How to filter files by date in an FTP client

Click the funnel button above a file tree in FTP by Zaweba and choose a date filter: Today, Last 7 days, Last 30 days, Last 12 months or Older than a year. The tree then shows only the files that match, with folders kept visible so you can see where they sit, and a summary says how many files matched.

Filtering by date answers the questions that come up every week on a website. What did I change today? What has anyone touched this month? Which of these files haven't been looked at in years?

Using the date filter

Each tree, local and server, has its own funnel button, so you can filter one side and not the other. Click it and pick a date range. The tree narrows to files modified in that range. Folders stay in place so the structure still makes sense, and the summary tells you the count.

The same funnel filters by name and by size. Name takes several terms separated by spaces, commas or semicolons, accepts wildcards such as *.php, and a term like .css matches an extension. Size offers Under 100 KB, 100 KB to 1 MB and Over 1 MB. Having all three in one place means a narrow question, such as which stylesheets changed this week, is a couple of clicks.

To see dates beside each file, turn on File Size and Date Columns. Sorting the tree helps too, and typing letters in a pane jumps to the matching item, Explorer style.

Good everyday uses

At the end of a day's work, filter the local tree to Today and you have a list of exactly what you changed, ready to check and upload. On the server side, Last 7 days shows what has changed on the live site recently, whether by you, a colleague or the site itself.

Older than a year is the tidy up filter. Combined with Over 1 MB on the server tree, it shows the large files that have sat untouched for a long time, which are often the first candidates when hosting space runs short.

When you want to act on recent files

Filtering shows you files; other tools in FTP by Zaweba act on them by date. Put Recent to Server uploads every local file changed in the last few minutes, hours or days, chosen by you, after showing the list. It is quick because it doesn't scan the server first. Get Recent from Server does the opposite, listing server files changed within an age you pick, newest first, so you can pick up what other people just uploaded. Only download newer is on by default there, leaving your newer copies alone.

For a full tidy up by age, Disk's Tag by can tag files modified more than so many days ago, or within so many days, across a whole scan, and act on them together.

Keeping the filter from confusing you

A filtered tree looks like a tree with missing files, which is the point but can catch you out later. Glance at the funnel button and the summary when something seems to have vanished, and clear the filter when you are done.

Dates on the server come from the server's clock. If a batch of files looks newer or older by a round number of hours than you expect, the server may be in a different time zone. FTP by Zaweba's newer-file warnings explain those offsets file by file when you Get or Put, which helps you trust what the filter is telling you.