WatchFTP v3.1 beta 4

Just uploaded a new (and probably last) beta for WatchFTP v3.1. We expect this beta to be released early September.

• Fixed: In some cases WatchFTP did not remove the empty FTP folder (when the task was configured to remove the empty folder).

You can find more info and the download on our forum.

Print downloaded PDF files automatically with WatchFTP

Q&A

A customer asked how he can automatically print PDF files downloaded by WatchFTP.

WatchFTP can start a batch file after downloading so we use a script to run Foxit Reader to print the file. One extra feature was needed: he wants to print invoices on one printer and tickets on another.

Here is an example bat file you can use for this:

SET FOXCMD=C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\Foxit Reader.exe
rem the printer for INV- files (printer names exactly as on your "Printers" control panel applet)
SET PRINTER1=Local Printer1
rem the printer for TIC- files
SET PRINTER2=\\Server\ServerPrinter 1
rem the printer for everything else
SET PRINTERDEFAULT=Local Printer2
rem a log file (taskname_yyyymmdd.log)
SET LOG=C:\Logs\%WF_CONFIG%_%WF_DATE%.log

rem check for valid file type, only PDFs are supported
IF "%WF_FILE_E%" NEQ "PDF" GOTO :Eof

rem get the first 4 positions of the filename
SET P4=%WF_FILE_N:~0,4%

SET PRINTER=%PRINTERDEFAULT%
IF /I "%P4%" EQU "INV-" (
   SET PRINTER=%PRINTER1%
)
IF /I "%P4%" EQU "TIC-" (
   SET PRINTER=%PRINTER2%
)
echo [%time%] printing %WF_FILE% to printer %PRINTER% >> "%LOG%"
"%FOXCMD%" /t "%WF_FILE%" "%PRINTER%"
IF %errorlevel% GEQ 1 GOTO :PrintFails
echo [%time%] printed >> "%LOG%"
GOTO :EOF

:PrintFails
echo [%time%] ERROR - FILE WAS NOT PRINTED >> "%LOG%"
GOTO :EOF

WatchFTP v3.1 Beta

New and changed in this beta:

• New: 64Bit versions of WatchFTP are now available
• New: You can configure an email address to receive administrative alerts
• New: If WatchFTP can not access a directory on your FTP server, the directory will be blacklisted (skipped) and WatchFTP will continue.
• Fixed: In some cases WatchFTP tried to create illegal filenames

You can find more info and the download on our forum.

See Also

WatchFTP v3.0 released.

WatchFTP v3.0 released

We just released WatchFTP v3.0, a major new version of our FTP download automation tool. New in this release is support for the SFTP protocol. Download it here.

Free Upgrade

This new version is a free upgrade for all customers. Please note that you will need a new license key for this new version. Lookup your License here.

Beta Users

If you are using one of the beta versions of WatchFTP v3, you need to take a few steps to get your (updated) tasks into the new release. This is explained here.

Spanish, German, French versions

The German translation is already available at www.watchftp.de. The French and Spanish versions will follow soon.
Update: The French version is also online: fr.watchftp.com
Update: The Spanish version is also online: www.watchftp.es

Do you like it?

If you appreciate this free upgrade, please consider making a donation to the Alzheimer's Association or your own favorite charity.

Coming soon

64 bit release. v3.1 will be in beta soon and officially released later this year. Free upgrade for customers.

WatchDirectory v4.6.7 released

We just released a new version of WatchDirectory, see the list of changes below. All customers who have a v4 license key can upgrade for free by installing the current evaluation version "on top" of their current install. Download it from our webpage.

• Improved: When using the Scheduler, QUIET events were not handled properly.
• New: The FTP Upload task has a new "Strict" option for Passive connections. This helps when the FTP server lies (!!) about its IP address in response to the PASV command.
• Improved: Small improvements to the ZIP component preventing it to hang on illegal filenames.
• New: UTF-8 support for the email component. This is now the new default for message encoding when you create a new email task.
• Improved: Implemented "Clear Command Channel" for FTPS protocols
• Fixed: The Upload Files task will now retry to connect when it receives a 40425 error
• Fixed: The Environment variable WD_FILE_E was not properly set for files without extensions
• Fixed: WatchDirectory crashed (or just didn't work) on Vista and Windows-7 when not running as an Administrator
• Improved: The WatchDirectory Control Center is more efficient (cpu and resources)
• New: Filter Events can now also filter with bat scripts for complex filter situations.
• New: A new plugin to Remove the Oldest Files from a Directory: Use it to delete old log files while keeping the 10 newest.
• New: The Zip File task can now be used as a Subtask.
• Fixed: The task that Upload Files to an FTP Server would send false email warnings when renaming files.

