Surprisingly, though internet offers endless applications for doing everything and nothing, you may have a hard time to find applications for sorting your files automatically. And even if you find one you may not be satisfied by the quality of it. Having spent quite some time Googling in search of the best application to bring some organization in the mess that reigns into my multiple (6) hard-disk, I have found the six applications that I will detail later on in this article.

But why would you need an application to sort your files while you could do it manually? Digital media such as pictures, videos and pdf file have a natural tendency to grow and to accumulate up to the point they become unmanageable. Often hundredth of pictures of unequal quality are taken, and as you haven't got the time to sort them, they get transferred to a "safe" location for an unlikely sorting session. Not to mention system backup which are made on and on, up to the point the backup becomes unusable as you no longer know which one contains what you are looking for. You often end up with several external drives where the information gets duplicated. So time for a clean-up session! (I feel like your energy level goes down suddenly, am I right? Come-on, do it you'll be rewarded.)

 There is a lot (and I really mean it) to say about file sorting, but let's have a look first about some candidates to get the job done:

• Robobasket [Commercial] 
• Belvedere [Free]
• Ideal file sorter [Commercial]
• Nerxy: This application is specialized in the sorting of music and picture files [Commercial]

A little remark though concerning Ideal File sorter: There are two things I do not like about this software. First, you may find Ideal file sorter sold under different names, up to the point you do no longer know which version does what, and what is the latest version. I have initially purchased a version which has revealed not to be the latest one and after some discussion with their customer representative had to resign to buy a new copy of the latest one (this leaves kind of bitter taste in the mouth). Second regret, is the total opacity of the processing which is made (sustained by a lack of documentation) which may lead to unexpected results such as the deletion of the file. I have discovered that ideal File sorter was keeping trace of the files it had moved and having returned the files to their original location for restarting a sorting process, I have faced a massive file deletion as the files were assumed to be duplicates. No doubt ideal file sorter is a powerful tool, but to be reserved to experimented users with some practices.

If you feel more adventurous you may look into a semi-manual approach thanks to the following tools:

• Directory Opus: The Rolls-Royce of the file managers and worth the investment [Commercial]
• FlexTk: Ranges from personal to pro version. A serious contender to Directory Opus [Free and Commercial]