Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual

Smart Folders

You may remember from Chapter 1 (or from staring at your own computer) that the Sidebar at the left side of every Leopard desktop window contains a set of little folders under the Searches heading. Each is actually a smart folder—a self-updating folder that, in essence, performs a continual, 24/7 search for the criteria you specify. (Smart folders are a lot like smart albums in iPhoto and iTunes, smart mailboxes in Mail, and so on.)

Note

In truth, the smart folder performs a search for the specified criteria at the moment you open it. But because it's so fast, and because it's always up to date, it feels as though it's been quietly searching all along.

As it turns out, the ones installed there by Apple are meant to serve as inspiration for you to create your own smart folders. The key, as it turns out, is the little Save button in the upper-right corner of the Spotlight window.

Here's a common example of how you might use it. (It's an example, by the way, that you can't replicate in any other operating system.) You choose File→Find. You set up the pop-up menus to say "last opened date" and "this week." You click Save. You name the smart folder something like Current Crises, and you turn on "Add to Sidebar" (Figure 3-8).

Tip

Behind the scenes, smart folders that you create are actually special files that are stored in your Home→Library→Saved Searches folder.

Figure 3-8. Mac ...