Exclude files in Alfred but not in Spotlight

[Hans Tammen]

Hi,

 

I need to exclude files from searches in Alfred, but they should be available in Spotlight. Can't figure out how to do it...

 

I like to find my DevonThink databases, but not the individual files within them. What did I overlook?

 

Hans

[dfay]

tag them alfred:ignore 

[deanishe]

12 minutes ago, dfay said:

tag them alfred:ignore 

 

That's likely not going to work super well, as it requires tagging every single file  

 

2 hours ago, Hans Tammen said:

I like to find my DevonThink databases, but not the individual files within them. What did I overlook?

 

The best solution is probably to set up a File Filter that only considers the DevonThink database filetype (if that's possible).

 

Alfred's search model is include-only: there is no blacklist/exclude option. So you have to approach it from a "how do I include only types X and Y" perspective, not a "how do I ignore type Z" one.

[dfay]

13 minutes ago, deanishe said:

That's likely not going to work super well, as it requires tagging every single file

 

I use Hazel to do this - since a DT database is a package you could just have Hazel add the tag to every file within it, I believe.

[deanishe]

32 minutes ago, dfay said:

I use Hazel to do this

 

Ah, nice! It seems horribly inefficient, but as long as Andrew won't add blacklisting to Alfred, such dodgy workarounds are often all you're left with, I suppose.

[Hans Tammen]

Ah... I may try the Hazel approach. Inefficient maybe, but if that works it's something.

 

I also didn't know that there is an alfred:ignore tag, which helps with other single files that appear occasionally!

 

Thanks!

[dvcrn]

On 9/6/2019 at 6:10 AM, dfay said:

tag them alfred:ignore 

 

Is that an actual tag now? I read about putting it in the Comments field at other places

 

Also is this usable for folders or just for single files? 

Edited September 9, 2019 by dvcrn

[deanishe]

1 hour ago, dvcrn said:

Is that an actual tag now? I read about putting it in the Comments field at other places

 

It can be either.

 

1 hour ago, dvcrn said:

Also is this usable for folders or just for single files?

 

Depends what you mean. If you add the tag/comment to a folder, that folder will not appear in Alfred. It has no effect on the contents of the folder, however.

[the_archpadre]

Is there a way other than tagging to blacklist files? Alfred keeps trying to run the Podcasts app when I enter `it` for `iTerm 2`. But since it's a built-in app, the OS won't let me delete it or add tags or comments.

[Vero]

@the_archpadre There are a few options here:

 

1. You can simply select iTerm a couple of times, and Alfred will learn from your usage, bringing iTerm to the top
2. Assuming you're using Alfred 4, under Features > Default Results, click the Applications: "Options" button at the top, and uncheck "Match Application's keywords in default results". Podcasts matches "it" because "iTunes" will be in the app's additional keywords pre-set by Apple
3. Otherwise, here's how you can tag System apps: https://www.alfredapp.com/help/features/file-search/tagging-files/#spotlight

Make sure you type "reload" into Alfred after tagging to blacklist it.

 

Cheers,
Vero