diff --git a/R/monitor.R b/R/monitor.R
index 1052fa6..025eca8 100644
--- a/R/monitor.R
+++ b/R/monitor.R
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@
 #' @param file String, file path. Path to the R script to rerun when changes
 #' are detected.
 #' @param ext Character vector. File extensions to watch.
-#' Defaults to `c(".R", ".r")` files.
+#' "*" (the default) watches all files in `dir`.
 #' @param monitor_hidden Logical. Should hidden files be monitored for changes?
-#' Default is `FALSE`.
+#' Default is `TRUE`.
 #' Hidden files are those whose names start with a dot eg. `.Renviron`, `.env`,
 #' etc.
 #' This option is especially helpful when `ext = "*"`.
@@ -43,8 +43,6 @@
 #' rmon::monitor(
 #'   dir = ".",
 #'   file = "app.R",
-#'   ext = "*",
-#'   monitor_hidden = TRUE,
 #'   exclude_files = "dev.R",
 #'   exclude_dirs = "test"
 #' )
@@ -61,18 +59,20 @@
 monitor <- function(
     dir = getwd(),
     file,
-    ext = c(".R", ".r"),
-    monitor_hidden = FALSE,
+    ext = "*",
+    monitor_hidden = TRUE,
     exclude_files = NULL,
     exclude_patterns = NULL,
     exclude_dirs = NULL,
     delay = 1) {
-  file <- normalizePath(path = file.path(dir[[1]], file))
+  file <- normalizePath(path = file.path(dir[[1]], file[[1]]))
   if (!file.exists(file)) {
     msg <- sprintf("File '%s' not found!", file)
     stop(msg, call. = FALSE)
   }
 
+  patterns <- paste0(ext, "$", collapse = "|")
+
   now <- function() {
     format(Sys.time(), "%c")
   }
@@ -88,12 +88,6 @@ monitor <- function(
   )
 
   get_file_info <- function() {
-    patterns <- paste0(
-      "\\.",
-      gsub(pattern = "\\.", replacement = "", x = ext),
-      collapse = "|"
-    )
-
     files <- list.files(
       path = dir,
       pattern = patterns,
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 287b8c2..2f1bdb1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -38,16 +38,19 @@ rmon::monitor(
 
 ```r
 rmon::monitor(
-  dir = c(".", "path-to-another-dir"),
+  dir = c("path-to-first-dir", "path-to-another-dir"),
   file = "app.R"
 )
 ```
 
+if multiple directories are specified, `file` is assumed to be in the first
+directory.
+
 # specify extension watch list
 
-by default, `{rmon}` monitors only `.R` files in `dir` for changes.
+by default, `{rmon}` monitors all files in `dir` for changes.
 
-to watch `.R`, `.html`, `.css` and `.js` files:
+to watch only `.R`, `.html`, `.css` and `.js` files, set the `ext` parameter:
 
 ```r
 rmon::monitor(
@@ -57,10 +60,6 @@ rmon::monitor(
 )
 ```
 
-- `ext`: character vector. extensions to watch.
-
-specifying `ext = "*"` watches all files in `dir` for changes.
-
 # ignoring files
 
 to ignore the file `dev.R`, do:
@@ -73,31 +72,36 @@ rmon::monitor(
 )
 ```
 
-- `exclude_files`: character vector
-
-to ignore the directory `test/` as well:
+to ignore the directory `test/`:
 
 ```r
 rmon::monitor(
   dir = ".",
   file = "app.R",
-  exclude_files = "dev.R"
   exclude_dirs = "test"
 )
 ```
 
-to ignore all files whose names match the pattern `test` as well:
+to ignore all files whose names match the pattern `test`:
 
 ```r
 rmon::monitor(
   dir = ".",
   file = "app.R",
-  exclude_files = "dev.R"
-  exclude_dirs = c("test"),
   exclude_patterns = "test"
 )
 ```
 
+to ignore changes to hidden files, set `monitor_hidden = FALSE`:
+
+```r
+rmon::monitor(
+  dir = ".",
+  file = "app.R",
+  monitor_hidden = FALSE
+)
+```
+
 # delaying restarting
 
 in some situations, you may want to delay restarting until multiple files have changed.
diff --git a/man/monitor.Rd b/man/monitor.Rd
index 2e4161f..6df21cc 100644
--- a/man/monitor.Rd
+++ b/man/monitor.Rd
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@
 monitor(
   dir = getwd(),
   file,
-  ext = c(".R", ".r"),
-  monitor_hidden = FALSE,
+  ext = "*",
+  monitor_hidden = TRUE,
   exclude_files = NULL,
   exclude_patterns = NULL,
   exclude_dirs = NULL,
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ Defaults to the current working directory.}
 are detected.}
 
 \item{ext}{Character vector. File extensions to watch.
-Defaults to \code{c(".R", ".r")} files.}
+"*" (the default) watches all files in \code{dir}.}
 
 \item{monitor_hidden}{Logical. Should hidden files be monitored for changes?
-Default is \code{FALSE}.
+Default is \code{TRUE}.
 Hidden files are those whose names start with a dot eg. \code{.Renviron}, \code{.env},
 etc.
 This option is especially helpful when \code{ext = "*"}.}
@@ -67,8 +67,6 @@ The function runs indefinitely until interrupted.
 rmon::monitor(
   dir = ".",
   file = "app.R",
-  ext = "*",
-  monitor_hidden = TRUE,
   exclude_files = "dev.R",
   exclude_dirs = "test"
 )