#Find any file how to
#Find any file mac os x
#Find any file pdf
#Find any file software
#Find any file code

#Find any file mac os x

But even on mounted network volumes of a Mac OS X server it can still be surprisingly fast. On the other hand, it may take a little longer than Spotlight, and it is only fast on HFS(+) volumes. Hence it is great for finding system files, for example. This allows you to find any file, even those inside packages and others excluded from Spotlight search. Unlike Spotlight (i.e., the Finder’s Find command), it does not access a pre-built database but searches the chosen volume directly.

Can save queries and run them again later.

Can run as root user, finding really any file on your disk, even those that are hidden from normal users.

Has a new hierarchical view of the found items, making it much easier to browse 100s of items (see the screenshot).

#Find any file code

If you can rely on Spotlight, then you won't need FAF, and then please don't complain.Īlso, if you feel you wasted your money, you can contact Apple's Store support and ask for a refund.Find Any File searches your local disks for files by name, creation or modification date, size, or type and creator code (not by content, though).Īs there are other tools with a similar search operation, here are the special features unique to Find Any File:

So, while FAF may not be as fast as you might wish, it's still the fastest it can be with the methods it's meant to use. Searching for file content, however, is expected to be slow - and yet it's faster at that than any other text search tool as it'll use all your CPU's cores, which most other tools won't. On a modern Mac with an SSD, searching your boot disk takes only a few seconds when you search for file names. To complain that FAF is slow because it does not use an index is ignoring that this app tries to solve the issue that Spotlight causes because of its limited index. The purpose of this app is to find what's on your disk, and NOT use an index for that very reason, because (a) the index may not be up-to-date, or (b) may not exist at all, such as when you're searching on external or remote volumes. It is slow (it doen't create an index file). It hardly improves the find facility within finder. When I have to actually find something, I use FAF instead of the Finder.” “I keep FAF as an icon in the toolbar of every Finder window.

#Find any file how to

“I use it when I want to find a specific kind of file or to see and eliminate or compare the double and redundant files. How to quickly find any file on Mac Use Spotlight Search Hit Command-Spacebar and type the filename Use Finder Hit Command-F and type filename in Search. Find Any File is in my arsenal of tools when things files or folders go astray.” “As the administrator for about 50 school Macs, I often need to look for some file misplaced by a novice or, while troubleshooting a system, I often need to search for obscure operating system files. “FAF goes where Spotlight's can't easily reach.”

#Find any file pdf

It lets you view the found items within their respective folders, making it often much easier to browse through 100s of found items.įAF can not search file content other than plain (unformatted and uncompressed) text - and even that is comparatively slow, so don't expect this to be a good replacement for Spotlight when you need to find text in your documents.įor searching text in Mails, Word, Excel, PDF and similar files, Spotlight is still the best tool (whose results can be enhanced with Tembo and HoudahSpot, also available in the App Store). This lets you search for file properties such as name, creation and modification dates, file size, even plain text inside files.Īnother useful feature is its hierarchical results view (see screenshots). those inside bundles and packages, and inside system folders that are usually excluded from Spotlight search.Ĭontrary to Spotlight, it does not use a database but instead searches the data on disk directly. You can even search on disks that are not indexed by Spotlight, including network server (NAS) volumes.įind Any File can find files that Spotlight doesn't, e.g.

#Find any file software

Uninstall software that leaves files in hidden places where Spotlight doesn't look?įind Any File (FAF) is the perfect tool for these tasks.See what files got changed in the past 5 minutes?.Recover a file whose name you partially remember?.By file name, date, size, and even plain text content (but not text in Word and PDF files, see note below). Unhappy with Spotlight because it does not find files that you know to be there? Use FAF to find every file on your disks, including those usually hidden.