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After getting my mac back from repair (official apple warranty) I migrated data from a mac mini. Now my recents smart folder has hundreds of files showing with last opened dates well over two years old.
Can the recents folder be repopulated?
Can the recents folder be limited to dates less than 2 years old?
Can we do anything with the recents folder besides hide it (which defeats its purpose).
B
MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 13.0
"Recents" is completely useless.
I always remove it, because there is no way to control what shows there, and you can't find anything if it shows hundreds of files, anyway.
The Finder has long offered a much more useful alternative in the form of Smart Folders.
YOU select what should appear.
Want all pdfs containing some string in the name, and created this week? Easy.
Or all images with certain pixel dimensions, file size, and date? Easy.
You get to keep your Smart Folders in the Sidebar, and always find what you really want.
"Recents" is completely useless.
I always remove it, because there is no way to control what shows there, and you can't find anything if it shows hundreds of files, anyway.
The Finder has long offered a much more useful alternative in the form of Smart Folders.
YOU select what should appear.
Want all pdfs containing some string in the name, and created this week? Easy.
Or all images with certain pixel dimensions, file size, and date? Easy.
You get to keep your Smart Folders in the Sidebar, and always find what you really want.
wmgi wrote:
Is it possible to make the new smart folder the default one opened by the finder?
Almost, but not quite.
In Finder Preferences, you can select "New Finder windows show:" and choose Other, then navigate to any folder you want. However, it is not possible to select a Smart Folder, only regular folders.
They will be, however, readily available in the Sidebar if you choose to, so not very far at any time.
For example, here are two Smart Folders right at the top of Favorites:
Recent’s is primarily populated by meta-data set when you open the file in the finder. Restoring will often bring that meta-data along with the file. The only way to re-populate recent is to open files in the finder.
The name, “Recents,” is a bit of a misnomer. It’s really, “files I have opened, ordered by date opened.“
It appears that opening a file will not repopulate, but rather add to it.
As you can see, there are files dating back to 2017...
Sounds like it is repopulating with the newly opened item. You can continue the repopulation efforts by introducing more new items which will eventually drive the other entries down into semi-obscurity.
In case the concept of a Smart Folder isn't completely clear, there is nothing inside of a Smart Folder. Items are not moved or copied into this special folder. All of the items appear there as the result of a search for metadata that says when the file was last opened. You cannot, through the GUI, remove the metadata from each of the files.
It appears that opening a file will not repopulate, but rather add to it.
As you can see, there are files dating back to 2017...
Is it possible to make the new smart folder the default one opened by the finder?
recents smart folder
