How to automatically save an attached file in the right place
Datum: 2025-03-20 08:24
When you receive emails with files attached, these are usually not supposed to remain in your inbox but are meant to be downloaded and saved someplace else, in a folder, and used at some other point in time.
I am guessing that you more or less manually click it and determine what kind of file it is, decide where it needs to go, and then move it there once you have downloaded it. You click, draw, drop, and save it in the right location.
For you who prefer listening to reading, this post is also available as an episode of the “Done!” podcast:
No more manual moving
This operation is a great example of a small task that is appropriate to automate instead of doing it yourself. It is particularly worth making the effort to automate if you often save the same type of file in the same folder.
This is how it’s done
The idea is that you have a folder where you put all the attached files you receive that are to be placed somewhere special. I have called my version of this folder “Distribution” since whatever files it holds are to be distributed into other folders.
You then let an automation service or ‑app monitor the folder. If you work in Microsoft 365, use the Microsoft 365-service Power Automate (which used to be called Flow). If you do not have Microsoft 365 and work on a Mac, use Hazel — like me. If you do not have Microsoft 365 but use Windows, I am afraid I have not yet found you a good option for the services above.
When a new file arrives in the folder, the automation service decides what kind of file it is and moves it to the right folder — without you doing a single thing to help it along.
But how do you make it do so?
Do this
If you want to try automating your life a tad more and have the files transferred to the right place automatically, do the following today:
- Create a distribution-folder where all files will be placed initially. Create it on your computer (and not in the cloud) if you will be running Hazel and on OneDrive if you will be using Power Automate.
- Get Hazel (MacOS) from Noodlesoft or find Power Automate on your Microsoft 365-platform.
- Choose a kind of file or document you often receive as an attachment to try the method on.
- Create a flow in Power Automate that uses the OneDrive-connection and which gets triggered when this kind of document or file gets added into the distribution-folder. Or, create a rule in Hazel if that is the program you are using.
- Allow the flow or rule to move the file into the right folder. How to make it do this requires a bit too much detail to be described here, but I am sure you will figure it out once you have the automating service in front of you.
Get more done with less effort
If you allow an automating service to save attached files in the right locations, you will not have to. The documents will end up in the right place and you no longer risk putting them in the wrong one as often as you used to. A few steps or tasks will be done automatically and you can spend the time you gain on doing more important or valuable things.
What’s your way?
Have you automated how you move or save files in some other way? Tell me!
Do you want to get more tasks done automatically?
Tricks like this and how to get AI to do part of your work are what I cover in my talk "AI in your workday: Save time, gain productivity and reduce stress".
You can book it for your next kickoff event.
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