Thanks to HoudahSpot for sponsoring BrettTerpstra.com this week! I’ve been using it for years and swear by it as a way to find files that Spotlight can’t, quickly and easily.

HoudahSpot is a powerful tool for finding and managing files on your Mac, with features beyond Spotlight.

Have you shifted — by choice or by default — from organizing files in folder hierarchies to searching as your method of “filing?” You already appreciate the value of fast searches using macOS Spotlight. HoudahSpot is the next-level solution that fills the gaps in Spotlight’s functionality.

Are you tired of wasting your time searching for files on your Mac? When Spotlight falls short, HoudahSpot takes productivity to a new level. To put it bluntly, HoudahSpot is like steroids for Spotlight on macOS.

Think of HoudahSpot as an advanced, productivity-oriented version of Spotlight:

  • Search for files using by name, text content, kind, date, and other metadata
  • Start and refine searches with just a few clicks
  • Combine any number of criteria to narrow down the list of results
  • Sort search results and assess relevance by author, image resolution, video length, etc.
  • Preview file content and text matches in context
  • Customize default search criteria, search locations, columns, and sort order to fit your workflow

HoudahSpot Tip: Find Files “By Example”

If you have found a file with similar properties to the files you need, you can use it to refine your search. Just drag that example file to the search pane to update the search criteria. For instance, suppose you are looking for the master file – a Photoshop, Affinity Designer, or similar file – used to create a JPEG image uploaded to your website. Chances are that both the master file and the final JPEG were last modified on the same date. Drag the JPEG to a “Modified” criterion in HoudahSpot’s search pane. Search criteria will update and limit search results to files modified on the same day as the JPEG.

Of course, the same idea works to prune excess results from your search results: Remove files that share a property with a file you know not to be relevant. You can, for example, drag the folder containing one of the search results to the location exclusion list. Your search results will no longer include files from the folder you deem irrelevant.

HoudahSpot is free to try. If you make use of search in your daily computer usage, try HoudahSpot today! Use the coupon code TERPSTRA2023 for a 30% discount on single user and on family licenses through December 31.