When you first start the program you are asked to pick a root folder first. This is the folder that you want to copy or move files from. You can then use the filter options under Options > Set Filters to define which files you would like to see in the listing. For music files, you would for instance use *.mp3 as a filter. This displays all mp3 files in the program interface.

You can naturally filter by name as well, or add multiple filters to the mix, for instance to list all music files and not only mp3 files.

The tool offers multiple options to work with the filtered file listing. It is for instance possible to select some or all of the files before copying or moving them to another directory.

The developer of the program originally created it to move part of his 500 Gigabyte mp3 collection to a portable device. It quickly evolved though and can now also be used for backup and synchronization purposes.

Smart Copy files can be used to synchronize a filtered list with another directory. Always wanted to have all your photos from all folders on your hard drive backed up in another folder? Smart Copy Tools does that with minimal effort. There is a lot more that you can do with the program. From merging folders over deleting files to saving file lists.

The program executes all tasks quickly. Small or medium sized directory structures update near instantly when new filters are applied.

The ability to copy or move specific files stored in multiple folders is without doubt the core feature of the program. Windows users who would like to take the program for a test drive ca download it from the application’s SourceForge project page. The program requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0. on the system.

While it is possible to sort all files by modification date in Windows Explorer, manual copying modified files is not that of a practicable solution if files are also stored in subfolders. This may make the manual operation uncomfortable at the very least, and often time consuming.

The free program Copy Changed Files offers a much simpler solution. Just fire it up after installation to automate the copying of files that have been modified in a specified time period.

You begin by selecting the source and target directories. The source directory will be analyzed according to the specifications that you configure in the second configuration step.

The program can compare contents based on binary comparisons or by copying files automatically that have been modified after a selected date and time. You could for instance configure the program to copy only files that have been modified in 2012. The binary comparison option compares files in the source and destination directories. It will copy non-identical or non-existing files from the source folder to the destination folder.

You can furthermore configure output parameters. It is for instance possible to append date or time to the destination directory structure or files. The program displays how the source folder will look like directly in the interface.

Copying of files can be restricted to specified file extensions or sizes. You could for instance configure Copy Changed Files to only copy documents, e.g. doc, docx and xls, or only files with a size of less than one million bytes. Specific files can also be excluded right away. The forms where file types and names are entered are not very large which is problematic if many items need to be added.

The program overwrites files by default, with options to change the initial behavior to skip if files exist or to append a number to the file name, which can be used as a basic form of version control.

A test run option is available which outputs the number of files that will be copied if the program is run in normal mode. A log tab is available that lists all recent file copying operations.

The configuration files can be saved to the local system to load them again at a later time to save some time.

The Copy Changed Files application is compatible with all recent versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. The program requires the Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0. It can be downloaded from the developer website.

I know quite a few users who drop the selection into the same folder in this case to cancel the drag and drop operation. Since the files and folders exist in that folder, the operation is canceled and no files are added, moved or copied. When I’m saying moved or copied I mean that you can select the type of operation after you have started dragging files around but before you dropped them in a new location.

If you drop them while holding down the Shift key on the computer keyboard you move the files, while dropping them without additional key will copy the files.

But it is not always this easy. Especially not if you mistakenly drop the selection on a folder in the Windows Explorer location. If you do that, files and folders get moved or copied into that folder.

The correct way of canceling a drag and drop operation is to click the right mouse button once you have started to drag the files and folders around.

Windows will automatically cancel the operation so that everything is returned to its initial state. This only works for drag and drop operations in Windows Explorer, and not in third party applications like Firefox or Google Chrome.

Do you use drag and drop in Windows Explorer? If so, did you ever encounter a situation where you had to cancel the operation?

The result is always the same: You need to manual fix the copy job by locating the files that were not copied properly. Sometimes you need to stop an application from running or accessing a file before you can do that.

WinMend File Copy is a free program for the Windows operating system that not only promises to copy files up to 300% faster than Windows Explorer but also to keep a queue of all files and folders that need copying. That’s handy if Windows throws errors during the copying or moving of files.

Using a program like WinMend File Copy on the other hand may not be as comfortable as using Windows Explorer as it does not integrate into Windows Explorer. This makes the application less usable for copying a limited amount of files.

The copy software shines when it comes to copying large files and lots of files. A copy job consists of one or multiple files or folders that you add to the program with the help of buttons in the interface. The only other setting that is mandatory is the destination folder that you need to select as well.

WinMend File Copy can be configured to overwrite, skip or match and overwrite files of the same name. The only other setting available is the buffer size for the process which is set to 10 MB by default.

Another benefit of WinMend File Copy is the ability to copy files from multiple folders and locations in one go which is not possible in Windows Explorer.

Windows users who are looking for a queue based copy program for Windows can download the latest version of WinMend File Copy from the developer website. The program is compatible with all recent 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system.

