FAQs: NXPowerLite Server (includes Watched Folders)

NXPowerLite works by replacing original documents and images with smaller versions in each of your configured folders which will reclaim space. It has two integral parts: A Windows service in the background to process the files and a Dashboard to configure how and what folders or drives are processed.

On average, NXPowerLite will process around 300GB of data in 24 hours. Many factors will affect the performance and more details on this are available in the support article: Performance tips: Configure NXPowerLite Server for speed.

By default, NXPowerLite will replace files with smaller versions and without configuring it will not watch configured folders and compress any new files that arrive. However, it is possible to configure it to rescan the configured folders every minute. That way it will effectively reduce any file that arrives in the folder within one minute. To configure it in this way please see Configure NXPowerLite Server to Watch Folders for a detailed explanation.

The simple answer to this is no. NXPowerLite is unable to save the compressed file to another folder, it will simply replace the original file with a smaller, compressed version. It is also possible to use NXPowerLite SDK to build this feature into your custom workflow, including saving files to another folder.

NXPowerLite can be installed on any of the following Windows operating systems with .NET v4.5.2 installed:

Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2016
Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2022
Windows Vista
Windows 7
Windows 8/8.1
Windows 10
Windows 11

Yes. While NXPowerLite needs to be installed on a Windows Operating System, it can optimize content on any network device in the Windows domain. It has been used successfully with every SAN and NAS device that we have seen so far.

NXPowerLite can optimize the following types of files with the following extensions:

Microsoft PowerPoint 97-2003 binary format (.ppt, .pot, .pps)
Microsoft PowerPoint 2007-2021  (& M365) Open XML format (.pptx, .pptm, .potx, .potm, .ppsx, .ppsm)
Microsoft Word 97-2003 binary format (.doc, .dot)
Microsoft Word 2007 - 2021  (& M365) Open XML format (.docx, .docm, .dotx, .dotm)
Microsoft Excel 97-2003 binary format (.xls, .xlt)
Microsoft Excel 2007-2021 (& M365) Open XML format (.xlsx, .xlsm, .xltx, .xltm)
PDF documents (.pdf)
JPEG images (.jpeg, .jpg, .jpe, .jfif, .jif, .jfi)
PNG images (.png)
TIFF files (.tiff, .tif)

By its nature, NXPowerLite will change a lot of files, especially in its initial pass-through of the data. This means that it will start a lot of activity with any active scanning software such as anti-virus or backup. This will improve over time as the number of changes to files reduces.

NXPowerLite does not remove duplicate files or compress files. It works on pre-compressed files like user documents and images that typically don't respond as well to deduplication or compression. It looks for 'waste' within those files, which it strips out completely. This leaves you with smaller source files, which should then amplify the effect of your deduplication. For more detailed information Read more about NXPowerLite's compression.

If a folder, drive or volume has compression or deduplication enabled on it prior to NXPowerLite being run over the files, it is likely that the reports you see in NXPowerLite showing space reclaimed do not tally with Windows Explorer. With either compression or deduplication enabled, there is not a simple relationship between the sizes of the files (as perceived by applications) and the amount of used/free disk space.

For example, let's say you have a 100MB volume with compression enabled, containing just one 20MB file that's actually taking up 10MB of space (because it's compressed). Windows will report the used space as 10MB and the free space as 90MB, but the file size will show up as 20 MB. If NXPowerLite then optimises it to 5MB, it'll report that it saved 15MB but let's say the new file doesn't compress as well as the original did and the compressed size is 4MB. Windows will report used space as 4MB and free space as 96MB. So based on comparing the amount of free space on the volume before and after, it looks like it's gone from 90MB to 96MB (a saving of 6MB) but NXPowerLite reported a saving of 15MB.

Yes. Paste a list of folder paths in the Add Multiple Folders... dialog.

Yes. NXPowerLite Server can limit the files it processes by modified date by using custom Files to include profiles. You can include or exclude files within a certain time period related to the file's modified date. Read more about custom Files to include profiles.

Yes. If you cannot add a folder or drive with the simple folder browser, it is possible to enter any UNC path using our Add Multiple folders... feature. Here you can enter multiple paths to the content you want to optimize. Read more about adding network drives.

Yes. There is a highly configurable in-built scheduling feature, or it is possible to use the Windows task manager to pause or resume the NXPowerLite. Read more about scheduling.

NXPowerLite uses a small database to track every file of a supported type that it tries to compress. Some files will be compressed successfully and others not but both types will have a reference in the database. However, if a file is encountered again it will be matched in the database and then skipped quickly to save the effort of trying to re-optimize. To review all the already compressed files and folders see How to check file and folder history.

NXPowerLite also inserts a very small amount of metadata into each successfully compressed file which means next time any NXPowerLite product comes across it they can skip it safely. We call this metadata a 'Tag' and it contains data about how the file was compressed and the size of the optimized file. 

Files will be shared with others and moved within file systems and inserting a Tag into the file means that it does not get lost and travels with the file. Adding a Tag does increase the size of the file very slightly but the total size of the Tag data is less than 100 bytes. Read more NXPowerLite tags.

NXPowerLite works hard to ensure that files look like they remain untouched. After processing, files will have the same Last access and last modified date, along with all the metadata that the original file contained. 

NXPowerLite can update the last modified date/time of files it processes, just enable the setting in the Preferences dialog.

NXPowerLite should work seamlessly with files that have been through an OCR process. NXPowerLite does not change any of the font data so there is little chance of it interfering with the OCR process.

Typically digital cameras optimize image compression for speed when photos are taken. NXPowerLite decompresses each image and then recompresses it with an algorithm best suited for size. NXPowerLite allows you to adjust the JPEG quality but with the default setting of 8 (or 7 for NXPowerLite Desktop), it will reduce by 50-60% in size without any visible differences. You can zoom in to around 300-400% without noticing any difference. JPEG quality can be adjusted independently for standalone images and also images within PDF or office files. For more information read How JPEG Compression Works.

Offline Files is a feature of Sync Center (Windows Feature) that makes network files available to a user, even if the network connection to the server is unavailable. Users can use offline files (if enabled) to make their network files always available offline to keep a copy of the files stored on the network on their computer. This allows users to work with them even when they are not connected to the network or a server is unavailable. The next time the user connects to the network or the server is available, their offline files on your computer will automatically sync to the network files on the server to update.

NXPowerLite skips these files because the compression process makes fundamental changes to the file and could cause issues with the syncing process. Once files are marked as online (by the user connecting to the network) then the files will be compressed by NXPowerLite.

You should be able to see where these files reside by reviewing the logs files located here:

%ProgramData%\Neuxpower\NXPowerLite for File Servers v10\Logs

File Optimization technology is designed to avoid negatively affecting document compliance obligations. The technology simply makes imperceptible visual trade-offs to reduce file size. The primary focus is ensuring embedded media (photos, graphics etc) are stored in the documents efficiently, while unseen background data is purged from the files. File Optimization sets out to maintain the visual integrity of the content so at all times optimized files should be indistinguishable from the originals by the human eye.

We encourage you to check the compliance requirements of your industry carefully and if there is any need for further clarification on what File Optimization does to files do get in touch.

“Before rolling out NXPowerLite, I ran it past the council’s legal team and there have been no compliance issues with using the software. Physically, the results look exactly the same to the naked eye – something that is critical when dealing with court documents.”
Neil Harvey, Server Support and Development Officer for Caerphilly County Council

Files compressed by NXPowerLite will be indistinguishable from the original just smaller; they stay in the same file format with the same name and file extension, and the timestamp will remain untouched (unless the option to update it is enabled).