Change Which Folder a File Type Goes To (DeskOrg Rules)

DeskOrg decides where each file goes from a small rules file. You can change it in Notepad in a minute.

Open the rules

1. Open DeskOrg and click Rules & Settings.
2. Click Edit saved rules. The rules open in Notepad.

The file is DeskOrgRules.json in your profile (%LOCALAPPDATA%\DeskOrg), so your changes survive updates and reinstalls.

Common changes

• Send a type to another folder: find its line, for example ".csv": "Spreadsheets",, and change the folder name: ".csv": "Reports",.
• Add a type: add a line inside "Extensions", such as ".epub": "Books",. The folder is created the first time a file needs it.
• Protect a type (never move it): add it to the "ProtectedExtensions" list, for example ".psd",.
• Leave unknown types on the desktop: change "UnknownFileBehavior": "Other Files" to "UnknownFileBehavior": "Leave".

Save in Notepad (Ctrl + S), go back to DeskOrg and click Refresh configuration status.

If it doesn’t work

• Rules seem ignored after editing: the file must stay valid JSON. Every line in a list ends with a comma except the last, every name is in "double quotes", and extensions start with a dot and are lowercase.
• Broke the file? Close Notepad, delete DeskOrgRules.json from %LOCALAPPDATA%\DeskOrg, and open DeskOrg again: it creates a fresh copy with the default rules.

Get DeskOrg free from deskorg.niveshsahayak.in, and see the DeskOrg user guide.

Still stuck?

Contact support. Tell us which tool or page you were using, what you tapped, what you saw, and your phone or computer and browser (for example: Android phone, Chrome). We reply by email.