How to use Finder to find all files that do not match a certain criteria

filefindersearch

How can I use Finder's search feature to find all files that do not match a certain criteria?

For instance, all files that don't end in ".txt" in the current folder.

Best Answer

Just typing the operand NOT before the criteria will do the trick.

So, in this case, typing NOT .txt will show all the files but the ones with the .txt extension.

Related Solutions

Finder search does not find all relevant documents MacOS 10.6.8

On my system, typing successive letters always shrinks the results menu. Have you tried rebuilding your Spotlight index? Open terminal in an admin account and type:

sudo mdutil -i on "/Volumes/YourHardDiskNameHere"

, authenticate with your password, and go get a coffee.

Edit: Another way to accomplish this is to open Spotlight preferences to the privacy tab and drag your HDD icon from finder onto the "Prevent spotlight..." list. Close preferences (may not be necessary - ?). Open it again to the same tab and use the +/- buttons to delete the disk. Re-indexing should start.

Mac – How to find files with no extension in Finder

You can set up a Finder search like this:

- None of the following is true:
- - Filename contains .
- - Kind is Folder

The Finder does however exclude some system items from search results. The same search criteria produced 19'077 search results in Finder and 131'666 in HoudahSpot.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Finder search does not find all relevant documents MacOS 10.6.8

Mac – How to find files with no extension in Finder

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