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ProcessActivityView vs FileActivityWatch: catalog facts
ProcessActivityView	FileActivityWatch
Best for: Seeing which files a specific Windows program touches	Best for: Finding out which programs are reading, writing or deleting files on a Windows PC
Free Freeware from NirSoft, free to use and redistribute unmodified.	Free Freeware from NirSoft with no paid tier.
Windows	Windows
Per-file counts of opens, reads, writes and bytes Shows which DLL opened each file All 4 strengths for ProcessActivityView Per-file counts of opens, reads, writes and bytes Shows which DLL opened each file Can launch a process and trace it from the start Command-line options for scripted runs	Links each file operation to the process that made it Folder and drive summary modes All 4 strengths for FileActivityWatch Links each file operation to the process that made it Folder and drive summary modes Filters by filename wildcard and process name Command-line export to CSV, JSON, XML or HTML
The published requirements list versions through Windows 8 Injects a DLL into the inspected process All 3 limitations for ProcessActivityView The published requirements list versions through Windows 8 Injects a DLL into the inspected process Separate builds are needed for 32-bit and 64-bit targets	Requires running as Administrator Windows only
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Not open source
License: Freeware	License: Freeware
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for ProcessActivityView nirsoft.net/utils/process_activity_view.html Catalog checked October 8, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for FileActivityWatch nirsoft.net/utils/file_activity_watch.html Catalog checked October 8, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.