Smarter Smart Folders
When you set criteria using the Finder GUI for Smart Folders each condition is set as an “and”, meaning all the criteria must be met by a file to be returned in the results. There’s no obvious way to change this in the GUI, but it’s there. Sometimes you want to return files that meet “any” condition of a given criteria set. For example, you might want to see files that end in .dng OR .jpg.
When you add a new criteria to a Smart Folder, hold the option key before clicking the plus sign and you’ll get a drop-down for Any or All. Select ANY when you want to create a less restrictive query. Select ALL to form a restrictive Smart Folder. You can drag the rows up and down to change their order.
I didn’t see this in the help anywhere and wonder how anyone was supposed to know about it. I guess I’m not alone, it was mentioned in MacRumors and credited to Macworld.
I messed around a little with adding an Any and an All at the same time but I’m not sure how OS X is interpreting that logic. Try it and see for yourself.
Leave a comment