Moving folders · Rules and Auto Rules
Will a Move by age rule move files I still open but never edit?
Short answer: No. Move by age rules also check macOS's own record of recently opened files and leave those in place even if they're old. If macOS has no record, the rule falls back to the age alone — it only ever moves less, never more.
No. A Move by age rule uses the age you set, but it also asks macOS's own index which files you've opened recently and keeps those where they are, even if they're old. So a reference PDF you view every week, or a film you rewatch, isn't moved just because you haven't edited it.
It's a best-effort refinement: if macOS hasn't recorded when a file was last opened, the rule falls back to the age alone. It only ever moves less than before, never more. And anything that does move leaves a link, so it still opens in place while the drive is connected.