Find files

Find files by name, by the text they contain, or by a pattern. Then open the folder of any result in the active pane.

Search for files#

1. Press Command-F (⌘F), or choose File > Find Files…. You can also press ⌥F7.
2. Type what you are looking for in the Search… field.
3. Under Match by, choose how to match:
   • Name finds files and folders whose name contains the text.
   • Content finds text files that contain the text.
   • Regex matches file names against a regular expression, for example ^IMG_\d+\.jpe?g$.
4. Press Return, or click Search.

Results appear while the search runs. Click Stop (⌘.) to end it early. The line below the results shows how many were found.

MeiFiles searches the folder shown under the search field, and every folder inside it.

Note: A Name search uses the Spotlight index, so it is fast. Files in folders that Spotlight does not index are not found.

Choose search options#

• Case Sensitive treats Report and report as different.
• Hidden Files also searches files and folders whose names start with a dot.
• Archives also looks at the names of files inside ZIP and TAR archives.

Narrow the results with filters#

Click Filters to show more conditions. A file must meet all of them.

Click Clear Filters to remove all of them.

Open a result#

Double-click a result. The sheet closes, and the active pane opens the folder that contains the file. If the result is a folder, the pane opens that folder.

Save a search#

1. Set up the search.
2. Click Saved, then choose Save Current Query….
3. Type a name, then click Save.

To use it again, click Saved and choose its name. A saved search keeps the text, Match by, Case Sensitive and Hidden Files. To remove one, choose Saved > Delete Saved….

See also#

• Replace text in many files
• Compare two folders
• Select files