QuadMBP

Q: Finder only searching song titles

I'm having a problem with finder in El Capitan 10.11.4. If I go to a music folder (mp3s) on my MBP, and search for "ella", finder will show me all of the files with "ella" in the filename (~500 of them). If I tell finder to search "name: ella" or "filename: ella", it will return only the files with "ella" in the ID3 title field. Even when I specifically tell it to search by filename, it only returns files with "ella" in the song title. Every file with "ella" as the artist is ignored unless "ella" is also in the song title.

 

If I wipe my spotlight index, I can search by filename and it shows me all the files with "ella" in the filename for a short period of time. When the indexing gets to the music folder, it goes back to only showing songs with "ella" in the title.?

 

How can I fix this?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch,Early 2015), OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

Posted on May 19, 2016 6:39 PM

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Q: Finder only searching song titles

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  • by ChitlinsCC,

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC May 20, 2016 2:27 PM in response to QuadMBP
    Level 6 (8,141 points)
    Notebooks
    May 20, 2016 2:27 PM in response to QuadMBP

    It may be useful to know your ultimate goal... what are you gonna DO with the results if you get 'em? (we may be able to offer an alternate method)

  • by QuadMBP,

    QuadMBP QuadMBP May 20, 2016 5:21 PM in response to ChitlinsCC
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 20, 2016 5:21 PM in response to ChitlinsCC

    My ultimate goal is to find music. I'm a DJ, and being able to find songs is important. The overall search is a problem, because if I search for something, Finder will only show me the title. This makes finding a version by a specific artist difficult. So as an alternative, I search for something I put in the filename. Sometimes I'll put a flag in the filename that tells me a something about the song, either a BPM or the fact that it's an edited version, or that it's the copy with the really long intro. If I search for "intro" I'll get songs with "intro" in the TITLE field, but not songs where I put "intro" in the filename. If I just type "intro" in the search, I'll get both songs with "intro" in the filename and with "intro" in the title.... but I won't be able to SEE the filename with "intro" in it because Finder only shows me the ID3 TITLE tag.

     

    So I search by filename. I've now decided that filename searching is outright broken. The best option I found is disabling the spotlight indexing. Searches take a little longer, but I get to see the filenames of the files I'm looking for.

     

    I can't be the only person in the world who uses filenames to identify songs.

  • by leroydouglas,

    leroydouglas leroydouglas May 20, 2016 5:24 PM in response to QuadMBP
    Level 7 (24,036 points)
    Notebooks
    May 20, 2016 5:24 PM in response to QuadMBP

    Check your Finder>preferences

     

    pic 1 4.59.39 PM.png

  • by QuadMBP,

    QuadMBP QuadMBP May 20, 2016 5:43 PM in response to leroydouglas
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 20, 2016 5:43 PM in response to leroydouglas

    I have that set to search the current folder intentionally.

  • by leroydouglas,

    leroydouglas leroydouglas May 20, 2016 5:44 PM in response to QuadMBP
    Level 7 (24,036 points)
    Notebooks
    May 20, 2016 5:44 PM in response to QuadMBP

    QuadMBP wrote:

     

    I have that set to search the current folder intentionally.

    How is that working for you?

  • by ChitlinsCC,

    ChitlinsCC ChitlinsCC May 20, 2016 5:54 PM in response to QuadMBP
    Level 6 (8,141 points)
    Notebooks
    May 20, 2016 5:54 PM in response to QuadMBP

    OK. Live presentation of iTunes songs.

     

    If I were doing DJ work theses days, I would stay right inside iTunes.

     

    I would pre-make Playlists.

     

    If I were to "wing it", I would use in-iTunes search and drop songs into a "now playing" Playlist on the fly.

     

    It would never have occurred to me to do this in the Finder, and I have been a MacHead since te late 1980s. Before iTunes even existed, I did pre-made media playlists in Macromedia Director for event presentation - I was not the "star of the show" DJ, however - NEVER EVER winging it (clients would've had a  fit)

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