11 Smart Folders To Make You More Productive On Your Mac

Learn how to use Smart Folders on your Mac and see some examples that you can put into use today.

Comments: 21 Responses to “11 Smart Folders To Make You More Productive On Your Mac”

    Zac
    2 months ago

    I didn't fully appreciate what Smart Folders could do until now. Thanks!

    Will
    2 months ago

    Will you forgive me for being fussy? Criteria is surely plural. Criterion is singular.

    2 months ago

    Will: That is changing. You know the difference, but many more people would find using criterion very odd-sounding. Since I'm talking, not writing, I'll go with criteria here, especially since well-known sources support it. See https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/criteria-vs-criterion-singular-plural-grammar

    John Russell
    2 months ago

    Once again, a feature on the Mac I've found interesting over the years is shown to be a powerhouse! Thanks, Gary. I'm thinking I can put Houdahspot out to pasture??

    Geoff Matson
    2 months ago

    You just helped me become better organized on my Mac. Thanks

    DEBORAH JENKINS
    2 months ago

    Today I struggled finding a word document to email. NOW - I am ready to implement SMART FOLDERS - Thank you

    Ken Nellis
    2 months ago

    I couldn't help but notice that in your Smart Folder example of files of size > 10 MB, that one file, Wombat.key, was only 7.4 MB. What's up with that? Great demo. Thanx!

    nick
    2 months ago

    Very powerful and under-rated features - thx Gary

    thom
    2 months ago

    I've always found this to be something I want to try and use but if I hit command F I get to the same thing very fast. Have you ever needed to search for the same thing so many times that you made a Smart Folder? Maybe it's the way I organize my files in finder but I feel like I could just make an alias to a file and put it in the sidebar. Honestly wondering how I can implement this because I think it's a great idea.

    2 months ago

    thom: If none of these ideas appeal to you and you can't think of any other uses for Smart Folders, then you probably just don't need them in your workflows. Not everyone needs Smart Folders or any other single particular feature of an OS.

    frank
    2 months ago

    why does Wombat.key appear when its size is less than 10 MB

    2 months ago

    frank: Probably hadn't fully updated the list after I switched from KB to MB before I switched to showing something else.

    Edwin
    2 months ago

    Gary, is there a way to edit a saved search and save as a new copy? or duplicate one and edit the new copy?

    2 months ago

    Edwin: Yes. Just duplicate the .savedSearch file and edit the copy.

    jun
    2 months ago

    Thanks Gary for the video! Just want to know that we can also search all those things and save the search in any normal Finder window. So, what's the thing about this creating via File > New Smart Folder menu item ? Or, did I miss anything? Thanks again!

    2 months ago

    jun; Just two different ways to do it.

    Dezer
    2 months ago

    What if I want a Smart folder for more than 1 Folder. e.g. Recent files in both Download & Documents Folder? How do you set the criteria for this please?

    Dezer
    2 months ago

    Thanks Gary, really appreciate that. Overly complicated but helpful. It's a shame Apple doesn't just let us add another folder???

    Mark R
    2 months ago

    Very helpful video, thanks Gary. When I set the search criteria to documents that were opened in the last 10 days, it doesn't pick up an Excel spreadsheet that I opened, edited and saved yesterday, yet it picks up PDF documents, Word documents and even movie files. Do you know why this could be?

    2 months ago

    Mark: Perhaps something to do with where the document is located? Since it is Excel, maybe it is in Microsoft's cloud? Just a guess.

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