Blober Path Templates: Organize Files During Transfer

A file transfer usually answers two questions: what should move, and where it should go. Blober adds a third: what destination path each file gets.

Copy a disorganized source without thinking about paths and you get a disorganized backup. A bucket holding clip001.mp4, invoice.pdf, DSC_4821.ARW and years of nested project folders can be copied exactly as it is, filtered to a useful subset, or rearranged into a new structure while it moves.

A path template is a destination rule that mixes ordinary folder text with variables such as {file_ext}, {file_created_date} and {filename}. Blober fills it in separately for every matching file to get that file's relative destination path.

media/{file_ext}/{file_created_date}/{filename}

For a video named GX015742.MP4 with a reported creation date of July 18, 2026, the relative result is:

media/MP4/2026-07-18/GX015742.MP4

If the selected destination folder is studio-archive, the full destination is:

studio-archive/media/MP4/2026-07-18/GX015742.MP4

The organizing happens as part of the copy or move, with no separate organizer, database, script or integration platform.

Path setup takes three numbered sections of the workflow editor. For the step-by-step app reference, see the Workflows guide.

Choose the source provider, authenticate it, then click Browse Files and Folders. You can select individual files, multiple files, folders, or an entire storage root when the provider supports it.

If at least one folder is selected, Advanced Filters (Optional) appears. It can restrict files by:

• File extension
• Created-date range
• File-size range
• Whether subdirectories are included
• Include glob pattern
• Exclude glob pattern

The selection sets where Blober looks, and the filters decide which files inside that scope qualify.

Choose the destination provider and Select Destination Folder. Once the destination is complete, expand Advanced Path Template (Optional).

Whatever you type in the Template Pattern field goes below the destination folder. Click a variable in the list under the field to add it, and Blober shows an example output while you edit.

The preview shows the active filters, the destination template, the source items and the expected destination paths, so you can see what a path rule does before any file moves.

Check it every time. A template can flatten a hierarchy, split files into new folders or rename every destination file, and the preview is where you confirm the rule does what you meant.

Leave Advanced Path Template empty and keep Include Subdirectories enabled. Blober automatically keeps the relative directory structure beneath the selected folder.

Selected folder:

Projects/
  Client-A/
    Final/
      film.mp4

Destination result:

Client-A/Final/film.mp4

This is the right mode for a faithful backup, and it needs no template.

Enter {filename} as the template. Every file lands directly in the destination folder, without its relative source folders. Unticking Include Subdirectories is different: it leaves out the files in nested folders altogether.

This helps when you collect documents into one destination. Files with the same name from different source folders may then target the same destination name, so check the preview carefully.

Enter a path template, and the template decides the whole relative destination path. Blober stops adding the source folders automatically.

This is easy to miss. The template

{file_created_date}/{filename}

organizes by date and drops the source subfolders.

To keep relative source folders inside a custom path, include {file_dir}:

{file_created_date}/{file_dir}/{filename}

Read the {file_dir} guide before relying on it. Its value depends on whether you selected a file or a folder, and on how deep the file sits below that folder.

Each variable is filled in from file metadata. Blober does not look at an image to work out a client, location or subject, so if Client-A is not in a selected path, a filename or another variable, no template can produce it.

Suppose the destination folder is:

Archive

The selected source folder is:

Shoots

and one matching file is:

Shoots/Wedding-2026/Camera-A/DSC_4821.ARW

For that file:

{file_dir} = Wedding-2026/Camera-A
{filename} = DSC_4821.ARW
{filename_no_ext} = DSC_4821
{file_ext} = ARW

This template:

originals/{file_dir}/{filename}

produces:

Archive/originals/Wedding-2026/Camera-A/DSC_4821.ARW

This template:

by-type/{file_ext}/{filename}

produces:

Archive/by-type/ARW/DSC_4821.ARW

The second template drops the source folders because it has no {file_dir}.

Filters decide whether a file takes part. Variables decide where a file that takes part lands.

For example:

Include pattern: **/*.{jpg,png}
Exclude pattern: **/thumbnails/**
Template: images/{file_created_date}/{filename}

The include pattern rejects non-image extensions. The exclude pattern removes thumbnails. The path template organizes the remaining files by creation date.

Keeping the two apart makes a workflow easier to follow:

1. Select a source boundary.
2. Filter the files inside it.
3. Build the destination path for each match.
4. Preview.
5. Copy or move.

Path templates use the metadata that the source provider or filesystem supplies, and backends don't all describe dates and sizes the same way.

• A cloud object may only expose its upload or modification time, not the camera's original capture time.
• Access time may be unavailable or unhelpful on object storage.
• An unknown file size becomes NO_SIZE or NO_SIZE_MB when used in a template.
• {file_size_mb} creates an exact numeric folder such as 142.53. It does not sort files into categories such as small or large.
• File extensions come from filenames. Blober does not inspect contents, so a misleading extension is taken at face value.

A template can only use what the source reports. Use the preview to see the real metadata from the selected source.

Use Copy when:

• Creating a backup
• Testing a new destination structure
• Building a second organized library
• Keeping the source as the working location

Use Move when:

• The destination has been verified
• The source should be cleaned up
• Files are being retired from expensive active storage

A move deletes the source after a successful transfer. For any new path rule, run a representative copy first.

Blober can also reorganize files between supported locations on the same provider, as long as source and destination don't overlap. The destination can't sit inside the selected source tree, so choose a separate folder, bucket, container or account.

1. Create a new workflow and choose Copy.
2. Select one folder containing several levels, file types, and sizes.
3. Choose a separate destination folder.
4. Enter {file_ext}/{file_dir}/{filename}.
5. Inspect every example in Preview & Summary.
6. Save and run the workflow.
7. Verify the actual destination before scaling up.

The test shows how your source provider reports dates, extensions, sizes and relative folders. Once the output is correct, the same saved workflow can handle a much larger selection.

What variables can I use in a Blober path template? {current_date} and {current_datetime}, the created, modified and accessed date and datetime variables, {filename}, {filename_no_ext}, {file_ext}, {file_size}, {file_size_mb} and {file_dir}.

Does a custom template keep my source folders? Only if it includes {file_dir}. Once you enter a template, Blober stops adding the source folders automatically.

Can a template sort files by client or by what is in a photo? Only when that information is already in a path, a filename or another variable. Blober does not look inside an image to work out a client, location or subject.

Should I test a new template with Copy or Move? Copy. A move deletes the source after a successful transfer, so run a representative copy and check the destination first.

• How {file_dir} Really Works
• File Selection and Glob Include/Exclude Filters
• Organize Files by Created, Modified, Accessed, or Current Date
• Organize Files by Type and Extension
• Filter and Organize Files by Size
• Organize Blob Storage Without Advanced Search
• Media and Professional File-Organization Workflows
• Copy As-Is, Organize During Backup, or Reorganize With Move