Finder : How Do You Sort by File Extension ?

[einsteinbqat]

Hi!

Is there a way to sort files by their extension in Finder?

Before you tell me to simply sort by kind, you will need to figure this one out for me : how do you sort out .m4v and .mp4 files if they are both treated as MPEG-4 video in Finder, and therefore not differentiated since they are of the same kind?

Thank you!

 

[chown33]

I'm almost certain that you'll need to setup a Smart Folder or Finder search to accomplish this.

The steps given below refer specifically to an older version of Finder, and the procedure for searching with the Finder varies by OS version. Read more here:

Narrow your search results on Mac

On your Mac, focus your Spotlight and Finder searches to narrow results by specifying criteria and attributes, or performing Boolean queries.

support.apple.com

General Steps

One of the options for Find is to search the entire computer (This Mac) or only the current window, you should start by opening a window for the folder you want to search.

Then you can use the "Kind" is "Movie" to start limiting the search results.

Then add another Search item and set it to: "Name" "ends with" [.m4v] where:
"Name" is chosen from the popup.
"ends with" is another popup that appears after "Name" has been chosen.
[.m4v] means you type .m4v into the box that follows "ends with".

Or if wanted to refer to only the .mp4 files, then put that in the box.

After you have the desired files remaining, you can Select All, then apply a tag of your choice. Then you can sort by tag in Finder windows. Or if you just wanted to do something with only the m4v files, you can drag them somewhere after Select All in the search-results window.

 

[KALLT]

This cannot be done in Finder. Filtering with Spotlight is the only option. If this is important to you, then you should consider a third-party file manager.

Then add another Search item and set it to: "Name" "ends with" [.m4v] where:
"Name" is chosen from the popup.
"ends with" is another popup that appears after "Name" has been chosen.
[.m4v] means you type .m4v into the box that follows "ends with".

You should use the file extension field instead of name field for this. If the extension is hidden, then filtering by name will exclude it.

 

[chown33]

You should use the file extension field instead of name field for this. If the extension is hidden, then filtering by name will exclude it.

Good point. I've been working for so long with extensions visible, I forgot that some people don't do that.

 

[einsteinbqat]

I'm almost certain that you'll need to setup a Smart Folder or Finder search to accomplish this.

The steps given below refer specifically to an older version of Finder, and the procedure for searching with the Finder varies by OS version. Read more here:

Narrow your search results on Mac

On your Mac, focus your Spotlight and Finder searches to narrow results by specifying criteria and attributes, or performing Boolean queries.

support.apple.com

General Steps

One of the options for Find is to search the entire computer (This Mac) or only the current window, you should start by opening a window for the folder you want to search.

Then you can use the "Kind" is "Movie" to start limiting the search results.

Then add another Search item and set it to: "Name" "ends with" [.m4v] where:
"Name" is chosen from the popup.
"ends with" is another popup that appears after "Name" has been chosen.
[.m4v] means you type .m4v into the box that follows "ends with".

Or if wanted to refer to only the .mp4 files, then put that in the box.

After you have the desired files remaining, you can Select All, then apply a tag of your choice. Then you can sort by tag in Finder windows. Or if you just wanted to do something with only the m4v files, you can drag them somewhere after Select All in the search-results window.

Can you do a search without typing anything in the search box first?
[automerge]1592100703[/automerge]

This cannot be done in Finder. Filtering with Spotlight is the only option. If this is important to you, then you should consider a third-party file manager.

Any suggestion?

You should use the file extension field instead of name field for this. If the extension is hidden, then filtering by name will exclude it.

Same question: Can you do a search without typing anything in the search box first?

 

[einsteinbqat]

This cannot be done in Finder. Filtering with Spotlight is the only option. If this is important to you, then you should consider a third-party file manager.



You should use the file extension field instead of name field for this. If the extension is hidden, then filtering by name will exclude it.

Decided to give Commander One a try. It lists by the extension. Yay!