Creating Flows

Step-by-step guide to creating automated sorting rules

Creating Flows: Step-by-Step Guide

In this guide, you'll learn exactly how to create Flows to automate your file organization.

Prerequisites

Before creating Flows, you should have:

  • Sorta installed and running
  • At least one project created
  • A folder structure set up in that project
  • Some understanding of how Flows work

Two Ways to Create Flows

Option 1: Let Sorta Suggest (Easiest)

Let Sorta learn from your patterns automatically.

How it works:

  1. Manually organize files — Drag files to their proper locations a few times
  2. Sorta notices — After 2-3 similar actions, Sorta detects a pattern
  3. Suggestion appears — "Create a flow for PNG → Assets/Images?"
  4. Accept or ignore — Click "Accept" to activate, or dismiss if not interested

Why it's easiest:

  • No configuration needed
  • Sorta learns your real workflow
  • Perfect for common file types

When to use:

  • You have clear, repeatable patterns
  • You work with common file types
  • You want minimal setup

Option 2: Manual Creation

Create flows explicitly without waiting for suggestions.

Why you might prefer this:

  • You want specific conditions
  • You want advanced matching (name patterns)
  • You're setting up a project with known requirements

We'll focus on Option 2 in this guide so you can see all the features.

Creating Your First Flow (Manual)

Let's create a flow for a design project.

Step 1: Open Your Project

  1. Click the Sorta menu bar icon
  2. Find your project in the list
  3. Click on it to open the project details

Step 2: Navigate to Flows

In the project view:

  1. Look for the Flows tab
  2. Click New Flow button
  3. A dialog opens to create a new flow

Step 3: Choose File Type

First, decide what type of file triggers the flow.

File type options:
- Specific: .png, .jpg, .mov, .mp4, .psd, .ai
- Category: Images, Video, Audio, Documents, Code, Design
- Pattern: Files with "final", "export", "v2", etc.

For your first flow, let's match a specific file type:

  1. In the File Type field, select or type your file extension
  2. Examples:
    • .png for PNG images
    • .mov for video files
    • .psd for Photoshop files
  3. Click Next

Step 4: Set Source Location (Optional)

Now choose where files come from.

Source options:
- Any folder in the project
- Specific folder (e.g., "Inbox")
- Exclude certain folders

For most flows, set a specific source:

  1. In the Source Folder field, select a folder
  2. Click the folder dropdown
  3. Choose "Inbox" or "Downloads" (or wherever new files appear)
  4. If you want "any folder", leave it blank
  5. Click Next

Step 5: Set Destination

Where should files go?

  1. In the Destination Folder field, select the target folder
  2. Click the folder dropdown
  3. Choose where files should be organized (e.g., "Assets/Images")
  4. You can see a preview of the path
  5. Click Next

Step 6: Review & Save

Review your flow:

File type:    .png
Source:       Inbox
Destination:  Assets/Images
Result:       PNG files in Inbox → Assets/Images

If it looks correct:

  1. Click Save Flow
  2. The flow is now active
  3. Your first flow is created!

Practical Examples

Example 1: Photo Project Flow

Scenario: You're importing photos into a photography project. New images appear in an "Inbox" folder and need to be sorted.

Setup:

  1. File type: .jpg (and also .png separately)
  2. Source: "Inbox"
  3. Destination: "Edits"

Result: All JPG files in Inbox automatically go to Edits

To also handle PNG files: Create a second flow with .png file type

Example 2: Video Project Flow

Scenario: You download raw footage from a camera into a "Footage" folder but want it sorted to "Raw" subfolder.

Setup:

  1. File type: .mov, .mp4, .avi (create separate flows for each)
  2. Source: "Footage"
  3. Destination: "Footage/Raw"

Result: Video files in Footage automatically move to Footage/Raw

Example 3: Design Project with Multiple Flows

Scenario: You work with different file types and need different destinations.

Flow 1: Design files

  • File type: .psd
  • Source: "Inbox"
  • Destination: "Design/Drafts"

Flow 2: Assets

  • File type: .png, .jpg, .gif
  • Source: "Inbox"
  • Destination: "Assets/Images"

Flow 3: Fonts

  • File type: .ttf, .otf
  • Source: "Inbox"
  • Destination: "Assets/Fonts"

Advanced: Name Pattern Flows

What are Name Patterns?

Match files based on text in their filename, not just file type.

