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Install FileMate

FileMate needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on an Apple silicon or Intel Mac.

1. After you buy FileMate, download the disk image (a .dmg file) and open it.
2. Drag FileMate to the Applications folder.
3. Open FileMate from Applications. macOS asks whether you want to open an app downloaded from the internet. Click Open.
4. FileMate’s setup opens. Paste your licence, from your purchase page or confirmation email, and click Activate FileMate. This needs an internet connection once; after that FileMate works offline.
5. Click Allow File Access. macOS asks about your Desktop, Documents and Downloads folders, iCloud Drive and any connected drive, one at a time: click Allow for each.
6. Turn on the Finder extension: setup shows where, and moves on by itself once it’s on.

Turn on the Finder extension

macOS has you turn on Finder extensions yourself, once. In FileMate’s setup, click Open System Settings and turn on FileMate. FileMate Settings › General has the same button, Open Extensions Settings, and shows whether the extension is on.

To find the switch yourself:

• macOS 15 Sequoia and later: System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions. Find FileMate under Extensions and turn it on.
• macOS 14 Sonoma: System Settings › Privacy & Security › Extensions › Added Extensions, then select FileMate.

Use an action

1. Select one or more files in Finder.
2. Right-click (or Control-click) and choose FileMate.
3. Choose an action.

To create a new file or save the clipboard as a file, right-click an empty part of a folder window instead of a file.

Actions that end in “…” open a small window first, for the order of files or a video’s timing. Everything else starts at once.

Longer work shows in a small window at the top right, without taking the focus from Finder: what FileMate is doing, roughly how long is left, and Cancel. Closing the window doesn’t stop the work; Cancel does, and leaves no file behind. When the job is done, the window shows the result briefly and FileMate selects the new file if Finder is in front. If something needs your attention, the result stays until you close it.

Rather not see the window? Turn off Show progress while working in Settings › General; a notification then says when the work is done.

To add a FileMate button to Finder’s toolbar, choose View › Customize Toolbar in Finder and drag the button in. In FileMate Settings › Finder Menu you can hide actions, change their order, or show them directly in the right-click menu.

Where results are saved

Every result is a new file in the same folder as the original. FileMate never changes or replaces the original file.

If that name is taken, FileMate picks another one, such as Report converted.pdf or Interview compressed 2.mp4. The windows for merging and making videos let you type a name. In Settings › Naming you can change the words FileMate adds and choose a number, the date, or the date and time for names that are taken.

Supported formats

FileMate saves PDFs, MP4 video (HEVC or H.264), M4A audio (AAC or Apple Lossless), and JPEG, PNG, HEIC, TIFF or WebP images.

Not supported: older Word, Excel and PowerPoint files (.doc, .xls, .ppt), password-protected documents, and Pages, Numbers and Keynote files. To convert an older Office file, open it in Pages, Numbers, Keynote or Microsoft Office and save it as .docx, .xlsx or .pptx first.

Files FileMate leaves alone

When processing a file could lose part of it, FileMate leaves the file as it is and says why. This happens with:

• copy-protected audio and video;
• HDR, spatial (3D) and transparent video, and video with subtitles, chapters or several audio tracks, when compressing or merging;
• signed, encrypted and password-protected PDFs, when compressing, and archival (PDF/A), tagged and XFA-form PDFs at Safe and Stronger;
• animated images, when converting;
• password-protected Office documents, Office documents over 150 MB, and documents that would need more than 5,000 PDF pages for a workbook or 2,000 for Word and PowerPoint;
• signed, encrypted, tagged and archival (PDF/A) PDFs, password-protected Office documents, animated images, and video with subtitles, chapters or timecode, when removing metadata.

Compressing starts at Safe. If a file could get smaller still, its result asks “Want a smaller file?” and offers Stronger or Maximum, with a word about what each gives up; nothing stronger runs unless you choose it. A compressed copy that wouldn’t be smaller isn’t saved.

Processing time depends on the file and your Mac. Videos and documents are handled one at a time. A document conversion that stops making progress, or runs longer than 10 minutes plus 5 seconds per megabyte of its unpacked contents (an hour at most), is stopped without saving anything.

