How to Build Smart Folders on Mac

Step by step

1. 10 sec

   Create a new smart folder

   In Finder, choose File then New Smart Folder from the menu bar. An empty search window opens. Choose This Mac or a specific folder using the buttons under the toolbar to set where the search will look before you add any rules.

   Note: Nothing is written to disk yet. Close the window now and you have lost nothing but the click.
2. 45 sec

   Add your first criteria row

   Click the plus button at the right of the search bar. Set the first popup to Kind and pick a type such as PDF or Image. Each plus adds another row, and the rows combine, narrowing the result set with every one you add.

   Note: Start with two rules. Three is usually one too many, and you will spend the evening wondering why the folder is empty.
3. 45 sec

   Add a date rule that keeps working

   Add a row and set it to Last Modified Date, then choose within last and enter a number of days. Because the rule is relative, the folder stays current on its own. A fixed calendar date freezes the result and ages badly.

   Note: Relative beats absolute. A folder pinned to one date becomes a museum exhibit within a season.
4. 20 sec

   Save the search and name it

   Click Save at the right of the search bar. Name the search, choose where to keep it, and leave Add To Sidebar checked if you want it in every Finder window. The default location is the Saved Searches folder inside your Library.

   Note: The file it writes ends in .savedSearch. Open one in a text editor sometime if you want to see the query underneath.
5. 30 sec

   Edit the rules later

   Open the smart folder, click the action button in the toolbar, and choose Show Search Criteria. The rule rows reappear above the results. Change them and click Save to overwrite the existing search rather than creating a second one.

   Note: Editing is the part most people never find, so they build a second smart folder instead. Then a third.
6. 15 sec

   Remember what it is not

   You cannot drag a file into a smart folder the way you can with a real folder, because there is nothing to put it in. Deleting a smart folder deletes the saved query only. Every file it listed stays exactly where it was.

   Note: It is a question, not a container. Say that out loud once and the whole feature stops being confusing.