few days ago, our fellow Applesfera wrote an interesting post showing us how to benefit from the smart folders that Mac OS X since version 10.4. Vista also includes this feature, so in this post will teach you how to take advantage of this feature in Windows, along with mention the differences / similarities between the smart folders in Windows and Mac
The origin of these? Smart folders?
Method
goes back to the days when Microsoft pretendia incorporate WinFS file system in Windows Vista. At first the idea was to incorporate database technology to dispense with tradicionalesâ ? â ? ?carpetas and organize files in a dynamic way, according to their content and metadata. Later, when WinFS was discarded, Microsoft wanted to add something like libraries Windows 7, which would create a view where visualizaramos files shared by s Method
everal physical locations. But the Longhorn beta testers complained that the mechanism was too difficult to understand for ordinary people ?la ? â ?, and Windows users had to settle with a single indexing system files and folders intelligent, very practical, but nothing revolutionary.
Unlike what happens in Mac OS X, Vista does not find any command to create a smart folder. In fact, Windows does not even get that name, they simply called? Saved searches?, But how they operate is identical to their equivalents maqueros. To create one, you simply must begin a search in Windows Search (this can be done from any folder, or invoking the browser with the keys WIN F) and then using click? Save search?.
We can use the search panel to filter items by type of content, date, label, size, etc.. And if we want to further refine the results, we can use the controls are located below the toolbar. By default, these controls allow us to create rules based on metadata associated with the contents of the folder. If a music folder, controls appear to filter files by Artist, Bitrate, album, etc.. But we can create rules based on the properties we want.
You can write directly on the box label search commands like: nature, such as: Adobe Acrobat document, author: John Doe or changed: yesterday (a full list of commands appears in the Windows help). And these instructions can accompany the operators such as NOT, OR, AND, the classic quotes, etc. so that our single folder containing the items you need.
By default, a few smart folders are already created, such as "Recent Mail", "Recent? or "shared content?. ? n which differ folders? recent content? with the menu? Recent Items? Start Menu? The difference is that we simply Recent Items menu shortcuts, however, the folder can interact intelligently with the files themselves.
In the same way that Mac can not save files in a smart folder. If we want a file that appears in one of them, we make sure it meets the conditions we have specified. If we have one that contains all the Word documents and Excel with the label? Summary new home?, Enough to add this tag to a file in Word or Excel to appear in the smart folder.
A flaw in the folders intelligent view regarding the Leopard is that once we have created and saved us will be almost impossible to modify (the default can not be changed at all). On the other hand, we have the advantage of being able to create something like? Smart folders within folders smart? Stacking function using the filters in file browser, and we see these? subfolders? in the directory tree on the left. Here's an example:
Inside the folder that contains smart PDFs modified for more than a month, he stacked the results according to their physical location (as well as I could have done under any metadata). That can be useful to us when and how we organized our files is not advantageous to the task you want to meet. So, instead of reorganizing the files, create smart folders, and then stack the elements.
Some examples are useful saved Busquedas create a document that contains all of Office unlabeled, so when we have time tagearlos work. Or if you're working on a project with someone, we can create a folder that contains all the mails that we exchanged with that person and containing a keyword linked to the project.
Other ideas are to make a movie / series that have fallen in recent days and we have not seen (for this we use the metadata? Date access?) Or Word documents that have been created by our colleagues and they are marked as "Pending". Just have to use our imagination and we will have endless possibilities (Windows Explorer supports 267 properties files). Moreover, if we have created a smart folder that need to access frequently, you can always? Anchor? links to the Favorites bar.
It is important to mention that if we're going to use smart folders intensive, it is advisable to keep off the option of semantic search in Windows Vista, and we could reduce the accuracy of the contents of folders (items that appear in them do not correspond to the rules that we defined). If we can use something that is
? No difference was that the Smart Folders and Libraries Windows 7?
Basically, the libraries of Windows 7 operating in the same way that libraries WMP, iTunes or the Zune software. We simply have a list of supervised physical folders, which can visualize it all together in the library. Here we have the advantage that if we can save files in a library, only have to indicate what will be the physical folder to which will go to those files.
The libraries are no substitute for smart folders, but completely different functions. While the libraries located in the files include a series of physical directories, smart folders include files that meet certain conditions. As the file fails to comply with the conditions, away from the smart folder, but we can only remove it from the library if you physically remove (or fail to monitor the folder that contains it).
And before you ask someone in the comments, if we remove one? Smart folder? not deleted the files in it, since in practice it is only a smart folder file (a saved search).
In Applesfera | Smart Folders, such as working with them in Mac OS X
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