Examples:

  • Files containing "final" → Export folder
  • Files starting with "export_" → Deliverables
  • Files containing "v2" → Archive

Creating a Name Pattern Flow

  1. Open New Flow
  2. File type: Choose a type (or "Any")
  3. Click Advanced Options
  4. Enable File Name Pattern
  5. Enter the pattern:
    • *final* (contains "final")
    • export* (starts with "export")
    • *v[0-9]* (contains v followed by number)
  6. Set source and destination
  7. Save

Name Pattern Examples

PatternMatchesDoesn't Match
*final*final.psd, final-logo.pnglogo.psd, finalize.txt
export*export-final.movexported-file.mov
*proof*proof-read.pdfrevised.pdf
*[0-9]*file-v2.psdfile.psd

Testing Your Flows

Before relying on automated sorting, test your flows.

Method 1: Manual Test

  1. Create the flow
  2. Find a test file that matches the conditions
  3. Move it to the source folder
  4. Watch Sorta for 10 seconds
  5. Check that it moves to destination

Method 2: Disable and Retest

  1. Create flow in disabled state
  2. Click Test button
  3. Choose a file
  4. See predicted destination
  5. If correct, enable the flow

If Test Fails

  1. Check Activity log to see what happened
  2. Verify source folder name is exact match
  3. Verify file type includes the dot: .png not png
  4. Edit the flow and adjust conditions
  5. Test again

Managing Multiple Flows

Creating Many Flows

Once you get comfortable, create more flows:

  1. Create a flow for each file type
  2. Or each work pattern
  3. They all work together automatically

Viewing All Flows

Project Flows tab shows:

  • All flows for this project
  • Active status (enabled/disabled)
  • File type and destination
  • Recently used flows

Edit Existing Flows

  1. In Flows tab, click on a flow to edit
  2. Change conditions or destination
  3. Click Save
  4. Changes apply to new files immediately

Disable Without Deleting

  1. In Flows tab, toggle Off next to a flow
  2. Flow is paused but not deleted
  3. Toggle On to reactivate

Perfect for testing or temporary changes.

Delete Flows You Don't Need

  1. Click on the flow
  2. Click Delete Flow
  3. Confirm deletion
  4. Flow is removed permanently

Common Flow Patterns

Project Start Flow

When starting a new project, create these basic flows:

Flow 1: Import Media
- Images (.png, .jpg, .gif) → Assets/Images
- Video (.mov, .mp4) → Assets/Video
- Audio (.mp3, .wav) → Assets/Audio

Flow 2: Organize Work
- Design files (.psd, .ai) → Design/
- Documents (.pdf, .doc) → Documents/

Flow 3: Export Organization
- Files named "*final*" → Export/Final
- Files named "*draft*" → Export/Drafts

Inbox Clearing Flow

Use an Inbox folder to catch everything, then flow to destinations:

Inbox/  ← Everything lands here
├── *final* → Export/Final
├── *.jpg → Assets/Images
├── *.psd → Design/
├── *.mov → Footage/

Simple and effective.

Archive Flow

Keep projects clean by archiving old files:

Modified before: 1 year ago → Archive/
Files named "*old*" → Archive/

Troubleshooting Flows

Flow isn't triggering

Checklist:

  • Is the flow enabled? (Check Flows tab)
  • Does the file type match exactly? (Including the dot: .png)
  • Is the source folder name spelled correctly?
  • Is the file actually in the source folder?
  • Try restarting Sorta

Files go to wrong destination

Checklist:

  • Is destination folder correct?
  • Are multiple flows conflicting? (Remove one temporarily to test)
  • Is destination folder spelled correctly?
  • Do you have write permissions for destination?

Multiple flows matching same file

When this happens:

  • Most specific flow wins
  • File name pattern beats just file type
  • If still tied, most recently created wins

Solution:

  • Check your flow conditions
  • Make conditions more specific
  • Combine multiple conditions if needed

Tips for Success

Name Your Flows Clearly

Flows don't have custom names, but create them for clear reasons:

  • Create flows in order of specificity (specific first)
  • Document what each flow does
  • Disable unused flows instead of deleting

Start with Simple Flows

✅ Good: 5-10 essential flows
❌ Too many: 30+ flows for edge cases

Stick with patterns you use regularly.

Review and Update Quarterly

Every few months:

  1. Check which flows you actually use
  2. Remove flows for old workflows
  3. Add flows for new patterns
  4. Rename complex flows for clarity

Document Your Flows

Keep notes about why you created each flow:

Inbox → Assets/Images (PNG, JPG)
  → Purpose: Organize imported photos automatically
  → Created: Jan 2024
  → Still using: Yes

Next Steps

Now that you can create flows:

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