Navigate into an Alias

[patgilmour]

When I invoke Alfred, type "Space" + "[Folder Name]" I can then select the folder, and use the right arrow to navigate into it. Nice!

 

However, I also have Mac aliases on my drive that have easy-to-remember names. I'd like to be able to do the same in Alfred. But when I type "Space" + "[Alias Name]" then use the right arrow, it takes me to the containing folder of the alias and not the content of the aliased folder.

 

Is there any way to get aliases to replicate the behavior of folders?

 

Thanks,

 

Pat

 

 

 

[deanishe]

Use symlinks instead of aliases. They have the advantage of also working with UNIX programs, like workflows.

[patgilmour]

Thanks @deanishe - I created a symlink but Alfred doesn't seem to have registered it. I type "[SPACE]Alias - Documents" and the Alias doesn't appear in the list of Mac Aliases.

 

Seems Spotlight doesn't reference symlinks.

 

Is there perhaps a way in Alfred to get it to show a list of specific folders, preferably with alternative names?

 

Edited May 18, 2017 by patgilmour

[deanishe]

What do you mean, it "doesn't appear in the list of Mac Aliases"? It wouldn't: it's not an alias, it's a symlink.

 

AFAIK, Alfred resolves symlinks as the target, not the symlink. So if you have a symlink "Clark Kent" that points to "Superman", you'll only get search results for "Superman". You can, however, browse the symlink, which doesn't work with aliases.

 

If you just want to find folders under a different name, adding Spotlight Keywords via the Get Info window is a cleaner way, imo. Aliases are silly things: only Finder treats them as if they were symlinks; everything else treats them as the files they really are.

 

[patgilmour]

@deanishe - thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

I think I wasn't clear (I do know what a symlink is).

 

What is need to do is display a list of references to files or folders rather than the names of the files or folders, and I want the references to be navigable in Alfred. I also want the list of references to be automatically created by Alfred.

 

If I use Tags/Keywords for this as you suggest, I can add a tag called "Favorite" or something like that and tag all the files/folders. Then I can get the list of items with these tags in Alfred. Plus the results listed are navigable. The problem is, I want unique references to be returned as the result.

 

I tried with Spotlight Comments. So, for example, I added "Alias - Script Resources" to the Get Info Comment field. This was cool, as I was able to add a unique reference, but the results returned are still the actual file folder names, and not the Comment references.

 

With all that in mind, I can think of a way of achieving this, but it does seem convoluted (is there an easier way)?

 

- Create my unique Mac Aliases

- Use a Workflow to display them as Results

- Pass the selected result to AppleScript that resolves the Alias to original (equivalent of Cmd+R)

- Pass the new path back to Alfred for navigating

 

Think that's my best option?

 

Thanks!

 

Edited May 20, 2017 by patgilmour

[deanishe]

Could you explain what you mean by "reference"?

 

It sounds like you want a list of folders, but with names you've assigned, not the actual folder name.

 

If so, have you thought about using a List Filter with arg set to the real path?

Edited May 21, 2017 by deanishe

[patgilmour]

@deanishe - never mind what I mean by "reference" - the List Filter suggestion is *exactly* what I need - thank you! It's perfect! 

[dunkaroo]

Base on what you wish you might also wanna check out this workflow