MacOS – Make a specific tag the default window in OS X Finder

finderfinder-tagmacos

I've got a tag in OS X which is labeled "To-do", and I want that Finder shows the files (and folders) that are labelled with this tag when I open a new finder window. So that the view that is shown when I click the tag in the sidebar to be set as Finders default view for new windows.

I have tried changing the option of default location in Finders settings, but I can only choose folders there. I have also tried using a smart folder with the tag as the only search condition, but smart folders are also not allowed to be chosen as default location in Finder. Right now I'm using "all my files" as default location, sorted by tag where I made sure that my "To-do" tag is at top, by naming it "1To-do". However, this is also unsatisfactory, since "all my files" does not show the folders that I've tagged.

Best Answer

As you have tried, Smart folders/Saved Searches by themselves can't be used as the default location. However, they can be made into Canned Searches, which you can use for new windows.

Here is what you need to do.

  1. Create a new folder called To-Do (which will become the Canned Search) into your Documents folder.
  2. Switch back to your home folder
  3. Run a search with the To-Do tag as the query and the Search value to either "This Mac" or your home folder.
  4. Click the Save button in the upper right corner
  5. By default, it will be showing the ~/Library/Saved Searches folder. Instead, switch to the To-Do folder you created in step 1.
  6. Save the search with the name search.savedSearch
  7. Open your Documents folder
  8. Select and Get Info on the To-Do folder
  9. Expand the Name & Extension section
  10. Rename the folder from To-Do to To-Do.cannedSearch and press Return
  11. Enable the Hide Extension checkbox below, which should become available after renaming, then close the Get Info window.
  12. Open the Finder menu and choose Preferences
  13. Click the "New Finder window show" pop-up menu and choose "Other..."
  14. Browse to your Documents folder and choose the "To-Do" entry
  15. Close the Finder Preferences window

Now whenever you open a new Finder window, it will show your To-Do search results.

Hope that helps!

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