Choose the platform for the workload
WPF was selected after comparing Electron, Tauri and Python/Qt. Windows filesystem APIs, media support, async primitives and straightforward packaging suited the job, with zero external NuGet dependencies.
Supporting / Engineering case study
TheAnythingSorter
A native Windows app for sorting thousands of photos and videos by keyboard.
Local tool · Windows desktop
C# / .NET 7 / WPF / IAsyncEnumerable
1–9Move & advanceCtrl + ZUndo safely
A 20–30 second desktop recording will show the queue draining, one undo and the destination folders. The workflow above is a schematic, not a browser version.
01 / The problem
The problem
Sorting a large media collection by dragging files between folders is slow. Automating file moves also raises a harder question: what can the application safely promise about irreplaceable files?
02 / What I built
What I built
Import files or folders, preview the next item and press a number to move it to a destination. Focus mode keeps the workflow essentially keyboard-only. The queue persists across restarts; Ctrl+Z reverses a move using a collision-safe destination name.
03 / Architecture
Architecture
- Files / folders → iterative directory traversal
- IAsyncEnumerable → streaming queue
- Native media preview → number-key destination
- Move → auto-rename / skip / overwrite
- Persistent session → resume after restart
- Ctrl+Z → undo with auto-rename
04 / Key decisions
Key decisions
Discover incrementally
IAsyncEnumerable lets files appear before the full tree finishes scanning. Traversal is iterative; an individual permission or file failure does not abort the entire batch.
Undo must not destroy another file
Normal moves offer auto-rename, skip or overwrite. Undo always uses auto-rename, even when overwrite is selected for ordinary moves.
05 / What went wrong
What went wrong
Check the implementation behind a safety promise
- Problem
- The README originally claimed files were never permanently deleted.
- Why it happened
- Overwrite could irreversibly replace an existing destination file, while undo only remembered the moved file.
- How it was detected
- A safety review compared the documented guarantee with actual duplicate-handling and undo behaviour.
- Response
- The UX and documentation were corrected to explain the destructive consequence of overwrite. Safe undo does not recover the file that overwrite replaced.
- Lesson
- A safety guarantee is only useful when every relevant operation actually satisfies it.
06 / Evidence
Evidence
- Native .NET WPF implementation with zero external NuGet dependencies.
- Streaming discovery, isolated file failures and a persistent sorting queue.
- Explicit collision modes and auto-rename on undo.
07 / Current status & limitations
Current status & limitations
Local tool · Windows desktopLocal Windows application. No automated test suite currently. .NET 7 needs upgrading, and a large code-behind file remains instead of MVVM. A real screen recording is still needed for the portfolio.
Evidence basis: project implementation review and research notes supplied for this portfolio, September 2026. Project tests described here are distinct from the portfolio’s own checks.