Automate MFT supports wildcard and glob patterns to filter files during operations such as downloads, uploads, compression (ZIP), and encryption (PGP).

File filters can be applied to source selections (downloads), destination paths (uploads), and processing steps (ZIP, PGP).

Filters are entered in the File Filter text box, with each pattern on a separate line. You can combine multiple filters to build complex inclusion and exclusion logic. Exclusion patterns are always evaluated last.

When the Include subfolders option is enabled, Automate MFT scans all files within the specified source directory, including nested subdirectories. If no file globs are specified, Automate MFT will recurse through the folder structure and include all files from all subdirectories.

If your glob pattern only targets files, for example, *.txt, it will match files only in the top-level (root) directory, not in any subfolders.

To include files from subdirectories and also use a glob pattern, your pattern must explicitly indicate that intention. This is done by appending **/ before the file type, such as **/*.txt. This tells Automate MFT to search recursively through all folders and match files that meet the pattern.

Note: If you enable Include subfolders and do not specify any file globs, Automate MFT will recurse through the folder structure and include all files. However, if you enable Include subfolders and specify file wildcards, your glob pattern must also account for intermediate folders. For example, using **/*.txt to ensure files in subdirectories are matched as expected.

Pattern syntax

This table outlines supported wildcard and glob symbols.
Table 1. Pattern syntax
Pattern Description Example
* Matches any sequence of characters. taco* matches taco123, taco_report.txt
** Matches zero or more directories. **/*.txt matches .txt files in any folder
? Matches exactly one character, excluding the directory separator. abc? matches abcd, abce
[x] Matches a specific character. *.[ch] matches .c or .h files
{x} Matches specific strings, comma-separated. *.{gif,jpg} matches .gif or .jpg files
! Prefix to exclude a file. !*.txt excludes all .txt files
String literal No special symbol. Matches exact string. My-file.txt matches only My-file.txt
\ Escapes special symbols (,!?*[]{}) by preceding them with the \ symbol. \* matches a literal asterisk (*)
Table 2. Examples
Filter Result
*.log Includes all .log files in the root folder.
**/*.csv Includes all .csv files in all subfolders.
!*.tmp Excludes all .tmp files.
report_??.pdf Matches report_01.pdf, report_99.pdf.
*.{docx,xlsx} Matches .docx and .xlsx files.