 |  | organize files faster |  | | By Jack Lyon | | (6/9/03) |
We all must endure certain mundane moments in everyday life. Classic snooze fests such as pairing socks and taking out the garbage plague humankind. And now digital file management, a task new in the 20th century, is racing right up the old yawn-o-meter. Compared to planning a folder hierarchy, organizing and renaming files, and creating compressed archives, something such as repapering the silverware drawer sounds like Mardi Gras on Mars. Keeping all your files and folders in immaculate order is absolutely essential, but how do you get it done without going narcoleptic? AnyWhere Pro gives most flavors of Windows a solid productivity boost, delivering a suite of tools that puts files in their place in a fraction of the time.
Get right-clicking
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| Featured utility |
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AnyWhere Pro |
Simplify file management for Windows.
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| More file utilities |
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FAR Manager |
Manage files, folders, and archives.
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NameWiz |
Rename large groups of files with ease.
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The Rename |
Rename files and folders in batches.
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After installing the software, you'll see, well, nothing. The folder AnyWhere Pro adds to the Start Menu only contains help files. The software integrates right into Windows; so to actually access your new software, you'll need to right-click any file or folder. In the pop-up menu you'll find two things: an icon to launch the AnyWhere Pro Explorer-like interface, and a submenu labeled AnyWhere Tools that gives fast access to several different components.
Finagle your folders
To copy or move any file or folder, select it, then right-click and choose the AnyWhere Pro icon from the menu that pops up. The AnyWhere Pro interface will launch, showing your file structure. Find the folder where you want to copy or move the file you selected, and then click either the Copy or Move buttons, depending on what you want to do. The process works the same as Windows Explorer, but saves a few seconds. The software also makes strong use of the familiar Favorites concept--you'll see the Favorites folder at the top of the AnyWhere Pro interface. Navigate through the software's directory tree and add any folder to Favorites that you want to by selecting it and clicking the Add to Favorites button. Don't be shy, as adding any and every familiar folder to Favorites will come in handy later. We recommend you immediately add your My Documents folder to Favorites.
Massive file management
Once you have your basic organization down, it's time to get serious. Right-click any file and then select the AnyWhere Tools submenu. The first two options you'll see are One Click Copy and One Click Move. These tools let you move or copy any file or folder into any Favorites folder at lightning speed. You can also copy filenames to your clipboard if you'd like to keep an editable text list of any folder's contents. Simply select a few or all of the files in any folder, right-click, and then select "Copy long filenames to clipboard."
Fine-tune any file
In your quest for complete categorization, you may come up with a new naming scheme for your files. Rather than wasting hours on the painstaking task of renaming each file individually, AnyWhere Pro allows for file renaming en masse. Highlight and right-click all the files in a particular directory you'd like to rename, and then select PowerFile Renamer from the Tools submenu. Fill in the various text fields to automatically add any file prefix, postfix, or new extension to everything you've selected. These few quick steps should help get your drive duly organized, but there are still plenty more tools available for deep-down organization. Choose the Wipe Files tool to permanently erase any file with sensitive information. The Make Writable tool instantly changes any locked file's attributes so it can be edited. And still the list goes on. Feel free to experiment with the software's additional tools; but once the heavy work is done, be sure take a moment to bask in the glory of your hard drive's organizational nirvana.
Jack Lyon, former director of CNET Hardware, splits his time contributing to CNET and building online games as cofounder of AstroManic Studios.
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