Permissions

During setup, Allow File Access asks macOS once for each place FileMate works with: your Desktop, Documents and Downloads folders, iCloud Drive and any connected drive; click Allow. External and network drives that weren’t connected then are asked about the first time FileMate uses one. Without access, FileMate can’t read the files or save the result. FileMate Settings › File Access shows each folder’s status: Allow asks ahead of time, and Grant Access opens System Settings › Privacy & Security › Files and Folders for a folder you refused.

Newer versions of macOS may also ask before FileMate reads the clipboard, when you choose Paste Clipboard as File.

Troubleshooting

FileMate isn’t in the right-click menu

1. Make sure FileMate is in the Applications folder and you’ve opened it once.
2. Check that the Finder extension is on, as in Turn on the Finder extension.
3. Relaunch Finder: hold Option, Control-click Finder in the Dock and choose Relaunch.
4. If there are other copies of FileMate on your Mac, for example in Downloads, delete them and relaunch Finder.

Some early releases of macOS 15 Sequoia have no switch for Finder extensions in System Settings. If you can’t find FileMate there, update macOS.

An action I expected isn’t in the menu

FileMate only shows actions that work for everything you selected. If you select a video and a PDF together, for example, the video and PDF actions don’t appear. Select files of one kind instead.

New File and Paste Clipboard as File appear when you right-click the background of a folder, not a file. They’re not offered in Recents or search results. An action may also be turned off in Settings › Finder Menu.

The menu only says “Activate FileMate…”

FileMate isn’t activated on this Mac yet. Choose Activate FileMate…, paste your licence and click Activate FileMate. Your licence is on your purchase page, which the link in your confirmation email opens.

The menu says “FileMate Isn’t Set Up Correctly”

The Finder extension can’t reach the FileMate app, so its actions aren’t available. Reinstalling usually fixes it: quit FileMate, drag a fresh copy from the disk image to Applications, open it, then relaunch Finder.

A converted document looks different

FileMate has its own converter and uses the fonts on your Mac, so a PDF can differ from what Microsoft Office would make. Fonts your Mac doesn’t have are replaced with similar ones, for example Calibri with Helvetica Neue. Other known differences:

• Word: text boxes and floating shapes may move into the text or be left out; multi-column sections become one column; comments aren’t shown.
• Excel: number and date formats show the text stored in the file; cell borders, print areas and page setup aren’t used, and light gridlines are drawn instead of borders; charts use a standard look.
• PowerPoint: SmartArt, shadows, 3D effects, audio and video aren’t shown, and freeform shapes are drawn as rectangles.

Report a problem

Click Report a Problem… in FileMate Settings › About. It starts an email, or copies text for you to paste, with your FileMate version, macOS version, whether your Mac has Apple silicon or Intel, and whether the Finder extension is on. It never includes file names or documents, and nothing is sent until you send it. Add what you did and what happened.

You can also write to rahv.labs@proton.me.

Uninstall

1. Turn off the Finder extension in System Settings, in the same place you turned it on.
2. If FileMate’s Settings window is open, quit FileMate.
3. Move FileMate from Applications to the Trash.

FileMate keeps its settings and a short job history in a folder in ~/Library/Group Containers. Delete that folder too if you want to remove them.

Its licence stays in your keychain, so reinstalling FileMate on this Mac doesn’t use another activation. To remove it too, delete the FileMate licence items in Keychain Access.

Questions

Does FileMate work offline?

Yes. After activating once on your Mac, every action works without an internet connection, and FileMate never checks your licence online again.

How do I update FileMate?

Open FileMate and click Check for Updates… in Settings › General. To have FileMate look for a new version about once a month, turn on Automatically check for updates there. Nothing is installed unless you choose to.

How many Macs can I use FileMate on?

Your licence activates FileMate on up to 3 Macs. Updating or reinstalling FileMate on a Mac that’s already activated doesn’t use another one. Lost your licence? It’s on your purchase page, which the link in your confirmation email opens.

Can I choose where results are saved?

No. Results always go in the same folder as the originals.

Do I need Microsoft Office to convert documents?

No. The converter is part of FileMate.

Is it a subscription?

No. FileMate is a one-time purchase.