How to automatically transfer files between folders on Windows and Mac

Do you want to automatically move files from one folder to another on your Windows or Mac computer ? You can do it quite easily following the instructions below.

How to automatically transfer files between folders on Windows and macOS

On Windows

You can create a batch script that automatically transfers files from the source directory to the destination location. This script can check the “age” of files to ensure your files are only moved after a certain number of days or months have passed since they were created.

Don't worry if you've never written a batch script before. In fact, to create a script for this task, all you need to do is copy & paste the code below, then select the folder. It's done.

Step 1: Write a script to automatically transfer files

1. Open the Start menu , find Notepad and open it.

2. Paste the following script into a new Notepad document.

@echo off
set X=Days
set "source=SourceFolder"
set "destination=DestinationFolder"
robocopy "%source%" "%destination%" /mov /minage:%X%
exit /b

3. In the script above, replace Days with the number of days that the above script will transfer your file (the age of the file) then replace SourceFolder with the path to your folder location, replace DestinationFolder with the path to the file location is transferred.

4. Click the File menu and select Save As .

5. Select All Files from the Save As drop-down menu, enter a file name, add .bat at the end of the file name field, and click Save to save the file.

The Batch Script is now ready.

Step 2: Schedule the Batch script to automatically run

Double clicking on the newly created batch file will move all your files from the current folder to another folder. To automate this task, you need to put the file into an automated task.

Task Scheduler will help you do that. You can create a task in this utility application and have it run a script on a schedule of your choice.

Here's how to set up tasks in Task Scheduler:

1. Open the Start menu , find Task Scheduler and open it.
2. Click Create Task on the right to configure a new automated task.
3. Enter a name for your task in the Name field .
4. Click the Triggers tab at the top, then click New to add a new trigger.
5. On the activation screen, select how often the script runs from the Settings section . You can then choose the script opening time in the right panel. Then, click OK below.
6. Select the Actions tab and click New to add a new section.
7. Make sure Start a program is selected in the drop-down menu: Action . Then, click the Browse button .
8. Navigate to the location where you saved the batch script and select it.
9. Click OK , then click OK again to save the task.

Task Scheduler will run the batch script at the time and frequency you choose. When that happens, this script will start transferring files from the source directory to the destination location.

If you want to turn off automatic file transfer, open Task Scheduler , find the task in this list and click Delete on the right. This action clears your task and prevents the batch script from running automatically.

On macOS

Setting up automatic file transfers on macOS is relatively easy because you only need to use an application to write and schedule scripts to run on Mac.

Using the Automator app, you can create a Folder Action that helps transfer files between folders easily without user intervention.

1. Open Automator on Mac.
2. Click File > New , select Folder Action and click Choose to create a Folder Action in Automator .
3. You will see the Folder Action receives files and folders added to menu appear at the top. Use it to select the source folder at the location where the file is moved.
4. On the left side of the screen, under Actions , find the Move Finder Items action . Drag & drop it into the workflow on the right.
5. In Move Finder Items on the right, select the destination folder from the drop-down menu. This is where the file is moved.
6. Check Replace existing files if desired.
7. Press Command + S , enter a name for the Folder Action and click Save .
8. Close Automator .

From now on, whenever you put a file in the source folder, Automator will move it to the destination folder. You don't need to press any keys or open any widgets. It all happens completely automatically.

Pay attention to the Downloads folder when using Automator tasks. Because most browsers often save temporary versions of files that are still being downloaded here, Automator will transfer half of the downloaded files. This action may cause download errors. To avoid this problem, you should set Desktop as the default download folder for your browser.

Above is how to automatically transfer files between folders on Windows and Mac. Hope the article is useful to you.