I found myself launching Pro Tools specifically to access the very good search tools available in the Workspace Browser. The thing was, I wasn’t using Pro Tools and it got me thinking that there must me a way to conduct the same search using the MacOS Finder.

Spotlight and search in MacOS is better than it used to be but it doesn’t find files as well as it might. However some of the blame can usually be attributed to people not knowing how to use it. One example of this is the complex, audio specific searches the search in Finder can do. Did you know how much there is lurking under the “Other” category?

How Do I Set Up A Complex Search?

All Mac users know about Spotlight and the related Search field in Finder windows. In this example I’m searching my Mac for audio files recorded at 192KHz. I pretty much never record at 192 so there won’t be many but I certainly have no idea where they are. I can search by filename but that isn’t relevant. I can search by date but I have no idea when I would have recorded anything at 192. But did you know that Apple’s Finder can help with the tools found under the ‘Other” category?

Once you have put in a search term in the search box you will get the option of adding rows of search criteria. Just hit the + button. Some basic search terms are included by default but if you hit the “other” button you’ll be presented with a list of criterial and metadata to search against. There are quite a few audio related criterial such as sample rate, channel width, bit depth and more. Check it out.

Of course multiple search terms can be stacked and the appropriate greater than, less than, before or after terms are available for constructing search arguments. Finder search is more powerful than many realise.