sort by File extensions

[JohnnyLang]

Hi. I can't seem to figure out how to sort by file extensions in OS X. If I sort by Kind, it lumps JPG and TIF together. I need to isolate these. Any tips on how to do this without having to command click every other file in a list to select all of one kind? Thanks.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Don't believe you can sort by extension, but you should be able to go to the folder you are interested and in the search window type in the extension, ".jpg" for example and limit it to just that folder and it should show you all of those type files..

 

[JohnnyLang]

Thanks. That works, once you know what to click on because it gives the entire computers listing of jpg files. At least the folder name is at the top of the screen and clicking on that isolates it to just the folder I want. Never had to do that on previous Macs and definitely not on a PC since they basically sort logically naturally.

 

[Lastmboy]

Thanks. That works, once you know what to click on because it gives the entire computers listing of jpg files. At least the folder name is at the top of the screen and clicking on that isolates it to just the folder I want. Never had to do that on previous Macs and definitely not on a PC since they basically sort logically naturally.

You can change the default in Finder preferences to search the Current Folder instead of the whole mac. Type the file extension in the search box and you'll be looking at just those files in the folder you are in.

 

[chas_m]

Smart Folders would also be an option if you need this done on a regular basis.

 

[Lastmboy]

Smart Folders would also be an option if you need this done on a regular basis.

Is it possible to setup "complex" smart folders? Say you wanted to see all files with any one of 3 different extensions? Just curious.

 

[chas_m]

Is it possible to setup "complex" smart folders? Say you wanted to see all files with any one of 3 different extensions? Just curious.

No, sorry, doesn't look like it. The conditionals on a Smart Folder appear to be set to OR rather than AND or a choice, so you can only have a Smart Folder of one image type at a time (you can add conditions for other parameters, like "JPG files with a modification date between X and Z").

 

[Slydude]

You can create the equivalent of an AND search when doing Smart Searches. I just tested it by creating a folder that searches for images and only included .jpg and..png files. When clicking the + button in the search window to add search criteria Option clicking the + sign brings up an option that can be set to "Any", "All" or "None" where criteria can be added to create a boolean search.

Try the following as an example:
1. Start a Smart folder and set KIND to Image and all
2. Option click the + sign at the right of the window
3. This is where the any, all, none option appears. Set criteria to "Any"
4. Set the first drop down to file extension .jpg.
5 Click the + sign to add file extension .png

This seems to work. In my case it excluded several .tiff It took a little experimentation to get the Any, All, None settings correct. I wish they would just use the regular Boolean terms. Advanced searches in the Finder | Macworld

 

[Lastmboy]

You can create the equivalent of an AND search when doing Smart Searches. I just tested it by creating a folder that searches for images and only included .jpg and..png files. When clicking the + button in the search window to add search criteria Option clicking the + sign brings up an option that can be set to "Any", "All" or "None" where criteria can be added to create a boolean search.

Try the following as an example:
1. Start a Smart folder and set KIND to Image and all
2. Option click the + sign at the right of the window
3. This is where the any, all, none option appears. Set criteria to "Any"
4. Set the first drop down to file extension .jpg.
5 Click the + sign to add file extension .png

This seems to work. In my case it excluded several .tiff It took a little experimentation to get the Any, All, None settings correct. I wish they would just use the regular Boolean terms. Advanced searches in the Finder | Macworld

That's cool. Didn't know you could do that. Thanks for the info. One nice thing about being a new switcher... lots of new things to discover I'm learning more and more that it's not so much about comparing specific features between OSX and Windows as it is about how you do things. It seemed frustrating that Finder can't do some of the things that Windows explorer can... until I discovered that there are better ways to do some things.

 

[Slydude]

I knew it could be done but had to go in search of that article for the specifics. I had forgotten the keystrokes needed to bring up that set of options. Would be nice if it were more obvious.

 

[Lastmboy]

Don't believe you can sort by extension, but you should be able to go to the folder you are interested and in the search window type in the extension, ".jpg" for example and limit it to just that folder and it should show you all of those type files..

Now that I actually have my very own iMac, I'm resurrecting an old thread...
Now I've been trying to figure out a solution to selecting all file with one file extension. It's really quite annoying not being able to. Very common thing for a developer. Anyways, I figured your idea of just typing the extension in the search bar. However, it searches that folder AND all sub-folders. Is there any way to get it to just filter the current folder?

 

[Slydude]

If you are searching from a Finder window try this:
1. From the Finder open Finder preferences, click the "Advanced" tab and choose Search Current Folder" from the drop down. This only needs to be done once.
2. Open the folder you want to search in.
3. Type search criteria in the box at the top right of the window and press Return.

 

[Lastmboy]

If you are searching from a Finder window try this:
1. From the Finder open Finder preferences, click the "Advanced" tab and choose Search Current Folder" from the drop down. This only needs to be done once.
2. Open the folder you want to search in.
3. Type search criteria in the box at the top right of the window and press Return.

Already had it set that way. I just double-checked and tried it again, but it finds all matches in current folder plus all matches in all sub-folders of current folder.