Is there a way to restrict the "in" command to search only in some specific folders?

[Eseila]

Heyho

 

So when I search for "in cucumber" in Alfred, it searches all my files for the word cucumber.. Is there a way to limit this so that it only searches the files in a specific folder (my folder "vegetables" thats located on the desktop for example)?

 

That would be handy!

Thanks for any answers.

 

Greetings

 

Eseila

[giovanni]

yes, by creating a workflow you can limit your search scope to a folder, file type etc

[Eseila]

22 minutes ago, giovanni said:

yes, by creating a workflow you can limit your search scope to a folder, file type etc

Thanks! But could you explain further how I would go about it? I don't have any experience with workflows yet they look a bit complicated, but I do have the paid version of Alfred4. My goal would be to only search in PDF-Files of a specific directory. 

 

Would be great If you could guide me through it.

Thanks!

[deanishe]

47 minutes ago, Eseila said:

Would be great If you could guide me through it.

See here: https://www.alfredapp.com/help/workflows/inputs/file-filter/

 

Also, check out the example workflows built into Alfred.

[giovanni]

sure!

1) create a new workflow

2) add a 'file filter' object

3) drag a pdf to 'File Types' 

4) drag the folder you want to search to 'Search scope"

5) in 'Fields' set "kMDItemTextContent" 

 

hth

giovanni

[Earp]

Thank you for walking us newbies through this process.  My need is similar to above.  I need to search Word documents for exact phrases, not words.  I've done what Giovanni has said to do, with this exception: What does "add a 'file filter' object mean?  How do I go about doing that?  And this question as well: Do I have to select this workflow every time I use Alfred, or is there a way to make it the default workflow?  Thank you so much for your help!

[xgo]

It's great to learn about built-in features, I've been using the 'in' keyword a lot but having to scroll a lot historically. This thread opened my eyes on the ability to create subscoped search instances within specific directories I care about (e.g. OneDrive). Thanks!

[vitor]

On 2/24/2022 at 6:54 PM, Earp said:

What does "add a 'file filter' object mean?  How do I go about doing that?

 

Right click anywhere on the Workflow canvas and do Inputs → File Filter.

 

[Earp]

A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

All I want from Alfred is the ability to look through all of my Word docs and pdf docs for a specific word or phrase— but especially phrase.  Most of these 1000s of files are things I have written.  I know I have written something with a key phrase like, "dogs chase cats."  I can get responses to my query with files that have "dog," others have "cat" and still others have "chase."  But I want the entire EXACT phrase.  If I could get that done with Alfred, I would be a happy camper.  

Here's where I am so far:  I have the "File Filter" and it is set to search only my "speeches folder."  I have it set to "reveal file in Finder."  And I have unchecked the fields tab that says "split."  

Still, it's a no go.  What am I missing?

[TomBenz]

On 7/21/2022 at 4:04 AM, Earp said:

A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

All I want from Alfred is the ability to look through all of my Word docs and pdf docs for a specific word or phrase— but especially phrase.  Most of these 1000s of files are things I have written.  I know I have written something with a key phrase like, "dogs chase cats."  I can get responses to my query with files that have "dog," others have "cat" and still others have "chase."  But I want the entire EXACT phrase.  If I could get that done with Alfred, I would be a happy camper.  

Here's where I am so far:  I have the "File Filter" and it is set to search only my "speeches folder."  I have it set to "reveal file in Finder."  And I have unchecked the fields tab that says "split."  

Still, it's a no go.  What am I missing?

I also would like to find out how to do extract phrase search in file content or name