File Automation (Python)

A lightweight Python utility to automatically organize downloaded files into appropriate folders and optionally enhance images using Pillow (PIL).

This project includes two scripts:

• file_automation.py: Moves files from your Downloads folder to categorized destinations (PDF, Text, Word, Pictures, Videos, Music). Prompts to enhance images on the fly.
• image_editor.py: Batch enhances all images in a target folder (contrast + sharpen).

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Features

• Auto-sort files by type from Downloads to pre-defined folders.
• On-demand image enhancement in file_automation.py via a yes/no prompt.
• Batch image enhancement in image_editor.py with no prompts.
• Robust error handling for permissions and missing files.
• Windows-friendly paths using raw strings for reliability.

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How It Works

• file_automation.py:

  • Scans user_path for files.
  • Uses os and shutil.move() to relocate files based on extension:
    • PDFs → pdf
    • Text → txt
    • Word (.doc, .docx) → word
    • Images (.jpg, .jpeg, .png) → img
    • Videos (.mp4, .mkv) → video
    • Music (.mp3, .wav) → music
  • When an image is moved, it asks whether to enhance it. If yes, Pillow:
    • Converts to RGBA (safer for filters)
    • Increases contrast by 1.5x
    • Applies a sharpen filter
    • Saves back to the same file path (overwrites)

• image_editor.py:

  • Iterates over all images in the img folder and applies the same enhancement steps (contrast + sharpen) without prompts.

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Project Structure

File Automation/
├─ file_automation.py
├─ image_editor.py
└─ README.md

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Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• pip
• Windows OS (paths in code are Windows-specific; works on other OSes with path changes)

Install dependencies

# Optional: create and activate a virtual environment (Windows PowerShell)
python -m venv .venv
. .venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1

# Install Pillow
pip install pillow

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Configuration

Both scripts currently use hardcoded Windows paths. Update them to match your system.

• In file_automation.py:
  • user_path: source folder to scan (e.g., your Downloads)
  • pdf, txt, word, img, video, music: destination folders

Example (edit these lines):

user_path = r"C:\Users\YOUR_USER\Downloads"
pdf = r"C:\Users\YOUR_USER\OneDrive\Documents\PDF"
txt = r"C:\Users\YOUR_USER\OneDrive\Documents\Text"
word = r"C:\Users\YOUR_USER\OneDrive\Documents\Word"
img = r"C:\Users\YOUR_USER\Pictures"
video = r"C:\Users\YOUR_USER\Videos"
music = r"C:\Users\YOUR_USER\Music"

• In image_editor.py:
  • img: folder containing images to enhance

Example:

img = r"C:\Users\YOUR_USER\Pictures"

Tip: Ensure destination folders exist. shutil.move() will not create missing directories by default.

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Usage

1) Auto-organize downloads and optionally enhance images

python file_automation.py

• The script will print moves like:
  • C:\Users\...\Downloads\file.pdf → C:\Users\...\Documents\PDF\file.pdf
• If an image is encountered, you will see a prompt:
  • Do you want to edit <filename>? (yes/no)
  • Type yes to enhance or no to skip.

2) Batch enhance all images in a folder

python image_editor.py

• Enhances all .jpg, .jpeg, .png in the configured img folder.
• Overwrites files in place.

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Supported Extensions

• PDFs: .pdf
• Text: .txt
• Word: .doc, .docx
• Images: .jpg, .jpeg, .png
• Videos: .mp4, .mkv
• Music: .mp3, .wav

Add more by extending the if file.endswith(...) checks in file_automation.py.

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Notes & Warnings

• Image edits overwrite the original file. Back up if necessary.
• Close files before running to avoid PermissionError.
• Paths are user-specific; update them before running.
• Designed for Windows pathing. For macOS/Linux, adapt the paths and separators.

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Troubleshooting

• Permission denied: Ensure the file isn’t open in another program. Try running the shell as Administrator if needed.
• File not found: Confirm the source and destination paths exist and are correct.
• Pillow not found: Run pip install pillow in the active environment.
• Unicode/path issues: Keep the r"..." raw string prefix for Windows paths.

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Roadmap / Ideas

• Config file (e.g., config.json) to avoid hardcoded paths
• Create missing directories automatically
• Logging to file with timestamps
• Scheduler integration (Task Scheduler / cron)
• Cross-platform path handling
• Dry-run mode for previewing moves

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License

This project is currently unlicensed. Add your preferred license (e.g., MIT) if you plan to distribute.

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Credits

• Built with Python standard libraries: os, shutil
• Image processing by Pillow