Disk Recon 14.1

File Monitor

The File Monitor watches a folder in real time and records every change that occurs — file creations, deletions, modifications, and renames. Unlike the other Disk Recon tabs that scan a folder once and stop, the File Monitor runs continuously until you press Stop.

What It Monitors

Select which event types to track using the checkboxes in the left panel. All options are enabled by default:

File created — a new file appeared in the monitored folder.
File deleted — a file was removed.
File modified — the contents or attributes of a file changed.
File renamed — a file was given a new name.
Folder created — a new subfolder was created.
Folder deleted — a subfolder was removed.
Folder renamed — a subfolder was renamed.

How to Use It

Select the folder to monitor in the Control Panel.
Choose whether to monitor subfolders recursively.
Select which event types to track.
Press Start. Events appear in the result grid as they happen, with timestamp, event type, and full file path.
Press Stop when you are done monitoring.

Disk Recon file monitor showing real-time folder changes

Typical Uses

Watching a folder for unexpected file activity (e.g. a process writing temp files).
Auditing a shared folder to see which files are being created or changed.
Verifying that a backup or synchronisation job is copying the right files.
Troubleshooting an application by seeing exactly which files it reads or writes during startup.

How Event Types Interact

Each event type is independent — Windows reports them separately and Disk Recon records them as distinct events:

Renaming a file generates a File renamed event only, not a File modified event. Disabling "File modified" will not suppress renames.
Saving a file typically triggers a File modified event. Some applications delete and recreate files on save, which generates a File deleted followed by a File created event instead.
On very busy folders (e.g. a temp directory during a large build), the event list can grow to thousands of rows quickly. Use the filter checkboxes to narrow down to the event types you care about before starting the monitor.

Additional Info

Reporting — Export the event log to XLS, HTML, TXT, CSV, or XML at any time while monitoring or after stopping.