Most operating systems (Windows) require the use of file extensions, but others do not (Unix). This helps the computer to organize its functions and work much faster. Operating systems will not look into the content of the files to be opened, but instead, it will immediately locate the file extension of the file and locate for associated application that can open INSTALLER files. If there is no application on your computer which can open INSTALLER files you need to search on the internet which application can open INSTALLER files.įile extensions help computers locate correct application for specific files.
On a modern Mac with an SSD, searching your boot disk takes only a few seconds when you search for file names.
To complain that FAF is slow because it does not use an index is ignoring that this app tries to solve the issue that Spotlight causes because of its limited index. The purpose of this app is to find what's on your disk, and NOT use an index for that very reason, because (a) the index may not be up-to-date, or (b) may not exist at all, such as when you're searching on external or remote volumes. It is slow (it doen't create an index file). It hardly improves the find facility within finder. When I have to actually find something, I use FAF instead of the Finder.” “I keep FAF as an icon in the toolbar of every Finder window. “I use it when I want to find a specific kind of file or to see and eliminate or compare the double and redundant files. Find Any File is in my arsenal of tools when things files or folders go astray.” “As the administrator for about 50 school Macs, I often need to look for some file misplaced by a novice or, while troubleshooting a system, I often need to search for obscure operating system files. “FAF goes where Spotlight's can't easily reach.”
It lets you view the found items within their respective folders, making it often much easier to browse through 100s of found items.įAF can not search file content other than plain (unformatted and uncompressed) text - and even that is comparatively slow, so don't expect this to be a good replacement for Spotlight when you need to find text in your documents.įor searching text in Mails, Word, Excel, PDF and similar files, Spotlight is still the best tool (whose results can be enhanced with Tembo and HoudahSpot, also available in the App Store). This lets you search for file properties such as name, creation and modification dates, file size, even plain text inside files.Īnother useful feature is its hierarchical results view (see screenshots). those inside bundles and packages, and inside system folders that are usually excluded from Spotlight search.Ĭontrary to Spotlight, it does not use a database but instead searches the data on disk directly. You can even search on disks that are not indexed by Spotlight, including network server (NAS) volumes.įind Any File can find files that Spotlight doesn't, e.g.