watchDirectory Help > Creating New Tasks > Other
Other options
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This option tells watchDirectory to check if the new or changed file is "ready". When a file is created or changed by a program it can take some time - milliseconds, minutes... - until that program is done with it. If you are configuring a task that needs to access the file, for example attach it to an email, you will want to wait until the file is "complete" before your task starts.
If you want watchDirectory to start your task immediately, without waiting for the other program to stop writing to it, select "Do not wait for files to be available".
The other options all work together with the "delay starting task xx seconds" option explained below. If you select "until their size doesn't change" and the size of the file changes during the delay period, the delay period is "reset". When the size is the same as the previous check (xx seconds before the current check), the file is considered ready, and your task is started.
The option "Until they can be opened for reading" works for files that are "locked" by the program that creates the file. WatchDirectory will wait until that program unlocks the file, and then starts your task.
If you choose "both methods", watchDirectory will wait until the size doesn't change and the file is unlocked.
If this option is disabled your task can be started multiple times for the
same file: first it is created (FILENEW), and then its size changes several times (multiple FILECHNG events).
When one of the wait options is selected, watchDirectory will ignore further events for the file until it can
start your task for the original event. So, you receive only a FILENEW event.
Fire FILENEW/DIRNEW events for all files at startup
This option will start your task for all existing files and directories when watchDirectory is started.
After that, watchDirectory will continue to monitor the directory for changes.
When starting up, check for missed events
After watchDirectory starts up, it can scan the monitored directory for files and directories
that are created or changed after the last event watchDirectory handled in a previous run.
Obviously, watchDirectory can not detect files and directories that were removed when it
was not running.
The Startup options should ignore the scheduler
This setting applies to "Fire FILENEW/DIRNEW at startup" and "check for missed events".
If this option is selected, the above options trigger new events when watchDirectory starts,
your Scheduler settings are ignored and the plugin is called immediately (for example, to copy the file).
If you do not select this option, the normal Scheduler rules apply.
Delay starting the task xxx seconds
Sometimes the Wait for files to be available option is not enough. Some programs
will open/change/close a file multiple times in quick succession, causing watchDirectory
to start your task multiple times. By using this option to delay calling your task, you prevent
watchDirectory to start it more than once. All "changed file events" that watchDirectory detects
during this wait period will be ignored.
You can also use the scheduler of watchDirectory to delay your tasks.
The scheduler stores events inside a database, while this option keeps the event in memory. The main difference
is that when you quit watchDirectory, the events in memory are lost.
Write debug information to the history database
Selecting this option will cause a lot of extra information to be written to the Task History.
Obviously, this causes a lot of overhead, and is not advisable for production use.
Do not write any information to the history database
This option will prevent watchDirectory from writing any information to the history database.
Hide this task from WxRemote
Check this option if you want to prevent this task to show up on WxRemote's list of tasks, allowing remote control (start and stop).
More Info/Download WxRemote.
For warnings and errors, send email alerts to (Professional Edition only)
Enter an email address where you want to receive alerts. The same alerts are written to the History database and Windows Event Log.
Enable wdNotify messages for this task (Professional Edition only)
wdNotify is a free add-on program for watchDirectory Professional that runs in your system tray, next to the Windows clock. When you select this option,
wdNotify will alert you when this task is processing a file.
wdNotify is not included in the normal watchDirectory download! Download wdNotify here.