macOS Automator Folder Action: "Get Specified Items" enacting on EVERYTHING, not just the specified items

[seth.feinberg]

I have a Automator Folder Action enabled on my Dropbox folder with only 2 items: "Get Specified Items - mSecure" and "Move Finder Items - Move to Backup". However instead of moving JUST the mSecure folder when it shows up, it moves EVERYTHING that is added to the folder to Backup.

More color:

mSecure backs up to Dropbox, but I can't specify where it backs up so it just goes to the Dropbox root. I used to have a Automator action run twice a day to move it and it worked fine, but then I realized I could just have it moved whenever the mSecure folder shows up with a Folder Action. I have other Folder Actions set up that work pretty well (move torrents and nzbs downloaded to the incoming folder for their respective clients). And I had this working as a Automator action that fired from a calendar entry, but when I set it up as a folder action it moves EVERYTHING added to the root to the root/Backup folder instead of just the mSecure folder. Any suggestions?

 

[Red Menace]

I'm still not quite sure how you are filtering the input items, but if you are just getting specified items and only using the folder action to fire the workflow, you are going to need to set the "ignore input" option or the dropped items will still be in the input list.

 

[seth.feinberg]

I'm still not quite sure how you are filtering the input items, but if you are just getting specified items and only using the folder action to fire the workflow, you are going to need to set the "ignore input" option or the dropped items will still be in the input list.

I included a screenshot of my Folder Action in Automator to hopefully make it clearer. Cauuse I'm not entirely sure what you're suggestion is suggesting. But I'm super appreciative of you taking an interest and am here to figure this out at all costs. Did you mean under that first action, Get Specified Finder Items, i Right-Click and select "Ignore Input" for that item? If so, GREAT! I've selected it and am looking forward to a successful Folder Action, but could you provide any more color on why this works? what I was doing wrong to avoid this issue in the future?

 

[Red Menace]

Yes - all of the dropped items are passed to the workflow when the folder action is triggered, so if you are not interested in those, you will need to select the "ignore input" option on the Get Specified Finder Items action to keep those items from being passed on.

In an Automator workflow, each action adds to or modifies a list of items that gets passed along to the next action.

 

[seth.feinberg]

Yes - all of the dropped items are passed to the workflow when the folder action is triggered, so if you are not interested in those, you will need to select the "ignore input" option on the Get Specified Finder Items action to keep those items from being passed on.

In an Automator workflow, each action adds to or modifies a list of items that gets passed along to the next action.

Thanks for the explanation! If I may ask one more question: So "Get Specified Finder Items" Doesn't filter the items down...What exactly DOES it do?

 

[Red Menace]

It does just that - it gets the items you specify. You can drag items to the action, or add using its file panel. Note that a folder action workflow already has a list of items passed to it - the items dropped into the watched folder.

 

[seth.feinberg]

Well, first off, it works! So thanks so much.

But I don't quite understand. If "Get Specified Items" does filter, why didn't it work if "Ignore Input" is unchecked? Shouldn't it A) Take every item added to the folder without "Ignore Input" checked B) Filter All the items for the "mSecure" folder with "Get Specified Finder Items" then C) only move what "Get Specified Finder Items filters out?

Thanks in advance, or if you're done with me I'd understand, but I'd really like to figure this out for issues going forward...

 

[Red Menace]

In an Automator workflow, a list of items to work with is passed from action to action, with each action modifying this list of items depending on what it does. The Get Specified Finder Items action is not a filter - it gets the items that are specified in the action's list.

What happens with your workflow is that it is triggered when items are dropped into the watched folder, with the file items that were dropped being passed to the workflow. It then gets the items listed in the Get Specified Finder Items action and adds them to the original list of items passed to the workflow, and passes the combined list on to an action that moves everything to a folder.

If you are wanting to filter the dropped items and just move items that match your criteria, you would need to use something like the Filter Finder Items action. Note that most (if not all) of the search and filter actions use Spotlight, so if items have not been indexed they may not be seen.