Hygeia

Basic actions may not require too much skill, but it can be tedious and frustrating to execute them repeatedly. Automating routine tasks can help you save valuable time, which can be spent doing something more important. Hygeia can run numerous tasks automatically if certain files match a series of conditions, which you can define in a simple and flexible manner.

You can install the software in less than a minute. Its setup package is almost 4 Mb large, so it will not take long to download with a modern day Internet connection. There are no system requirements which may prevent you from using Hygeia. It works fine, even with modest hardware and it is compatible with all Windows versions, from Win XP to Win 7, including Server editions.

The principle behind Hygeia is not difficult to understand. It can monitor a folder of your choosing, continuously or according to a schedule. If it detects one or more files which match your conditions, the software will execute an action. Hygeia is more flexible than it sounds. You can set up various rules, which may be simple or more complex. If your files match certain criteria, an action will be executed. If they meet other criteria or none, the software will perform a different action.

You can define rules and actions and add folders to a watchlist on separate windows. The software's main interface contains a series of options which bring up these windows. When creating a rule, you will have to specify the conditions and actions under separate tabs. Conditions are set with the aid of three drop menus. In some cases, the third menu will be replaced with a text box, if you have to specify a certain value. You can almost form short phrases with these menus. For example, you can specify that a file's type is image, photo, video or other values or you can specify that a file's extension is not .jpg, .exe or any other value which you can type in a box.

An action can be selected from a drop menu, under the second tab. Depending on the selected action, different options will be displayed on the same page. Some of them are simple, while others are a bit more complex. If you select a basic action like deleting, you can set the program to erase only the files or the containing folder, by clicking radio buttons. If you select an action, such as resizing an image, you will have to specify the new height and width, format quality and more.

Folders are added to the watchlist with a standard browsing option, on a different window. You can also select a scanning mode (continuous or scheduled) on the same window. If you opt for a continuous scan, you can select different triggers, such as new, renamed or deleted files. Created rules are listed beneath the browsing option and you just need to click their check boxes to apply them on the selected folder. The software lets you create a one-time watch task, which works the same way, but it will apply your rules only once. Additionally, Hygeia comes with a wizard which can help you organize your music, upload pictures to Facebook or delete old files.