mlevison Posted September 12, 2021 Share Posted September 12, 2021 I love the keywords in, open and find. They're the part of Alfred I use multiple times a day. There is one limitation I see and I'm curious if there is a clever way round it. Sometimes when I search I realize that I'm finding alot of files not all of which are important in the context. Usually I know that the information is in a specific file type (word, excel, pdf, txt/markdown). Without creating a whole bunch of new search keywords is there a way to filter? Perhaps a keyword like kind:xls or kind:pdf? Link to comment
vitor Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 You’re looking for File Filters. GatorMapi 1 Link to comment
Vero Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 @mlevison Beyond Vitor's suggestion of File Filters (which is the best way to create easy to re-use filters), you can also just include "*pdf" in your query. E.g. "[spacebar]tax*pdf" The spacebar is the shortcut for the "open" keyword, broadening your search file types "tax" as I'm looking for a tax document in this example "*pdf" (of your choice of file type) where the star wildcards something before it and is a pdf This is useful for quick one-off searches, but Vitor's suggestion is best for frequent searches, e.g. if you find that you're regularly needing to find PDFs in a fixed set of locations, you'll save a lot of time creating a File Filter workflow Cheers, Vero Link to comment
mlevison Posted September 13, 2021 Author Share Posted September 13, 2021 @vitor thanks. The trouble I have with file filters is two fold: - cognitive load - I already 3 page list of shortcuts and tricks to memorize so that my fingers stay on the keyboard, a modifier to existing trick is easier to remember than a whole new one - by the time I realize I need to filter for a filetype I'm already staring at mess of file types and then I realize I could use a modifier. @Vero didn't know I could use regex or at least wildcards that helps. In the long run would you consider adding an operator like kind - it would be applicable to: ', in and find. It would save users having to create/memorize even more search function. Link to comment
deanishe Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 18 hours ago, mlevison said: It would save users having to create/memorize even more search function. What do you mean by "modifier"? It seems to me that you'd just have to remember modifiers instead of search keywords, wouldn't you? Link to comment
mlevison Posted September 14, 2021 Author Share Posted September 14, 2021 I currently use all 3 builtin search functions in Alfred. (Way cool thanks). Filefilters impose M*N problem: - 3 search types - 4-5 filetypes (pdf, docs, spreadsheet, picture, ... the player to be named later) That's 12+ searches to memorize. If the amazing creators adopt a syntax similar to spotlight then I only need remember 3+4. Furthermore since kind is already a spotlight keyword, new users will have slightly easier time getting into Alfred. Final point on the effort/cognitive load front. I don't usually realize I need to filter until I start typing "in" and it brings up a mess of files I'm not interested in. By then I would need to return to the beginning of the buffer to change my search. Bonus round: The same approach would allow me to append keywords for "date" or "less 30 days old", ... -- the key takeaway is that is fun to narrow down your search list after you start typing. Double bonus - I just realized the "*pdf" doesn't work if the keyword is "in" Cheers Mark Link to comment
deanishe Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 Oh, right. You're talking about search query syntax. I thought you meant optional actions (⌘↩, ⌥↩ etc.). That's what "modifier" usually means in an Alfred context. Link to comment
nesdroc Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 On 9/14/2021 at 5:20 PM, mlevison said: Double bonus - I just realized the "*pdf" doesn't work if the keyword is "in" Any update on this? I'm specifically also looking to be able to search within files e.g. .md files. From what I could read file filter does not do this and as @mlevison wrote you can't narrow the search when using the "in" term. Link to comment
vitor Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 4 hours ago, nesdroc said: I'm specifically also looking to be able to search within files e.g. .md files. From what I could read file filter does not do this It does. On the Basic Setup tab of the File Filter, drop a markdown file on the File Types area. Then go to fields and [+] → kMDItemTextContent, which search inside files. Link to comment
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