can 't see MS doc files in smart folder

staypuffinpc · February 18, 2006 2:36PM

When I first got OS X 10.4 last year, I immediately set up a smart folder to show me the most recently modified documents (one that actually works). It worked great for about 6 months or so and then suddenly stopped showing .doc files. I can't figure out how to get my MS Word files, which, other than pdfs, are really what I need, to appear. Any ideas?

michael_moriarty · February 18, 2006 9:20PM

Ok first do two things for me...

1) Navigate to Macintosh HD (or whatever you boot drive is called)/Library/Spotlight and see if the file "Microsoft Office.mdimporter" is present. This is what Spotlight uses to index MS office files on your computer.

If that is there, check this...

2) Create a brand new smart folder that checks only for files with the extension ".doc". You will have to choose the searching attribute "Name Extension" from the list of available attributes under 'Other' in the drop down menu. Then just type ".doc"

If that doesn't work, try this...

Go to System Preferences > Spotlight > Search Results and uncheck the box next to "Documents". Then close down System Preferences. Then perform the same step again except this time check the box. Spotlight should go to work re-indexing these files.

Try these things out and we'll go from there.

staypuffinpc · February 18, 2006 11:41PM

Quote:

1) Navigate to Macintosh HD (or whatever you boot drive is called)/Library/Spotlight and see if the file "Microsoft Office.mdimporter" is present. This is what Spotlight uses to index MS office files on your computer.

It's there

Quote:

2) Create a brand new smart folder that checks only for files with the extension ".doc". You will have to choose the searching attribute "Name Extension" from the list of available attributes under 'Other' in the drop down menu. Then just type ".doc"

Thanks, that works for this new folder. I was trying to find something like this after first choosing "kind." However, this does not make the default Kind = Documents return MS Word files.

Quote:

Go to System Preferences > Spotlight > Search Results and uncheck the box next to "Documents". Then close down System Preferences. Then perform the same step again except this time check the box. Spotlight should go to work re-indexing these files.

I did that and get the same results. So, I'm still confused, but you've provided me with a way to just show MS word files. I'd like to still have a single folder that shows me my most recently modified pdfs and .docs. Since the + means AND, there's no way to do this (I wish there were an OR button). Any ideas: 1-why this is happening; 2-how to make a folder that returns both .pdf and .doc files? The frustrating part is that it worked so well for so long.

michael_moriarty · February 19, 2006 1:38AM

You want a smart folder that ONLY shows .doc and .pdf files?

Yes, that is the annoying part of smart folders. Every + just creates an "AND" in the actual query. Very annoying of Apple to do things this way. At least in iTunes you have the option between using AND/OR. It shows that they didn't fully think this through all the way.

But there's hope if you know how to configure the smart folders manually. To fix this issue, you kinda have to tweak the raw query inside the smart folder. I have been experimenting with this a little.

I have created a smart folder for you and have it stored on my .Mac account in a .zip archive. Download, unzip it, and test it out to see if it does what you want. If so, I will then show you what I did to fix it.

Here's the link to the .zip file

http://homepage.mac.com/mpmoriarty/p...word_files.zip

staypuffinpc · February 20, 2006 10:16AM

Yes, that worked?until I tried to add a timestamp criterion to it. I'm guessing that you went in and modified the search criteria in the actual text file itself. So, I opened it up in TextWrangler and added a time criteria to it (I tried just adding it using the buttons, but that messed things up and returned nothing). I added the following code in the array after the other search criteria:

Code:

<dict>

<key>FXSliceKind</key>

<string>Smod</string>

<key>Value</key>

<string>DAwk</string>

</dict>

Unfortunately, this didn't work for me. It still returend ALL pdf and .doc files. I'm not quite sure why. I found the line I assume you added, with the "or" statement:

Code:

<string>(kMDItemContentTypeTree = 'com.adobe.pdf') || (kMDItemKind = '*Microsoft Word document*'cd)

But I'm not sure if I also put the timestamp in this line and, if so, how.

I appreciate any further expertise you can offer. Thanks.

lundy · February 20, 2006 1:24PM

Is this what you guys are looking for? Namely, the CreationDate and ChangeDate?

Quote:

Constants

kMDItemDisplayName

The localized version of the file name. This is the localized version of the LaunchServices call LSCopyDisplayNameForURL()/LSCopyDisplayNameForRef(). A CFString.

kMDItemFSContentChangeDate

The date the file contents last changed. A CFDate.

kMDItemFSCreationDate

The date and time that the file was created. A CFDate.

kMDItemFSExists

Indicates whether the file this item references still exists on the disk. A CFBoolean.

kMDItemFSInvisible

Indicates whether the file is invisible. A CFBoolean.

kMDItemFSIsExtensionHidden

Indicates whether the file extension of the file is hidden. A CFBoolean.

kMDItemFSIsReadable

Indicates whether the file is readable. A CFBoolean.

kMDItemFSIsWriteable

Indicates whether the file is writable. A CFBoolean.

kMDItemFSLabel

Index of the Finder label of the file. Possible values are 0 through 7. A CFNumber.

kMDItemFSName

The file name of the item. A CFString.

kMDItemFSNodeCount

Number of files in a directory. A CFNumber.

kMDItemFSOwnerGroupID

The group ID of the owner of the file. A CFNumber.

kMDItemFSOwnerUserID

The user ID of the owner of the file. A CFNumber.

kMDItemFSSize

The size, in bytes, of the file on disk. A CFNumber.

kMDItemPath

The complete path to the file. A CFString.

michael_moriarty · February 20, 2006 5:06PM

Ok, I modified my smart folder and uploaded the new version to my .Mac account.

http://homepage.mac.com/mpmoriarty/p...avedSearch.zip

I added a date value at the beginning to tell it to grab files that were modified in the last 30 days. You can change the "-30" to any number you wish.

Test it out.

The funny thing is that we should have to go through all this effort just to perform something so simple. Apple really needs to work on its smart folder implementation in the Finder.

lundy · February 20, 2006 6:06PM

Siracusa made the exact same point in his Tiger review - the Spotlight API takes full Boolean searches, and the command line "mdfind" utility takes these strings directly.

What is missing from Apple's GUI is the ability to combine AND with OR and to use grouping with parentheses.

A utility could be written in AppleScript Studio that would provide the OR capability. Unfortunately, it would require completely re-inventing the wheel of the GUI, and thinking up a way for the user to enter parentheses.

Also the user would have to be able to enter more intuitive keywords than things like "kMDItemFSContentChangeDate". I suppose a dropdown list with simpler terms could be used and then those replaced in the string passed to mdfind.

Should the user have buttons for left and right parenthesis, and a button for AND and a button for OR, or just type them in?

michael_moriarty · February 20, 2006 8:38PM

I have been playing with the application MoRU and I will say that it does implement smart folders better. It allows you to use AND or OR expressions very easily.

http://www.windstormsoftware.com/wssw/moru/index.html

It is a nice application, but my only problem with it is very slow.

can 't see MS doc files in smart folder

Comments