Apple Search needs improvement

[arogge]

I'm trying to do a basic file search and it's turned into a hassle. I want all files of extension JPG in a file folder and all subfolders. The old way was simple. Do a File >> Find, look for file extension JPG and search all subfolders. Now, with this "advanced" OS X operating system, I do the same thing and am shown a Find menu that's very confusing.

There is no place to enter a folder to search. There are buttons for "This Mac" and "Macintosh HD", but I don't see a way to tell the Find function which folder I want to search. I finally used a workaround by going to the folder that I wanted and loading Find again. There was no option for "File Extension", so I had to find it under the Other conditions in the submenu. Why isn't that on by default? I put in JPG, and got no results. Find refused to search the subfolders.

I tried again and again, and it finally worked when I moved the folder to a new location and Find suddenly recognized that there were subfolders. It also isn't easy to jump from folder to folder to search, because I have to open each new Folder in Finder and then reset all of the search conditions from their defaults.

There must be an easier way to search a folder and its subfolders for all *.JPG files!

 

[BlueRevolution]

It's admittedly a bit counterintuitive, but I don't find it that difficult...

 

[arogge]

It's admittedly a bit counterintuitive, but I don't find it that difficult...

I'd like it much better if it would behave like it did in OS X 10.2. It would be even better if it accepted text strings instead of trying to associate search conditions with words. When I want photos, I know enough to search for the file extension that I am using to store them. I should be able to put in a folder name and type "*.TIF" or "*.JPG" and hit Enter in a search box. Then I should be able to do a Shift+Tab and change the folder name being searched, Tab back to the file name field and run the search again. The way it is now is not very user-friendly, and I still don't understand why the search has often been returning no results until I move the folder to another location or close out of Spotlight and try the search again. It seems to be much too complicated for its own good.

 

[BlueRevolution]

Yeah. I have no problem with Spotlight, but I wish it hadn't replaced the normal search from Panther.

 

[forcefieldkid]

Yeah. I have no problem with Spotlight, but I wish it hadn't replaced the normal search from Panther.

Agreed, I used Panther for years before moving up to Leopard, and the search in that was great. I'm starting to get the hang of Spotlight though, I think.. lol