Watch Folders

Do you have a whole slew of files in a directory that need to be converted? Every time you plug in your digital camera does it automatically copy new movies to your computer? If so, you may find the Watch Folders feature very handy.

You can ask Dr. DivX to keep an eye on particular folders. If any new video files appear in that folder, the doctor will automatically queue them up for conversion.

To test it out, go to the Watch Folders tab in Preferences. Click on the + button to add a new folder. Dr. DivX will prompt you for a name, it doesn't matter what you choose, just make it something meaningful to you. Next, choose an input folder like My Videos. Then pick an encoding profile and quality setting. Finally, specify an output folder like DivX Movies.

On the left hand side, Dr. DivX will display a list of all the watch folders you created. You can individually activate or deactivate folders using the check box next to each folder name. The - button will delete folders. Make sure the folder you just added is checked then put a couple new video files into your watch folder and prepare to be amazed. The next time you look at the Batch page in Dr. DivX, you'll find all your new videos queued up, ready to be converted using your settings and then stored in your output folder.

The detailed descriptions of how Watch Folders work is rather complex. Much of it you'll figure out on your own, but you may notice some surprising things. For example, deleting a file from a watch folder will not remove it from the queue. It will just cause Dr. DivX to complain when the conversion starts. The doctor will mark it Failed and move on.

The filename and extension don't mean much to Dr. DivX. The doctor will test every file in the directory to determine what is a video file and what isn't. It doesn't matter if you put .avi or .txt on the end, Dr. DivX will find the videos and convert them.

Dr. DivX constantly monitors for new files to be added. If the doctor is running when you drop a new file into a watch folder, that file will immediately be added to the queue. If Dr. DivX is not running, it will catch the new addition the next time around.

Watch Folders can be very handy for automating conversions. For example, make a directory called For-Palmpilot and set it up as a watch folder using the Handheld profile. Then make a directory called For-Television and make it a Home Theater watch folder. Now when you want to convert a file for you TV, drop it into the For-Television folder. On the other hand, if you want to take the video with you, place it For-Palmpilot. Dr. DivX will automatically queue those files up for conversion using the correct profile and save you a lot of repetitive mouse clicks.