By default, they add in a specific order, but can be modified by clicking the first drop down box. Then click on the “+” button below to add the first operator. These operators aren’t specified in the text box, but instead added to your keyword search after the face.įirst, start a basic search in a Finder window by typing text in the search box. Moving beyond text-based operators, smart operators allow you to search with preset system tools. Unless you know exactly when you created the file, it’s not typically that useful. This will search for files from that date only, and none of the days around it. You can further narrow your search by using the created and modified operators which accept an eight-digit date, like so. The date operator use relative date operations, so yesterday also works. Using date:today will only search for files from today. Similarly, you can use the date operator to limit your scope to files of a certain date or recency. If you’ve seen something there, you can use it as a keyword. It scans the text under the “Kind” title. The file type can be almost anything, from a word like “document” to an extension like. The most common text operator, kind, is written like so: kind: As when searching in Google with advanced options, these text cues refine and control your search behavior beyond keywords. The simplest but least powerful way to target your search is with textual operators. You can control what files appear with simple text operators and more flexible smart operators. Use search operatorsįinder’s search box goes beyond simple keyword search. Here’s how you can unlock the power of Finder and search for files on macOS more effective.

Users can work on Macs for years without realizing how capable Finder’s search is beyond simple keyword search. While the built-in search tools for Finder are powerful, they’re not immediately discoverable. Macs are awesome, but macOS search isn’t always great.

Find files by date on a mac