SOLVED: List Newest Files In Some Folder

[nkormanik]

On request 4wd provided an excellent program to dynamically monitor the number and total size of files in a particular folder -- FolMon:

https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=31347.0

It's great for keeping track of a file-generating process that should be steadily adding files to the folder, to glance over and see numbers changing, getting larger.  The computer resources overhead seems negligable running FolMon.  I'll have it on two computers, one on either side of my main computer, running for months to come.

I have an additional related request now:

Double-click a desktop icon to bring up a small window showing the most recent files (created or modified, either one would do) within that folder.  Number of files = 5... would be great.

No need to go deeper than a single level -- just the folder itself.

No need to keep dynamically updating.  Periodically as desired user can double-click and see the result.  This way he/she will have a better idea where progress has gotten to in the overall job being monitored.

4wd might think to add it to his existing FolMon -- an additional little window within FolMon that shows file names of new files as they are added -- but doing so probably would add too much to overhead resource hogging.  Plus it's just a once-in-a-while request that user would likely be wanting, no continuous need.

I've noted out there lots of programmers requesting code to accomplish the task above -- in Python, C++, etc. -- but no simple little Windows program to do it.

Double-click ---> List 5 most recent files in folder XYZ.

I'd sure appreciate having this.

One can, as an alternative, use Windows Explorer in details mode, columns sorted on Modified (etc.) in descending order, then hit refresh periodically.  But..., if the folder has a really large number of files, the refresh takes a long time.  Maybe, though, most of you would suggest this route.  If so, that's what I'll do.

Nicholas Kormanik
[email protected]

[TaoPhoenix]

Something like Karen's Directory Printer might be interesting. It's pretty fast, and generates a text file you can save and do things with later.

[app103]

You might prefer a different way of displaying it in Explorer. Right click and select Arrange icons by> Modified. Then check off Show in Groups.

Unlike the standard details view, when new files are added, they are auto-sorted into the groups, rather than being added to the bottom of the list, so there is no refreshing involved to keep them sorted.

[mouser]

This is only tangentially related to the question, but you can use my Launchbar Commander tool to create a toolbar with "folder menus", buttons you click to show the contents of a folder (or more than one folder), and you can set filters on how the contents of a folder can be displayed, including filtering it by date and subdirectory patterns, like so:


Might be useful if you want to be able to quickly check the contents of your folder simply by pushing a button on a docked toolbar.

[lanux128]

you may be interested in FileDraft by DoCo member [user]ak_[/user]. this program is designed to display the latest files from a folder in a menu.

• https://www.donation...dex.php?topic=9500.0

[nkormanik]

Thanks all for suggestions, especially lanux128.  ak_'s FileDraft does exactly what I was asking for.  And really speedy.

So..., unless someone else has something to add, Skwire, you can consider this request DONE.