HoudahSpot is a file search tool that builds upon macOS Spotlight. You turn to HoudahSpot when you need to:
Find a specific file. The proverbial needle in a haystack. A specific song. A letter you want to use as a template
Browse files related to a specific task or subject. Review research material, documentation, client correspondence, etc.
Collect files that share a common property. Tagged files. Photos and videos from last summer
What if you need a specific set of files? E.g. multiple files of which you have the names in an email, a CSV list, or a spreadsheet. HoudahSpot can help you with that too.
Let’s move on to the most important step: finding your files. HoudahSpot can, of course, search for files by tags or by a combination of tags.
Favorite Tags
The most obvious way to search for tagged files uses the sidebar of a HoudahSpot search window. Select View > Show Sidebar from the menu to reveal the sidebar.
Click a tag to find files with that tag.
Click the All Tagged Files item in the sidebar to find files that have at least one tag.
Alfred by Running with Crayons Ltd. is an award-winning app for macOS which boosts your efficiency with hotkeys, keywords, text expansion and more.
HoudahSpot is a powerful file search tool. It takes the guesswork out of Spotlight searches and helps you find files hidden deep in the “haystack” of files accumulated over the years.
HoudahSpot 5 includes an Alfred workflow that provides an elegant way to start a HoudahSpot search using Alfred. You can install this workflow from HoudahSpot > Preferences > Extensions.
Note: Workflows are part of the extended Alfred feature set. This needs to be unlocked by purchasing the Alfred Powerpack .
Start a file search from Alfred
The workflow is triggered using the hs keyword in Alfred. You may need to use the arrow keys to select the workflow. Press the space key to activate the workflow.
File tags can also be used to temporarily mark files. Since macOS has the handy ability to assign colors to file tags, such tags can be used to visually identify files. Both Finder and HoudahSpot flag the tagged files with colors of their tags.
This is particularly useful when shifting files around, merging folders, exporting photos to files, etc.
This is a follow-up to an older post. It has been updated for the new DEVONthink 3. Users of the older DEVONthink Pro (Office) can refer to the original post.
DEVONthink is a smart document management solution for Mac. It lets you organize and work with all your documents — bookmarks, email messages, text files, images, PDFs — in one place, regardless of where they come from.
Now that you have all your documents stored and organized in DEVONthink, you can rely on both DEVONthink and HoudahSpot to always find the piece of information you need.
Recent updates improve the integration between Houdah Software’s HoudahSpot and BinaryNights’ ForkLift.
HoudahSpot is a file search tool that helps Mac users organize files and finds these if they did not.
ForkLift is an advanced dual pane file manager and file transfer client for macOS. With ForkLift you can browse, manage, and organize files. ForkLift can access remote volumes, sync folders, and much more
ForkLift
The Search in HoudahSpot command in ForkLift allows you to start a HoudahSpot search focussed on the folder you are currently browsing in ForkLift. It is found in the Commands menu.
This tool makes use of HoudahSpot’s custom URL scheme. It can be customized from the Commands > Manage Tools… menu item. Refer to the ForkLift User Manual for more details about custom tools. The HoudahSpot User Guide describes the various options of the houdahspot4:// URL scheme.
File tags are keywords you assign to files. They allow you to organize and find files.
Example of tagged file: a paid invoice
Organize Files: Folders or Tags?
File tags allow you to organize files when a simple folder structure won’t do. Better yet: file tags can improve your existing filing strategy and make files easier to find. Continue reading Use Tags to Organize and Find Files
Objective Development’s LaunchBar is an adaptive app launcher, document browser, and much more.
HoudahSpot is a powerful file search tool. It takes the guesswork out of Spotlight searches and helps you find files hidden deep in the “haystack” of files accumulated over the years.
HoudahSpot 5 includes a LaunchBar action that provides an elegant way to start a HoudahSpot search using LaunchBar. You can install this action from HoudahSpot > Preferences > Extensions.
Start a file search from LaunchBar 6
The action is selected by typing the hs abbreviation in LaunchBar.