search content within eml files

[pjr]

I am trying Alfred for the first time today.

 

I am interested because spotlight will not search within eml files, and some postings on the web hint that alfred will do this easily.

 

I cannot find any explicit discussion of this topic in the alfred documentation or forums so I am writing to ask whether:

1. alfred will automatically parse the eml file and search in addition to the text, also attachments (e.g PDF files), or must I do something special to make it happen?
2. whether I need to purchase the powerpack?

Thanks in advance.

 

P

[Vero]

1. alfred will automatically parse the eml file and search in addition to the text, also attachments (e.g PDF files), or must I do something special to make it happen?
2. whether I need to purchase the powerpack?

 

 

Hi there,

 

Welcome to Alfred

 

With the Powerpack, you can create file filters to search what you like. I've got a Mail.app workflow to search email subject lines, senders and content, so you'd be able to either use that workflow as-is or modify it to suit your own needs.

 

If you upgrade to the Powerpack, add your details to your forum profile and let me know, I'll be happy to share my workflow

 

Cheers,

Vero

[pjr]

Hi Vero,

 

I am now a powerpack user (email entered in profile) and have install the mail.app. 

 

How can I tell wether the mail search is working correctly? I have tried searching using the "em" search for a string contained in a PDF attachment within an eml mail message and it was not found. I added eml to the file type specification, and the appropriate directory to the mail search scope tab. Note that the guidance indicates that the folder added needs to be indexed by OSX for files to be found. I am sure that the folder could be searched, but I also know that "eml" files are no longer searched for by finder and spotlight. That is the reason I am hoping that alfred will do the job :-)

 

As an aside, is it possible to access a log indicating which files were searched, and when? This would provide some assurance to me that it is not that I am just too impatient :-)

 

P

Edited June 13, 2016 by pjr

[Vero]

Hi Vero,

 

I am now a powerpack user (email entered in profile) and have install the mail.app. 

 

Hi there,

 

Here's the latest version of the workflow:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5818788/Alfred/Mail.app%20Search%203.0.alfredworkflow

 

This workflow provides an easy way to search for emails stored in Mail.app.

 

* Use "em" to generally search for emails by subject line and email content

* Use "emfrom" to search by email author only

* Use "emsubj" to search by subject line only

 

Take a look at how the workflow was created, and add or modify the file filters to your own needs

 

Cheers,

Vero

[pjr]

can I clarify that the em filter will search through PDF and .doc, .PPT files etc that appear as attachments within the eml file by default?

 

I have configured em to set the search scope for the main folder containing subfolder that must recursively be searched for eml files, and I have dragged and dropped an eml file into the file type to search. Do I need to drag a .doc and .pdf file etc into that setup component also?

 

Thanks

 

P

Edited June 27, 2016 by pjr

[Vero]

can I clarify that the em filter will search through PDF and .doc, .PPT files etc that appear as attachments within the eml file by default?

 

I have configured em to set the search scope for the main folder containing subfolder that must recursively be searched for eml files, and I have dragged and dropped an eml file into the file type to search. Do I need to drag a .doc and .pdf file etc into that setup component also?

 

 

Within ~/Library/Mail/ are the attachment folders for Mail, so if you add the file types to the scope, you should get these in your search results too.

 

I would recommend copying the "em" object and making a new one like "ematt" for searching attachments, to avoid adding noise to the other keywords' results.

 

Cheers,

Vero