Settings
Click "Auto-Cleanup Settings" to enter the customization settings.
Cleanup Frequency Settings
You can set the cleanup frequency to automatically perform a cleanup daily, every two days, or weekly. Click "Start Auto Cleanup" to initialize automatic cleanup.
If you want to change the cleanup frequency, you need to stop the automatic cleanup process before modifying it.
Add/Modify Rules
Click the "Add Folder" button to add a new cleanup rule. Each cleanup rule has the following options:
Folder:
Select the folder you wish to clean up.
File Types:
Specifies which types of files need to be cleaned up.
Validity period:
If the last time a file has been accessed exceeds its validity period, it will be deleted.
For example, if you set a 30-day validity period, files that have not been accessed within 30 days will be deleted. Calculation against the validity period is based on file access times, meaning whenever a file is opened or previewed even without modifying it, the access time of the file will be updated and will not be included in the cleanup list until you have not opened, previewed, or edited the file for 30 consecutive days.
Actions:
Select which cleanup action you want to use, move to Recycle Bin or permanent deletion.
If you choose permanent deletion, you will not be able to recover the cleaned files. Make sure you take appropriate backup measures.
Other Options
Under the "Auto-Cleanup Settings" page, select More Options to access additional option settings.
General Options:
You may have certain folders, such as project folders, that you wish to completely delete only after all files within the folder have exceeded their validity period, or preserve as long as any file has been accessed within its validity period.
You can set up such rules for folder integrity here:
If you choose "Remove expired files, preserve unexpired files."，expired files will be cleaned up and unexpired files will be kept, which is the simplest cleanup strategy.
If you choose "Preserve the entire parent folder."，the entire folder (the parent folder) is preserved as long as any file in the folder is not expired.
For example: Because "~/Downloads/project/docs/index.html" was recently accessed, the cleanup retains all the files in the "~/Downloads/project/docs" directory, regardless of whether other files within the folder have expired.
If you choose "Preserve the entire root folder."，the entire root folder is preserved as long as there are unexpired files present in a sub-folder.
For example: Because "~/Downloads/project/docs/index.html" was recently accessed, and your cleanup rule directory is "~/Downloads", the cleanup will preserve all files, subset of files, and sub-directories within the directory "~/Downloads/project". This option is the most prudent and ensures that your project files are fully preserved or cleaned up.
Energy Saving Options:
You can choose between Full Speed Scan Mode and Energy Saving Mode.
Hidden-File Options:
If checked, hidden files will also be cleaned up.
Auto-Unlock files and folders:
If files or folders are locked, AutoCleanFolder can automatically unlock them and clean them up.
Exclusion Options:
Here you can set up excluded directories that will never be automatically cleaned up.
Import/Export Settings
Click Export Settings to export your current settings, including all your cleanup rules and customization options.
Click Import Settings to import settings.