Macintosh Tip #6
Finding Files
Why it’s Called the Finder
In a previous article we covered the parts of the Finder and how to use it. So why is this thing called the Finder? We use the Finder to find and open files and documents. One way to find files is to remember where you put them. This makes it more like the real world. You buy file cabinets, and folders. Label the folders and drawers and hope you remember where you put things. Then there is the time you can’t find the file, and the only search method is to keep looking. This is where the virtual world shines. The Macintosh has long had the ability to search for files using various criteria, now with Spotlight (in 10.4 and later versions), you can even search inside of documents.
The first way to find files is the search field in every Finder window.
Search Field in Finder WindowAs you start to type in this field the Finder and Spotlight go to work. By default Spotlight will search the entire computer for any file that contains the word you enter. The more text you enter, the shorter the list gets. There are many ways to narrow the search and make it easier to find what you are looking for. First, take a look directly below the search field. When you started typing a new section appeared. On the left side you will see “This Mac” and some other text (in my example it is “for blog”). This second selection is the name of the current folder. This allows you to narrow your search, before you even start. Just select the folder you wish to search in before you start to type. Then as you start to type the search term, click the name of the folder. You can also set a Finder preference to have the folder selected by default.
Advanced Pane of Finder Preferences
Select Finder>Preferences, then click the Advanced tab. At the bottom of the dialog box is a pop-up menu. There are choices for searching the entire computer (Search This Mac), searching the Current Folder, or using which ever setting you last chose while searching.
One often overlooked search tool is the File Name selection. If you know what you actually named the file, clicking on “File Name” will give a much shorter list of results to sort through. In fact, some times this simple selection will find files that don’t show up at all when searching the contents.
Sorting the Results
There is another single click option that will help you choose the file from the list that is returned. That is simply that you can sort the results by various parameters. Just click the header of the column you wish to sort on. A second click will reverse the sort order (there is a small triangle on the right side of the header designating which direction it is sorted). By default, the Finder provides three columns of information for you to sort on.
Default Sorting Columns
You can expand the number of columns by changing the view options for the search window. Select Show View Options (command-J), from the view menu.
View Options
Here you can add or change various columns. Particularly useful are the Date Created and Date Modified columns. Another useful column is Size, especially when you are trying to find large files that are filling your hard drive. Notice, you cannot select the Version, Comments or Label columns.
Filter the Results
If the search returns too many results, it is time to apply more filters. Click the plus sign directly below the search field. You will see something like this.
Additional Search Parameters
This is the beginning screen for filtering your results. Click the menu labeled Any, to see the “Kind” of files you can search for. You will notice that this is not as narrow as you would think. The Finder differentiates between such things as Folders, Applications and Folders. It can also tell the difference between Images, Music, Movies and some other file types. if you which further filtering, click the Kind menu.
“Kind”s of files you can filter Filter options other than “Kind”
Here you will see that it is easy to filter by different Time frames, or once again choose between Name and Contents. This does allow for you to search in the main entry by Name and then add words that appear in the contents in this further filtering. The final entry in this dialog box is the most powerful. When you select Other… you are presented with a long list of search criteria to choose from.
Some of the possible search criteria available from the Other… command
Notice the “In Menu” column, if you check this box, the matching item will appear in the previous Menu (the one that starts with Kind). There are many items here of use. Genre, for instance will search your music files based on genres you have assigned in iTunes. Two of my favorite items in this menu are “System Files” and “File Visibility”. These can help you find files that otherwise don’t appear. Be careful with these however. Many files found when searching for System files or invisible files should not be deleted. Notice also that this list has its own search field. So if you don’t remember that visibility is listed as “File Visibility”, you can start to type visibility in the list’s search field to find it.
Extended Search Criteria
There are also a few tricks that you can use in the search field itself. These tip can also be used in most internet search engines, such as Google.
1. Enclose a phrase in quotation marks. For example “Spotlight shortcuts”, will search for the phrase instead of the individual words.
2. Use boolean operators. For example Spotlight AND shortcuts. This will find documents with both words, but not necessarily next to each other. You can also use OR, so Spotlight OR shortcuts. Please note these boolean operators need to be in all caps.
These screen shots are all from 10.6 aka Snow Leopard. You will see some variation if you are using an earlier OS.
