Recent Files workflow

[jy-gh]

I'm the author of a new workflow called Recent Files. Recent Files finds the most recent files (from a configurable location) and sends them to Alfred.

 

There is no forum thread for this workflow, but there is a GitHub page:

 

https://github.com/jy-gh/RecentFiles

 

Dependencies: Recent Files uses the fd utility (available from MacPorts, Brew, and as a direct download) and Python 3.

 

Here's a screenshot (an animated .gif file is in the README.md file on GitHub):

 

 

 

This workflow has become a daily part of my Alfred use. I don't have to think about where a file I just downloaded is, I can return quickly to what I was working on yesterday or the day before, and I don't have to type the filename to find it. Because it uses the fd command instead of the Unix/Linux find command, or the macOS mdfind command, it's very speedy.

 

Users of the workflow can customize where to search, how far back in time to search, whether to include files and directories in the results, and what files/directories to skip when searching.

 

[vitor]

Welcome @jy-gh,

 

Thank you for the submission. The workflow can be improved by using File Pickers instead of Text Fields for the fd path and search folder. That even allows the use of ~ because Alfred itself will do the expansion. Here’s an updated workflow; I’d rather have submitted a pull request but the info.plist is not in the repository.

Please provide a screenshot with results showing, as that is significantly clearer, and as per the pinned post:

 

On 10/7/2022 at 2:52 AM, vitor said:

Of the full Alfred window, with shadow and no background: press ⌘⇧4 then hit the space bar; hover over the Alfred window and click.

 

[jy-gh]

Vitor,

 

Thank you! That was a great suggestion, and it definitely improved the workflow. I have updated GitHub with a new workflow and changed the README to reflect the changes.

 

Here's a different screenshot, as requested:

 

 

Thanks!

[vitor]

Thank you for the change, but the screenshot still isn’t as requested:

 

17 hours ago, vitor said:

with shadow and no background: press ⌘⇧4 then hit the space bar; hover over the Alfred window and click.

 

If you’re having trouble following that, please let me know so I can try to explain another way.

[vitor]

Updated the pinned post with an example gif.

 

[jy-gh]

Vitor,

 

Sorry, I completely messed that up. Here are two hopefully correct screenshots, created with Shift-Command-4.

 

Thank you for your patience.

 

JY

 

 

 

[Shahrukh]

On 10/20/2022 at 1:41 AM, vitor said:

Welcome @jy-gh,

 

Thank you for the submission. The workflow can be improved by using File Pickers instead of Text Fields for the fd path and search folder. That even allows the use of ~ because Alfred itself will do the expansion. Here’s an updated workflow; I’d rather have submitted a pull request but the info.plist is not in the repository.

Please provide a screenshot with results showing, as that is significantly clearer, and as per the pinned post:

 

 

not available to download this workflow. Transfer.sh somehow doesn't open in my browsers ever

[vitor]

15 hours ago, jy-gh said:

Thank you for your patience.

 

Thank you as well. Those aren’t retina but there’s nothing you can do about it if your screen doesn’t support it, so I’ll look into recreating those.

Another suggestion: instead of requiring a path to be set for fd, you can expand PATH inside the script to include the Macports installation path (Alfred 5 includes the Homebrew ones). That way it covers your case and most others out-of-the box. You can still have the File Picker for the tool, in case someone has yet another location (if left empty, ignore it), but that’s going to be rare.

 

6 hours ago, Shahrukh said:

not available to download this workflow.

 

That download was geared exclusively for @jy-gh, it’s not for general use.

[jy-gh]

Vitor,

 

Thank you for your suggestion. I have implemented it, and it's on GitHub now.

 

As for the screenshots, how are these?

 

JY

[vitor]

16 hours ago, jy-gh said:

I have implemented it

 

Looks nice! Quick note that while the .alfredworkflow was updated in the repo, there’s no new release yet. Please do ping me when you make it.

 

16 hours ago, jy-gh said:

As for the screenshots, how are these?

 

They’re great. Thank you.

[jy-gh]

Argh, forgot to make a release. It's there now.