HoudahSpot for Mac

Name: HoudahSpot
Rating: 4.3 (12 reviews)
Author: Houdah Software Sarl.

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Used HoudahSpot for Mac? Share your experience and help other users.

Key Details of HoudahSpot

Find files, mail messages, photos, and other data easily
Last updated on 12/30/20
There have been 2 updates within the past 6 months
The current version has 0 flags on VirusTotal

Editors’ Review

Download.com staffDecember 13, 2021

An advanced search utility, HoudahSpot for Mac offers plenty of search filters and features, which enable you to do more thorough searches. It's a capable app but not necessarily easy to use.

Pros

Comprehensive search: HoudahSpot for Mac supports multiple search options, such as grouping the searches or using user-defined groups, and can search file attributes and the content of text files. It can also do a fuzzy search using the parameters you enter.

Include and exclude locations: The search can be limited to a certain location on the computer, or it can be specific to certain folders on user-mounted volumes or Spotlight indexed pages. Explicit locations can also be excluded.

Interface full of options: Integrating with Spotlight to help you find files on your computer, it features an interface that looks like Finder, except for the sidebar full of filters and options.

Cons

Not for simple searches: Simple searches can be done more easily with Spotlight.

Not for beginners: As an advanced search tool, it might not appeal to beginners. There are too many options that can easily confuse a beginner.

Search parameters can be contradictory: If you're not paying attention to all the search parameters you choose, you might end up with conflicting filters.

Bottom Line

HoudahSpot for Mac proves to be a potent search tool that allows you to filter many search results fairly quickly. However, this app can be counterintuitive to basic searches, for which filters are seldom needed. This app is definitely not for beginners -- grab it only if you must search through thousands of files using many filters.

Editors' note: This is a review of the trial version of HoudahSpot for Mac 3.9.2.

What’s new in version 6.0.1

Fixes a bug where the Info pane failed list current attribute filters
Fixes a bug where filters using regular expressions did not work as expected
Fixes a bug where clicking the menu bar icon did not always perform the action specified in HoudahSpot preferences
The HoudahSpot 6.0 plug-in for Apple Mail could slow the start of the Mail application

HoudahSpot for Mac

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Used HoudahSpot for Mac? Share your experience and help other users.

