How to let Alfred Watch on a specific directory?

[wottpal]

Hey guys,

If I drop a new app into my /Applications folder, the most times I want to open it immediately with Alfred (Press Shortcut and type in the first letters of the name). But often the directory is not indexed yet so I have to remove  the last letter / add the last letter / remove / add / remove / add / .. because otherwise the results aren't updated. Is there a way to let Alfred watch the Applications folder so that the result is immediately available after I've dragged the new app into? I know I've probably spent more time asking this question than I ever need to wait for a new app to be indexed in my whole life, but you know it just feels not right IMHO.

 

Warm regards from Germany,

Dennis

[Andrew]

Hey guys,

If I drop a new app into my /Applications folder, the most times I want to open it immediately with Alfred (Press Shortcut and type in the first letters of the name). But often the directory is not indexed yet so I have to remove  the last letter / add the last letter / remove / add / remove / add / .. because otherwise the results aren't updated. Is there a way to let Alfred watch the Applications folder so that the result is immediately available after I've dragged the new app into? I know I've probably spent more time asking this question than I ever need to wait for a new app to be indexed in my whole life, but you know it just feels not right IMHO.

 

Warm regards from Germany,

Dennis

 

Alfred uses OS X's metadata for finding files, so the speed at which files are available to Alfred's search directly rely on how quickly OS X adds them to the metadata index. This should usually be instant, and quicker than it takes for you to show Alfred and search for the file.

 

At this point, I'm reluctant to add things into Alfred to work around the issue you describe (i.e. self indexing) as this could add significant bulk to Alfred's current light weight ethos.

 

You could try a simple reindex of your metadata with the shortcut in Alfred's Advanced prefs. Once this is complete, OS X may be more instant when adding new files into the index.

 

Cheers,

Andrew

[wottpal]

At this point, I'm reluctant to add things into Alfred to work around the issue you describe (i.e. self indexing) as this could add significant bulk to Alfred's current light weight ethos.

 

Okay, so let's hope on OS X indexing improvements because sometimes it's so slow. I will try a rebuild. You're right, I prefer Alfred to be lightweight and less power consuming!

Thanks

[deanishe]

I have this problem regularly.
 
As the thought of waiting 10 seconds is sickening to me, instead of searching for the application, I usually browse the /Applications directory instead by typing /App<tab>.

 

You can also reduce (or occupy) those 10 seconds a bit by reloading Alfred's cache with the query "reload".

[Andrew]

You can also reduce (or occupy) those 10 seconds a bit by reloading Alfred's cache with the query "reload".

 

'reload' actually just clears the application cache, Alfred doesn't re-populate the cache... so that won't speed up how quickly new apps appear.

 

10 seconds sounds LONG though, I see new apps in less than a second hmm.

[deanishe]

It depends. It usually only takes a second or two. It sometimes takes 10 or 15 seconds.

[wottpal]

For me it's normally 5-10 secs, even on a fresh OS X install. (After Spotlight has finished indexing)