Hi Rachel, What is a smart folder? Hmm. Well a smart folder is a folder in finder, that lets you aggregate files scattered over your disk, matching criteria you specify. This way, these files need not be physically grouped, but you can view them as if they were grouped indeed. A smart folder is not a real folder. Instead, it's an intelligent search tool, of which you can save the criteria, which is then called the smart folder. It is a feature in finder, whereas a smart mailbox is a feature of mail.
One use for a smart folder, just to give you an example, could be a smart folder where you group all rtf files together. Or all pages documents, created after a certain date, just anything for that matter. Command option n, is to open a new finder smart folder. You can choose where to search, and what type of files you want in it, by selecting numerous things from a pop up menu. There are some 5 or 6 given, but a whole lot more are behind the others, choice. To follow this example, to find all rtf files, after you hit command, option, n, to make a new smart folder, you select, file extension, from the large criteria table. You will see a hide or unhide button in the smart folder creation dialog, that you can use to show this big list if it happens to be hidden. Once file extension is selected, fill in rtf in the accompanying text field. In the same dialog, a list of matching files will then show up. Now you know which rtf files you have on your system, on your desktop, or where ever you searched, and you have them all visible in one window, without changing their location on the disk. Now if you are on a found rtf file, or whatever else you preferred to search for, and you want to see where that very file actually lives on your drive, you can bring up its context menu with VO shift m, and then select open containing folder. The folder that the file is in, will now be displayed, with focus on the file itself, and you can close it again with command w. However, one painful thing for me was, how do you know the path to this containing folder once you open it from the found file's context menu? Only the folder name, and not the entire path, shows up in the title of the finder window. The solution is simple. Via the view menu, simply turn on show path. If you do that, at the bottom of the window you will find an interactable new path item. If you Vo accross it, you will immediately know in which folder you are looking. if you then quit this new smart folder window, you will be asked where to save this new smart folder. By default you are saving in the saved searches folder, but of course you can tick the disclosure box and select any save location you want for easy access later. Note: what is stored there, is not the list of files. Rather, it is your search criteria, and where you search. This makes the smart folder dynamic, so that the next time you open it, any newly added rtf or other files will also show up. Smart, isn't it? Hth, Paul. On Sep 16, 2011, at 10:35 PM, Rachel magario wrote: > Paul, do you know the difference between the smart mailbox and the smart > folder? > I was just wondering. > Rachel. > On Sep 16, 2011, at 2:18 PM, Paul Erkens wrote: > >> Hi Rachel, >> That one I know, because I had the same question 2 days ago. A smart mailbox >> is just a way to group messages together. Say you have a giant inbox, but >> you only want to see the messages from your class mate because he sends you >> useful attachments. Then, you can create a smart mailbox. All messages you >> select will appear there, but a smart mailbox is meant to just do that. It >> shows your selected messages, as if no other ones were present in your >> inbox. Deleting a message from the smart mailbox deletes it from inbox and >> vice versa. >> >> If you want to move email out of your inbox, over to another mailbox, then >> make it a normal one. Create new mailbox. Not a smart one. Then, go to mail >> preferences, command comma, and go to the rules tab. This is an item in the >> toolbar of mail preferences that you can click. That is the place to create >> a new message rule. If the following criteria are met, is the first item It >> is followed by a scroll area. Interact, and fill in the criteria. From: a >> special person. Or to: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. Etc. Then stop >> interacting, move on, and fill in what should happen, once a matching >> message is found. Move it to the following mailbox: and there you have a pop >> up button, from which you select your newly created, normal, non smart >> mailbox. From then on, new messages that match will be moved to your new >> mailbox because of the message rule. >> Hth, >> Paul. >> On Sep 16, 2011, at 9:10 PM, Rachel magario wrote: >> >>> Hi guys, >>> >>> I have created a smart mailbox for certain types of emails I get. But >>> instead of just being move to the smart mailbox. It just copy. Any one >>> knows how to actually make the emails go to the mail box and by pass the >>> in box. >>> Thanks for any help >>> Rachel >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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