Filterning apps that appear in Alfred

[leej0nes]

Hi,

 

Is there a way to filter apps (by explicit name or pattern) from appearing in the search results for example:

 

 

I'd like to be able to filter the Remove ... items out of the search results?

 

Is if possible?  I have seen this post which suggests it can be done via Spotlight but I believe it should be part of the Alfred app itself, for a couple of reasons a) it makes sense and it gets backed up in your preferences if you use that feature.

 

Thanks,

Lee.

Edited October 9, 2015 by Lee

[deanishe]

You can add "alfred:ignore" as either a tag or a Spotlight comment to files and folders Alfred should ignore.

 

I don't think it works with applications, however.

[Andrew]

It should work with applications, you just need to reload the cache with the 'reload' keyword after setting the ignore tag/comment on the apps as for performance, the cache doesn't always re-check metadata unless necessary.

[deanishe]

Confirmed. Had me a little confused as it works instantly (without reload) on files/folders.

 

It probably bears pointing out that adding alfred:ignore is often not much help with folders, as it only applies to the folder itself and not its contents.

Edited October 9, 2015 by deanishe

[leej0nes]

Thanks guys and a reasonably cool solution BUT still not as good as in app.  If I reinstall I have to do them again where as in app they get saved with the preferences which live in my Dropbox folder.

 

[Jasondm007]

On 10/9/2015 at 3:13 PM, Andrew said:

It should work with applications, you just need to reload the cache with the 'reload' keyword after setting the ignore tag/comment on the apps as for performance, the cache doesn't always re-check metadata unless necessary.

 

@Andrew & @deanishe - Is there any downside to tagging applications (e.g., with "alfred:ignore")? Since Apple's default apps all require changing their permissions to add a tag or comment to them, I wasn't sure if this was something that could cause problems down the road. For instance, I'd love to add the "alfred:ignore" tab to applications like the "Migration Assistant" or "Audio MIDI Setup", which I don't exactly need to see in Alfred's results, given how little I use them. Thanks!

[vitor]

Add them to the Spotlight Privacy tab in System Preferences.

[Jasondm007]

16 hours ago, vitor said:

Add them to the Spotlight Privacy tab in System Preferences.

 

Thanks, @vitor! This sounds like the most reasonable approach. The guess the only downside is that now Spotlight (and other apps that rely on Spotlight data) won't be able to see them either. But that's not a big deal for me! Thanks a ton!

 

While I intend to adopt your suggested approach, out of curiosity, are you aware of any problems that might be caused by tagging or commenting on applications? For instance, would other users inherit the tags? Do they get overwritten when they're updated? Or are there more severe functional problems they might cause, etc.? Just curious. Thanks!

[vitor]

I don’t use tags, so can’t say.

[Jasondm007]

No problem. Thanks, @vitor!!