Ever see a product or idea and wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Or, “How has no one done this before? It seems so obvious.”
Or, “How have I ever lived without this?”
The Digital File Stapler is all of those and more. Much, much more.
It’s a Kickstarter project that was launched on June 18th with a tiny stretch goal of $660. At the time of writing, the campaign has less than 40 hours left until completion. But that isn’t exactly an issue, because it has currently raised $3,740. Not much by Kickstarter standards, but a heck of a lot more than it set out to raise. And a heck of a lot more than it needed.
“So what is the File Stapler?”
It’s an open source tool being developed by one person. This means that once the project is completed, it will be released for anyone to modify. This is possibly one of the reasons the project didn’t raise so much more money: There are no backer rewards that grant anyone any more access to the tool than anyone else will get. It’s also a very cool move by creator Peter Marigold, who said the idea for the project came for him when he noticed that he had numerous large files on his desktop filled with multiple programs that he would often seek to launch simultaneously. After a while, he decided this process was getting a little tedious, so he set out searching for a way to do it faster.
The File Stapler “Staples” any group of files together so that they occupy a single desktop icon. Now, when clicking on the icon, all files stapled will be launched simultaneously.
Marigold understands that there are other ways to do this: Tags, macros, and other computer wizardry can allow the tech-savvy to achieve the same goal as the File Stapler can. This is one of the reasons he decided not to charge for the tool. But he also feels that such a useful function that so many people could take advantage of should not be restricted only to the computer wizards of the world. That’s why he created the File Stapler.
As the project moves forward, Marigold has states that he wants to keep the tool tiny and simple, just like a real stapler. He notes that while many community members and backers have pretty good ideas of addons for the tool, he does not want them to come included with the download. Despite this, Marigold reassures backers that, although he doesn’t want the stapler to become too large and cumbersome to use, he is still “open to ideas”.
Backer rewards are cheap, with a $2.64 reward (Rewards are in Euros, USD translations are based on estimates provided by the Kickstarter website) allowing users to be among the first to use the tool. Upping your backing by another $1.32 will engrave your name forever in the stapler’s software package in addition to granting you a copy, ensuring you are always remembered as one of the generous folk who decided to donate to this little project.
The higher end rewards cap out at $66, and include anything from a discounted 30-pack of File Staplers, an office tour with Peter Marigold, and even an option where Marigold admits that he’s run out of ideas for what $66 should get you in terms of rewards. For this option, he asks the donator to suggest a reward, once again noting his openness so appeal to anyone willing to donate so much to his little project.
With the project ending very soon, the File Staplers should be arriving digitally to those who requested them quite shortly as well, though a date of digital delivery is not officially listed.
Featured Image Via Official File Stapler Kickstarter
Caroline Walker
July 31, 2018 at 3:37 am
What a cool invention, this would definitely be helpful now that we keep almost every part of our lives on the computer.