Watchdog & Safety

FinalPlace monitors folders you specify, but never touches critical system files. This article explains FinalPlace’s safety mechanisms.

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Scope: You Decide

Each rule specifies which folders to monitor independently.

FinalPlace does not auto-monitor your entire computer — only the directories you explicitly tell it to watch.

You can monitor:

C:\Users\YourName\Desktop        ✓ Your desktop
C:\Users\YourName\Downloads      ✓ Downloads folder
D:\Work                          ✓ Your own folders

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The Watchdog: Two Layers of Protection

FinalPlace has a built-in “watchdog” — automatic protection you never need to configure.

Layer 1: Dangerous Extension Protection

Executable and system config files like exe, dll, and sys are blocked only when they are in system directories. These files in your normal user directories are unaffected and can be processed by rules normally.

Layer 2: System Directory Protection

FinalPlace automatically protects these directories from all rules:

Directory	Description
C:\Windows	Windows system directory
C:\Program Files	Program installation directory
AppData directory	FinalPlace’s own data directory

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No Infinite Loops

FinalPlace has anti-loop protection. This won’t happen:

Desktop rule: PDF → Documents folder
Documents rule: All files → Desktop
Result: File bounces back and forth...

Anti-loop mechanisms:

• If a file is already in a rule’s destination folder, FinalPlace won’t move it again
• The same file won’t be processed twice by the same rule within 5 seconds

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Office Temp Files Are Skipped Automatically

Word and Excel create temporary files starting with ~$ while a document is open.

FinalPlace automatically ignores these files — it will never move or delete a file that’s currently open in Office.

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What If a File Is In Use?

When a file is being used by another program, FinalPlace:

1. Skips it and waits for the program to release it
2. Retries later, up to 3 attempts
3. Records the failure and tells you which file couldn’t be processed

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Where Is Your Data?

All FinalPlace configuration files and logs stay on your computer — nothing is uploaded:

C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\FinalPlace\

AppData is a hidden Windows system folder. FinalPlace’s own data lives here, and your rules never touch this directory.

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Summary: What FinalPlace Won’t Do

FinalPlace won’t…	Explanation
Touch system files	Blocked in system directories only, normal user directories unaffected
Touch Windows directories	C:\Windows is absolutely safe
Touch AppData	FinalPlace’s own data is excluded from rules
Permanently delete	Defaults to Recycle Bin, never direct delete
Upload your files	Everything runs locally, nothing goes to the cloud
Process open files	Files open in Office are left untouched