Watch Folders

Watch Folders turn NameQuick from a tool you run into a system that runs itself. Point it at the folders where messy files accumulate — Downloads, Desktop, your scanner's output folder — and every new file gets a meaningful name the moment it lands, without you opening the app.

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Set up a watch folder#

1. Click + next to Folders in the sidebar.
2. Choose a folder to monitor (Downloads and Screenshots are the classic first picks).
3. Toggle Auto on to enable automatic processing.
4. Choose a behavior: Smart Rename for free-form descriptive names, or a specific naming preset when you want every file to follow the same pattern.

Each watch folder has its own behavior — your scanner folder can use a strict date_vendor_amount filename format while Screenshots gets short descriptive names.

What happens when a file arrives#

1. Detect — NameQuick notices the new file.
2. Process — it reads the content (text extraction, OCR for scans and images) and generates a name using your chosen behavior.
3. Organize — any Rules you've set then move, tag, or archive the renamed file.

Watch Folders run quietly in the background. Original creation and modification dates are always preserved, and every rename can be reverted from the Library.

Auto or review?#

With Auto on, names are applied immediately — ideal once you trust your setup. If you'd rather approve each name first, use review mode: NameQuick proposes names and waits for you to accept, edit, or reject them. See Rename Modes for how the two behaviors work; note that watch folders with Auto enabled rename automatically by design.

Folder ideas that pay off quickly#

• Downloads — the universal dumping ground. Clean names plus a rule that files invoices into Invoices/{year} clears most of the chaos.
• Scanner output — scans arrive as Scan_0042.pdf; OCR + a filename format turns them into 2026-06-10_Allianz_Policy.pdf before you've left the scanner.
• Screenshots — Screenshot 2026-06-10 at 9.14.22.png becomes a name that says what's actually in it. Full walkthrough: rename screenshots automatically.
• Client drop folders — anything a client uploads gets your project naming convention applied on arrival.

More complete recipes: invoices and receipts, the German scan-to-archive workflow, and photo organization.

And if the folder is already a mess before you start watching it, Organize cleans up the backlog in one reviewed batch — then the watch folder keeps it clean.

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FAQ#

Does NameQuick need to be open? It runs in the background from the menu bar. Enable launch-at-login in Settings → General so watching survives restarts.

Will it touch files that were already in the folder? Watch folders act on new arrivals; existing files can be processed manually from the Library whenever you choose.

Can I pause a folder? Yes — toggle the folder's watching state off in the sidebar; your setup stays in place for when you turn it back on.

What about subfolders? Folder options include subfolder handling, so a watched project root can cover its whole tree.

Cloud storage folders#

Watch Folders work on cloud storage folders synced to your Mac: iCloud Drive, and Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Box through their File Provider folders. Files that are online-only are detected before renaming, and the renamed file syncs back through the provider's own client. This is sync-folder support, not a connection to your cloud account.