Using Smart Folders in Mac OS X

Smart Folders can save you a lot of time and effort and are one of the underused and appreciated features of Mac OS X. Smart Folders can save you a lot of time and effort. These folders let you save a search to reuse in the future. Smart Folders are updated continuously, so they always find all the files on your computer that match the search criteria. The difference here is that all those files will appear in one convenient Smart folder, they essentially let you create a virtual folder that uses search operators from Spotlight to let that virtual folder contain any and all files that match the search requirements. So, for example, you can create a Smart Folder that contains all the PDF files on your system that you've opened in the past week. Or create a Smart Folder that displays graphics files, but only ones bigger (or smaller) than a specified file size.

If you download a lot, instead of digging around for newly downloaded files, I just created a smart folder that searches for the latest downloads created within the past week. Suddenly all the downloads are now contained within one folder. The possibilities are endless. And because Smart Folders use alias-like technology to display items, the actual files reside in only one location — the folder where you originally put them. In other words, Smart Folders don't gather files in a separate place, they gather aliases of files, leaving the originals right were you stashed them. Neat!Then you refine the criteria for your search by clicking the + button to add a criterion or the – button to delete one. When you're satisfied and ready to turn your criteria into a Smart Folder, click the Save button below the Search box. A sheet drops down so that you can save it wherever you like, as shown

After you create your Smart Folder, you can move it anywhere on any hard disk and then use it like any other folder. If you want to change the criteria for a Smart Folder, open it and click the Edit button, as shown in Figure 2. When you're finished editing criteria, click the Save button to re-save the folder with its new criteria. You may be asked whether you want to replace the previous Smart Folder of the same name; you usually do.

A Smart folder like this will be in your finder window.

You’ll now be able to access that Smart Folder like any other folder in the Finder and it will have saved the search operators. Note that Smart Folders icons are shaded purple and have a gear icon on them (see image above) so they are easy to identify in the future. Smart Folders update on their own, so anytime you open the folder it will change based on the factors you created it under. And remember, if you delete a Smart Folder, it will not effect the files within it.