Manually sorting the files into different folders on the other hand can take quite some time. The free tool DropIt aids the user by automating much of the process.

dropit

The software can be configured to move files to designated directories based on their names and extensions. Folders and their linked file extensions are configured in the DropIt interface. Wildcards are supported as well as multiple file matches that need to be separated with a “;”.

It is for instance possible to configure all document formats to be copied into a documents folder or all media formats into a media folder. Wildcards can be used to specify file names or extensions, *.doc* would for instance move all .doc and .docx files into the folder while a*.mp3 would move all mp3 files beginning with a into that folder.

Two options are available to copy the files into the selected folders. DropIt can be configured to add a shell extension to Windows Explorer. That’s probably the easiest option, any right-click on a folder or files and the selection of Sort with DropIt will start the process.

The second option is to drag and drop folders or files on the program icon that is automatically created during installation.

The tested program version has a small bug. It is not possible to close the configuration window. Both the close button and the window X button are not working properly. Killing the application in the Windows Task Manager is the only option to close it. The changes on the other hand are saved automatically. DropIt works only if the configuration window is closed.

Users who want to give DropIt a chance can download the latest version from Sourceforge. The Open Source software is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system and available as a portable version and setup.

If you do that in Windows Explorer you are in for some heavy selecting and copying as every folder needs to be processed independently from each other. Even worse if its to complicated to select all the files in the specific folder at once.

Piky Basket is a free Windows Explorer extension that makes it a lot easier to copy or move files from multiple folders simultaneously. The principle is simple. Piky Basket functions as a clipboard that remembers the files that are added to it by the user. The user can – at any time – copy or move the files that have been added to that clipboard to another location. The above process would therefor be optimized to only one copy or move operation at the end of the selection process.

The program can also be used to copy all file paths to the clipboard or to open a command prompt at the current location.

Piky Basket 2.0 is freeware. Version 3.0 has been integrated into a suite of applications which is sold at the developer’s website. The free version of the tool can be downloaded here.

Update: Piky Basket is no longer available. The developers have mode the program functionality into the commercial software Copywhiz.

A free alternative is Smart Copy Tool which is compatible with all versions of Windows provided that the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 is installed on the system. The program can filter for specific file names or file extensions which can then be copied to another folder with a few clicks.

The options are divided into two tabs which makes it slightly more complicated to configure the renaming options.

The following options are available in the file renaming tabs:

• Hierarchical mode – Will recursively rename files in subfolders as well
• Add file index position to file names – Possible to add numbers, letters or both to file names.
• Notes – Option to add notes to the new file names.
• Parent folder name – Option to add the parent folder name to the file name
• File creation date – Option to add the file creation date to the file name.
• Original File Name – Option to add the original file name to the new file name.
• Modified original file names – replaces numbers with letters
• Word delimiter – specify the word delimiter

The second feature of Caterpixer is to copy files to another location. This can be done by clicking on the copy these files buttons in the right sidebar.

This will open a menu that looks similar to the file renaming menu. Here it is again possible to select from various options that can be activated by checking the corresponding check boxes.

• File index position – Option to add numbers, letters or both.
• Notes – Option to add notes to the file name
• Destination folder – Adding the destination folder name to the file name
• Parent folder – Adding the parent folder name to the file name
• File creation date- Adding the file creation date to the file name
• Original file names – Adding the original file names to the new files
• Word delimiter – Specifying the word delimiter
• Image quality – Changing the image quality

Caterpixer is an interesting option for users who want to rename and copy files that reside in root and subfolders. It lacks a few features that most renaming software programs offer. This includes file filters, regex operations, previews and backups. The program is currently only available for Microsoft Windows. The developer seems to have the intention to port the application to other operating systems.

Update: Caterpixer has been discontinued. An alternative is the batch file renamer Rename Master.

Some of the features that are missing are the abilities to pause and resume the copy process and to filter files and folders.Robocopy is a command line tool developed by Microsoft that provides the extended functionality that some users require. Command line tools on the other hand are not always that comfortable to use which is why Microsoft created Robocopy GUI which provides a graphical user interface for Robocopy.

Robocopy GUI is a basic software program that requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2.0 (which is included in Windows Vista). It can be downloaded from the Technet website where it was announced.

Robocopy GUI lets you specify your source and target paths, as well as any custom options or filters you’d like to apply, whether or not you’d like to create a drive mapping, where you’d like to store the resulting logs, and so on. These are all features you can certainly execute with traditional Robocopy command line functionality, but for many, having the options consolidated in a graphical interface may really simplify the process.

Robocopy GUI also extends the functionality of the existing Robocopy tool in some very interesting ways. For example, this tool is multithreaded, allowing you to create a Robocopy script, execute it, and begin creating another one while your first script is still running. It also allows you to save your scripts (even if you don’t actually execute them) so that you can create a library of common scripts or share them with your colleagues. And most importantly, Robocopy GUI allows you to save your default settings so you don’t have to start from scratch every time.

