Tracking application use and file use

cognacc · 2010-03-31 16:02:58

Hi

I would like to hear if anyone knows of a "software"
That tracks which files are opened, and which applications are used.
Not just file names, but also there directory placing etc.

if possible it would be nice to know, which applications had which files opened.

I tried konqueror, which has this session restoration, but only when it crashes,
or you shutdown without closing. But the information is not complete enough with konqueror,
even though its a start(if it saved it always).

It would be nice with a history feature, that says on date that and that these files,apps were open.
And sorting after most recent opened files, apps.

Anybody know any program to do that?

It would be nice with a "modern" (for some value of) piece of software that could do that.
Forexample an extension to konqueror.

# Reason for wanting this
I often write a lot of "notes", uses many different applications,
and often work in many different folders, with many different filetypes.

Furthermore i have a very bad memory, and sometimes an idea slips, while i look for the place i done previous
work, sketches, notes about the idea.

regards mic

briest · 2010-03-31 18:05:21

I believe I saw something like this discussed among Gnome team, but unfortunately I do not remember details; anyhow, it was not probably implemented yet. Maybe try incron instead; it won't work as a Konqueror extension, but will react on file operations, and you can write little script to log them to a file.

Another option is auditd, powerful but much more complicated to setup.

ijanos · 2010-03-31 18:24:20

run lsof from cron every 5 minutes, save its output and hack together a script which caluclates what you need

Daenyth · 2010-03-31 19:03:13

Maybe try using strigi or spotlight to help organize your notes if that's your concern. Or learn to keep a good directory structure

cognacc · 2010-04-05 18:54:26

Thanks.

i test the different solutions, later.

I hoped to do as little work as possible. ....

But Daenyth, aren't you a bit naughty??, suggesting i'm not very well organized.
Well that's probably spot on , but i try already, to keep a good dir structure.
And i do much myself to stay ordered, but it irritates me much that it takes focus away from my thoughts about ideas and implementation && stuff.

Maybe the problem is i have several good directory structures, for different things.

Anyway the problem is greatest on a computer, my papers organisation is ok, because i can
touch them and see them as real life objects, which helps my mind to remember(visual and touch feedback).
But the computer doesn't give me this feedback,
Which give me trouble remembering where i put stuff. and this could be mitigated by such an application.

lsof might be ok but i would like to have it integrated in an application. also this is where integration
is key, to get an effective work flow.
I thought about using *stat myself, but didn't get around to really looking at it. (meaning i wrote here to see if other people have similar problems/wants/wishes).

Anyone else thinks something like this would be a a good idea, or should i just get a better brain? ...

PS: my life is now pretty good with OpenBox + Devilspie + Pytyle + Konqueror.
This thing would be the last step up to utopia/nirvana . i would be able to work blazingly fat.

minimal · 2011-01-06 14:25:37

I too have been looking for a similar tool/way to be able to tell which files were read/written/executed most recently (but for different reasons).

My theory is that if I open and use all the applications currently installed on my laptop and upgrade frequently, I should be able to tell exactly which binaries, config files, etc are vital to arch (for OS, upgrade and app use). Therefore, the files that have not been r/w/x in the last month, I *should* be able to assume that these are unnecessary and can delete these safely..!?

My current tactic to eliminate bloat from my PC is to upgrade repos and AUR. I then go through the suggested updated packages to be updated and carefully analyse which programs I really still use and which have been leftover from previous experimentation and therefore no longer needed. Doing this very gradually is best to avoid strange symptoms when I accidentally 'pacman -Rsn package' something that was really necessary but I did not realise.. I also use pacgraph and bleachbit which helps performance.

Unfortunately, my current system cleaning method does not include .pkg-config files which build up in my home directory over time and it becomes really time-consuming to work out which files were created as part of an app install and can be safely deleted.

So, could the tools already mentioned in this thread help me thoroughly clean my laptop of unnecessary files..? I realise this isn't strictly what the author of this thread was after but his question is exactly what I am looking to answer. Surely someone out there has done this already..

thanks,

Arch Linux

#1 2010-03-31 16:02:58

Tracking application use and file use

#2 2010-03-31 18:05:21

Re: Tracking application use and file use

#3 2010-03-31 18:24:20

Re: Tracking application use and file use

#4 2010-03-31 19:03:13

Re: Tracking application use and file use

#5 2010-04-05 18:54:26

Re: Tracking application use and file use

#6 2011-01-06 14:25:37

Re: Tracking application use and file use

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