Enter Directory Monitor, a free program for Windows to monitor one or multiple directories. When you start the program for the first time you will see the main interface with an option to immediately add a directory for monitoring.

You can either paste a folder path into the form at the top or use the folder browser to pick a directory for monitoring. A click on Add starts the monitoring of the selected folder. All folders added this way are monitored for new file events only.

A right-click on a folder opens the context menu with options to edit or delete the selected folder. The edit directory entry opens a new menu with options to change the events that the software monitors. Additional options include file modifications, deletions and renames. The program will monitor subdirectories by default, can record the user information that made the change or execute an application when a change is recognized.

All changes are by default displayed in the lower half of the program window. This log can be saved, copied or cleared from the Log menu at the top.

The program options and settings can be used for advanced configurations. This includes options to set global file or folder patterns that you want included or excluded. Handy if you only want to monitor document formats instead of all formats in the selected directories.

The default monitoring interval is set to 180 seconds, which means that Directory Monitor will check the selected directories in that interval for changes. It is possible to decrease or increase that interval in the settings.

Directory Monitor is a handy tool for Windows users. It could use notifications, sound or visual for example, to further assist and notify the user about changes made to directories that are monitored.

The program requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1. It can be downloaded as a normal installer, web installer or portable version without installation from the developer website.

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

Directory Monitor is a simply application that can monitor folders for one or multiple of the following four events: File additions, file modifications, file deletions and file renames. The user basically selects at least one folder to monitor and the events that he wants monitored in that folder.

The software supports local folders, network folders and even hidden shares. Specific file patterns can be excluded from being monitored. Text files can be excluded for instance by adding the *.txt filter in the application options. The main issue with text filters is that excluded patterns are global, meaning they are active for all monitored folders.

The interval that is used to check directories for changes can be changed in the options as well. The default value is 180 seconds. One interesting feature is the import and export feature which makes it possible to export monitored folders to import them on the same or another computer at a later point in time (lets you configure rules for all systems once to save time).

Programs can be executed when an event occurs, which can be another interesting option for advanced users.

Update: Directory Monitor is no longer available at Codeplex. We have changed the download link which is now pointing directly to the developer website. There you find full and web installers, a portable version as well as video tutorials that demonstrate the program’s functionality. Please keep in mind that the software requires the Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 to be installed on the system.