The program is a great help for users who prefer to work with graphical user interfaces. The option to use the command line version as well – for example to make use of the functionality in scripts – is still provided.

It can for example be used by P2P users to move all the files that are located in subdirectories in the download folder to the main download folder to get better and faster access to the files. Other possibilities are to move photos that have been transferred from a digital camera into one main folder as these photos are usually stored in subfolders named after the date they have been taken.

Suction is a portable software program for the Windows operating system that supports drag and drop and context menu operations. It will automatically move all files that are located in subfolders into the main folder. The subfolders will be removed in the process so that the root folder will only contain all files that have been located in subfolders.

The user can either drag and drop a folder into the application’s interface or right-click a folder after activating the context menu option in the program’s options. Duplicate files will either be renamed automatically by the software program or deleted automatically.

Rich Copy is a file transfer software that has been in internal use by Microsoft for quite some time. The developers have now made it available for public use. The file transfer software program adds many new features to Windows Explorer file transfers including parallel transfers (also called multithreaded transfers), pausing and resuming the file copying process and a plethora of additional options.

The main difference between Rich Copy and third party tools like TeraCopy is the missing Windows Explorer integration of Rich Copy. It is an external file transfer program with an unbelievable set of options. To name a few of the advanced options that are available:

• Set thread count and cache size for transfers as well as process priorities
• Set or remove file attributes automatically
• Selecting specific errors to immediately stop the copying process
• Include or exclude specific files from being copied specifying file names, file attributes and / or dates.
• Running commands before and after the file transfer
• Extensive file operating logging
• Different file transfer modes and additional copying restrictions based on security, size or time stamps

Rich Copy has been primarily been designed to speed up but also give more control to file transfers in the Windows operating system. Users who simply want to speed up the original Windows Explorer copying process are better of using file transfer software like Teracopy or Fast Copy which integrates itself nicely into Windows Explorer and replaces the original file transfer dialog.

The tool that is using only 111 Kilobytes unpacked on the local hard drive supports local and network directories. The first thing that needs to be done to configure the program is to set the directory that should be monitored and the one that should contain the files that are copied.

A click on Capture will record the current states of both directories. All new and changed files can then be copied by clicking on the Create Mirror or Create Mirror and Recapture buttons in the interface.It should also be noted that all files in the destination directory will be removed prior to copying the new and changed files.

This obviously limits the use of the program quite a bit. It could be used to copy the new and changed files of a web project into another directory to upload them to a server later on.

Options to change that default behavior to not delete the files in the destination directory or to perform the operation automatically are not available at this time but would definitely increase the usefulness of the application.

Directory Changes Watcher requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2.0 or higher

Shadow Copy has to be installed on the computer system but can be run afterwards from the command prompt or by opening the graphical user interface. Running the tool from the command line will still open the interface after sending the command but it will require no user interaction unless errors occur.

Shadow Copy makes use of the Microsoft’s Volume Shadow service which means that this service has to be running to work with Shadow Copy. Microsoft renamed the feature in Windows Vista to Previous Versions. The service provides the means to copy any accessible file without having to worry about if the file is locked or open.

It is possible to copy the Windows folder to another location using the Shadow Copy software. Shadow Copy is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista. The software is portable as the installed files can be executed independently from the installation. (Tested after uninstalling the software)

A major difference between the two applications is the fact that Fast Copy does not hijack the original Windows copy, delete and move operations but comes only into play when the user selects the application to handle the transfers. This can be done by loading Fast Copy or adding Fast Copy entries to the right-click context menu. The option for the latter is provided in the program’s options.

Since the usage is not automatic using Fast Copy makes only sense in situations where the user has to copy many files and folders at once, for example when moving the contents of one hard drive to another. It simply takes about five to ten seconds to start the file transfer because the source and destination locations have to be added to the program manually.

The context menu entry is only adding the source location to the program but the destination would still have to be selected manually. Fast Copy uses parallel processing if the source and destination location are on different hard drives and a huge buffer if they are on the same. It comes with a lot of options that can be changed like the buffer size or actions to take if a file exists in the destination.

The command line options might make it usable for batch files that use file operations. It lacks a few of the features that TeraCopy comes with like a queue that offers options to skip files or pause the process.

Fast Copy in its current version can be used in batch files because of its command line parameters and to copy large amount of files. It does not work as a real transfer replacement for Windows and have to leave that field to Teracopy.

The user has the option to say Yes, Yes to all, No or Cancel. There is one option missing and that is No to all. If you do not want to replace files in the destination folder you have to click on No for every duplicate file. If you copy thousands of files this could be a lot. Is there another option ? Yes there is.

I really like Windows because it has so many hidden features. That’s sarcasm by the way. It would have been much easier if the button No to all would be available. To select the option you have to press the SHIFT key and then click on No. This has the effect that future duplicate files will not be copied to the destination folder and will not replace the files that are already in that folder.