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Full Specifications

GENERAL

Release: December 30, 2020

Latest update: December 13, 2021

Version: 6.0.1

OPERATING SYSTEMS

Platform: Mac

Operating System: Mac OS X

Additional Requirements

macOS Catalina
macOS Mojave
macOS High Sierra

POPULARITY

Total Downloads: 8,766

Downloads Last Week: 1

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Last Updated

User Reviews

4.3/5

12 User Votes

A must have for everyone with huge and messy archives!
aglessiSeptember 18, 2014
Pros
Search templates are a real time saver
Cons
Interface could be simpler. Complex searches need to be carefully setted up to be effective.
Summary
The best equipped search app on the Mac.
A good one!
Marine_StrockAugust 5, 2014
Pros
1. A very convenient way to find the files you need. 2. Saves your active queries, so that you can quickly access the files you need to reach out to often. 3. Deep level of search. It found files I never thought I've had.
Cons
Finder level colors are displayed as dots
Summary
This is a fantastic app for debugging large code bases. I use it a lot and it works very well.
excellent replacement for Spotlight
ipolJuly 14, 2012
Pros
Houdaspot has had an evolution, while Spotlight has not! The permanent mds problems with Spotlight can be avoided this way!
Cons
Somewhat to versatile. A simpler (free) version for starters would probably be a good commercial approach as it would attract users to Houdaspot and allow them to grow (and buy) the somewhat frightening "Pro" kind of version.
Summary
Powerful but considerable learning curve
Barb PFebruary 26, 2011
Pros
Plethora of search parameters. and you can create complex combinations of search parameters for excellent specificity
Cons
The very richness of the application brings a learning curve. Some search fields are not as clearly defined as they might be
Summary
Excellent search front end but expect to put in a modicum of time learning to use it so that you find that which you are seeking.
OUTSTANDING AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!!!
hasadariFebruary 12, 2011
Pros
Excellent product with great flexibility. Very fast and thorough.
Cons
HoudahSpot is not the cheapest available.
Summary
I couldn't function without it.
Pretty decent, BUTÃ¢?Â¦
annabe11aJuly 22, 2010
Pros
Cons
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />The "sort columns" for the query results list is driving me BONKERS! Every time, and I mean EVERY TIME I start a new search (even with templates) the column view settings I patiently configured to my liking disappear and I have to do it all over again. IT'S MADDENING! I've tried tweaking the columns and re-saving the templates, saving copies as new templates, etc, and nothing, nadda. It may sound trivial but it becomes very frustrating very quickly when having to re-enable the info columns you want to see AND also have to use your mouse to re-drag each column to re-establish the width. OMG DRIVES ME CRAZY! In a nutshell, Houdahspot's GUI Spotlight search capabilities are much more granular than the Finder's, but the Finder DEFINITELY trumps Houdahspot's ability to display the search results. Which leads me to wonder why Houdahspot doesn't allow users to save searches as actual Smart Folders that can then be accessed via the Finder. That way the tool can focus on constructing search queries and then hand off the display responsibilities to the Finder.
Hard to Learn, but worth it
solipsisticJune 13, 2010
Pros
This is a true search engine, fills needs not filled by spotlight. Love the templates.
Cons
Very hard to learn, but I am learning. An exercise in logic.
Summary
Just what I needed.
Excellent replacemet for spotlight
RogueApril 24, 2010
Pros
Cons
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I use to have constant problems with spotlight (and still do when I try it). Spotlight would not find files which I know I have stored somewhere. Only way to make spotlight work is to rebuild its database, which take a while. HondahSpot just works. Use the template to setup searches which I use a lot, any problems which I have found (very very few) have been fixed with the next release. Excellent replacement for spotlight
Nice!
VersionTrackerUserOpinionJanuary 26, 2009
Pros
Cons
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />This is a terrific piece of software. I don't use Spotlight anymore and find the UI for HoudahSpot superior. Nice addition to the Mac OS. Try it - you'll like it!
Wonderful piece of software
Sun1WolfJanuary 5, 2009
Pros
Cons
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />Since I downloaded HoudahSpot a few months ago I wonder how I could do without it. It is far superior to Spotlight, which I stopped using altogether. Searching is flawless, you can search for a range of various criteria. Searching is fast, delivers good results, and so far I did not find a single glitch or bug. A really well done piece of software. Well done, Houdah!

Developer’s Description

By Houdah Software Sarl.

Find files, mail messages, photos, and other data easily.

HoudahSpot is a powerful file search tool for Mac. Use HoudahSpot to locate hard-to-find files and keep frequently used files within reach. HoudahSpot will immediately feel familiar. It works just the way you expect search to work. Start with a simple search. Refine it by adding and combining criteria. Browse search results. Add columns. Preview files and text matches. Pick the files you really need. Find files by name, text, content kind, author, recipient, pixel count. Combine criteria to narrow down search result. Specify which folders to search and which ones to exclude. Add any of the hundreds of columns available. Apply filters to reduce search results to only the relevant items. Preview files and text matches. Open files and, where the application supports it, continue searching for text matches by pressing command-G (Find Next). Set up templates for recurring searches. HoudahSpot builds upon Spotlight, which comes preinstalled with macOS.

HoudahSpot for Mac

Key Details of HoudahSpot

Editors’ Review

Pros

Cons

Bottom Line

What’s new in version 6.0.1

HoudahSpot for Mac

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User Reviews

A must have for everyone with huge and messy archives!

A good one!

excellent replacement for Spotlight

Powerful but considerable learning curve

OUTSTANDING AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!!!

Pretty decent, BUTÃ¢?Â¦

Hard to Learn, but worth it

Excellent replacemet for spotlight

Nice!

Wonderful piece of software

Developer’s Description