Automatically copy a file to multiple directories

Q&A

Perhaps I should blog a little more often. Perhaps just some questions from customers and answers from me.
Sometimes the answers are so obvious to me, but people who didn't use WatchDirectory as long as I did may find this useful.

How can I copy a file to multiple target directories?

Easy (part 1): just configure multiple Copy Files tasks.

Easy and Obvious. Another question answered. Another happy customer!!

How can I copy a file to multiple target directories in ONE process?

Oops. If you setup multiple tasks like described above, you will have multiple processes running (one for each "target directory"). Not a big problem if you want to copy to 3 or 4 targets but Windows will not like it if you need to copy to (say) 30 or 40 target directories.

Easy Answer - Alternative 1 - Sort Files

As copying files is one of the most popular uses for WatchDirectory (together with email notifications and Upload Files) we made a task especially for this.

It is called the Sort Files plugin. It is one process that monitors a directory and uses "rules" (see here) to determine where it should copy the files to. If you do not set the "final" option for a rule, the rules after it will also run, thereby allowing you to copy a file to multiple locations.

Easy Answer - Alternative 2 - Subtasks

WatchDirectory Professional (not the Standard edition) includes a plugin called the Subtask plugin. This is a more general task that can call other plugins (including "Copy Files", "Upload Files" and "Email Files") for each detected new or changed file.

See Also

How many tasks does WatchDirectory support?

WxRemote v1.7b Released

We just released a small update for WxRemote. The WxListener component did not properly detect the "running / not running" state of some WatchFTP tasks.

Download the new release from its webpage:

• English
• German
• Spanish
• French

Windows 8

Yes, our programs will support Windows 8

Below a picture of the (German) customer preview with WatchDirectory installed. Yes, the WatchDirectory icons look a bit out-of-place. But it is great to see Microsoft did a fine job (again) to keep their OS compatible with our programs. Or is it the other way around?

WxRemote v1.7 Released

We have just released a new version of WxRemote, the set of programs for remote control of your WatchDirectory and WatchFTP tasks. This is a free update for customers of previous versions.

New/Changed in this release

• New: The configuration program (WxConfig) now has a "Scan Network" button for easy lookup to see where the Listener and ConnectionManager are running.
• Improved: The WxWeb component used for the Web-interface is a LOT faster when you have many tasks.
• Changed: If a server had a lot of WatchDirectory and/or WatchFTP tasks (more than ~60), communication could fail

Download / Install

Install the new release "on top" of your current version and it will keep all its settings.

Download the new release from its webpage:

• English
• German
• Spanish
• French

WatchFTP v3.0 beta 3

On our forum we just published the first public beta of WatchFTP v3. New in v3 is support for SFTP servers.

Read the forum post for more info and the download link:

Forum.

When v3.0 is officially released, it will be a free upgrade for all current WatchFTP customers.

WatchDirectory review by Frederick Barton

Found a new review about WatchDirectory, it includes a short video, here it is.

"Pros:
Watch Directory can save you a lot of time due to the fact that repetitive tasks can be automated. With its large array of options, you can create any task in a flexible way.

Cons:
When creating a new task, the wizard's many options can overwhelm a novice user.

You can forget about performing the same task over and over again. This can be done automatically by Watch Directory's features, saving you valuable time...."

About the Cons. I have to agree. WD is not for people who just started to use a computer. It is hard to implement lots of functionality and maintaining usability. I wonder how Frederick would review WatchDirectory v1.0, years ago... No wizards, only a command-line program.

Working on WatchFTP v3.0

Work has started on WatchFTP v3.0.

New Features

The initial v3 release will add support for monitoring SFTP sites, one of the most requested enhancements.

Planned features

Later v3.x releases will add

• 64bit support
• "Just Reporting" - no file will be downloaded, WatchFTP will just report on new files on your FTP server

Free Upgrade

Existing customers can upgrade free of charge to this major new release.

Help with the Beta

We expect a first beta release by the end of the month (or early February). If you want to help us test, send an email to gert at gdpsoftware dot com.