[X-Unix] Spotlight (was: from tcsh to bash)

[John Baltutis]

On 05/24/05, Dan Frakes <lists at frakes.org> wrote:
> John Baltutis <baltwo at san.rr.com> wrote:
>> BTW, you continually state that "You can easily tell Spotlight to include
>> /usr/bin in searches if you prefer such a configuration." Really? How? Not
>> in the PrefPane and nowhere in Spotlight's Help.
>
> I provided the instructions last week:
>
> If you want to include a folder such as /usr/bin in a "Finder window" search
> (i.e., what has replaced the Find dialog in Tiger), you just use the
> "Others" button and add the desired directory (e.g., /usr/bin) to the list
> of places to search.

Ah! Finally figured out the appropriate steps: In Finder, CMD+F, click
Others, click + button, don't look for /usr because it doesn't show up as a
choice but click on New Folder, type in name of folder: /usr/bin, and that
adds it. Just a bit obscure that path. However, I then search for apply or
apropos in the Finder search and it comes up empty. So, even though I can
add /usr/bin, Spotlight can't find anything in it. If I change the search
criteria "last opened" to "name is", keeping the preset "kind any", it
still comes up empty. Must be a bug, a severe limitation, or is ignored.

>
>>> You're advocating throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I would argue
>>> that the solution here isn't to get rid of live indexing; it's to improve
>>> live indexing.
>>
>> How do you arrive at that conclusion? I didn't advocate deleting the
>> capability. See my last comment.
>
> You stated, "When the user decides to do a content search, then, and only
> then, should Spotlight update that index-otherwise Spotlight can continue to
> update everything, except content, as it currently does." That sounds like
> you're advocating doing away with live indexing of content. And without live
> indexing of content, Spotlight becomes much, much less useful.

Why? Because it let's the user control when to do it? Currently, the user
has no control over it. If there was an option in the PrefPane, then those
who want "live" indexing can choose it; for those who don't, they can turn
it off.