 14-day trial period.

A great macOS app that can do almost anything with your files. Organize downloads into folders so that you can see where the pictures are and where the documents are. Sort music by tags and artists. Rename and tag a bunch of objects in Finder. Create archives with backups. Empty the trash automatically. All this is within the power of Hazel.

You simply specify a list of actions that the application should perform and choose which folders to monitor. All files that fall into these folders and meet the required criteria will be processed. Creating rules for Hazel is a pleasure, the interface is very simple and straightforward. Another nice feature: after removing an unnecessary application, the program can also erase related objects, such as settings files, cache and other garbage.

The only downside to Hazel is the price. But the program is definitely worth the money.

6. File Juggler

Platform: Windows.
Price: $ 40, 30-day trial period.

This app does almost the same thing as Hazel. Create a rule, specify which folders are to be processed, which files are suitable for your conditions and what to do with them.

File Juggler can rename, move, copy, delete objects and sort them into folders, as well as send to Evernote. Also, the program is able to change the names of PDF files by their content or title. This is especially useful if you want to organize a large number of documents. File Juggler also reads music tags, which allows you to sort songs by album or genre.

7. Easy File Organizer

Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux.
Price: the stripped-down version is free, the full version is $ 19.95.

Flexible and easy to use tool. The principle of operation is the same as for other programs from this list. You create the rules according to which files should be processed, and then point the application to the desired folder and click the Organize button. All objects lying there will be sorted into separate directories. If you are not satisfied with the result, you can easily undo all changes by pressing the Undo key.

If necessary, you can configure the sort to start automatically every few minutes. Unfortunately, Easy File Organizer only organizes files into folders, but cannot delete them or read tags and metadata.

The free version does not have the ability to process directories with subfolders. Purchasing a license removes this restriction.