Spotlight! Stay out of /usr please!

[mainstreetmark]

Spotlight has finally annoyed me enough times to solicit the forum here for an answer.

As a coder, I often use spotlight to look for source files, and spotlight is very good at showing me source files that aren't mine and that i'll never use. I'd love to ignore them, but I can't.

Here's how you can repeat it:
1. Spotlight for "ldap"
2. Observe the many include files it find. Cmd-click one to open it in the finder and notice it's in /usr/include.
3. Attempt to add /usr/include to the Spotlight privacy thing and observe that you can't.

Why can't I ignore /usr/include? It's a hidden directory - shouldn't it be ignore by default anyways?

 

[gauchogolfer]

In fact I just tried to replicate this on my machine, and didn't see any include files. The only ldap references I get are to Macromedia .html files in the user help section. Maybe I'm doing something differently from you, but I don't see them.

 

[mainstreetmark]

fascinating. My mac buddy is able to repeat.

Well, anyways, try this then:

1. click that [+] in the spotlight privacy pane
2. Use cmd-shift-G to Go to a folder and type /usr
3. select "include"

Oddly, spotlightly silently refuses to add it.

 

[gauchogolfer]

Here's what I see when I go to the Spotlight privacy area, then add new folder from within /usr

I don't have an 'include' folder. Is this related to Intel, and I'm not seeing since I'm on a Powerbook? I'm running 10.4.7,btw.

 

[yellow]

I can't stand Spotlight.. because conversely to this issue, it WON'T seach in /System!

 

[mainstreetmark]

hmf - perhaps it's part of xcode install.

Anyways, try any of those, like 'lib'. it won't let me add it.

 

[mkrishnan]

I don't think my computer spotlights /usr either. I'm not at home at the moment -- I'll check. But maybe it has to do with being / not being an admin? I will check though.