How do I search through zipped folders with Finder?

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Level 1

8 points

How do I search through zipped folders with Finder?

Hi: I'm running a MacBook Pro with Snow Leopard 10.6.6 (updated). Ziplight says that in this version of the OS Finder should be able to search through zipped folders to find files, but it's not working for me. Anyone have any thoughts on what I'm doing wrong? I don't want to have to unzip all my archives to find one Word doc. Thanks so much, in advance. 🙂

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Jan 13, 2011 3:48 PM

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Answer 1

etresoft

Level 9

56,206 points

Jan 14, 2011 7:56 PM in response to Dustin E

Dustin E wrote:
Hey etresoft: Thanks! I downloaded your program. It works for me, and I was able to search the zipped files by mounting the folder. Follow up question for you. The external drive where I have all my archives is NTFS formatted. So, I think that's why I had to pull the zipped file on my Mac to use your program. Would that be accurate?

Did you get an error when trying to use ZipMounter on the NTFS volume? I haven't tried that and don't know if it would work. ZipMounter is based on MacFUSE and some open-source code, so it isn't the most stable thing in the world.

If so, could I copy all my files from the external drive, reformat that drive using Mac OS protocol and then be able to search right on that drive? That's the real goal I have.

Essentially, you want to be able to perform spotlight indexing on an NTFS volume. See this thread: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2001909

First you will probably need to have write access to the NTFS. Install a writeable NTFS driver for MacOS X first - http://macntfs-3g.blogspot.com/. Like ZipMounter, this software is also based on MacFUSE. There are native drivers available too - http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/.

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Answer 2

bdmarsha

Level 4

2,580 points

Jan 13, 2011 4:42 PM in response to Dustin E

Search for zip quicklook to find QuickLook plug-ins that will let you see the file names and types inside zip archives. I know it is not quite the same as search, but perhaps it would suffice if you didn't have too many archives to look at.

bd

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Answer 3

etresoft

Level 9

56,206 points

Jan 13, 2011 4:49 PM in response to Dustin E

How are you searching? You need to use Spotlight (the magnifying glass in the upper-right corner) to search the file system for content.

The BetterZip QuickLook generator is handy for peeking inside zip files: http://macitbetter.com/BetterZip-Quick-Look-Generator

I wrote a program that will allow you to mount a zip file in the Finder and extract just the file you need: http://etresoft.org/zipmounter.html

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Answer 4

Jan 13, 2011 5:58 PM in response to etresoft

Please don't flame the newbie here--what's QuickLook? Is that a separate utility I need in order to use the BetterZip plugin? I followed your BetterZip link and didn't find any info about where to get QuickLook.

I'm a PC who just got a MacBook Air, and I'm extremely frustrated by the fact that I can't look inside my archives or add files to existing zip archives, which is standard in Windows 7. Why on earth would Finder assume I want to unzip the whole archive by default?

I'm a writer and I zip all of my text and photos together for each article when they're published, but sometimes need to refer back. Sounds like QuickLook/BetterZip just might solve my problem.

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Answer 5

etresoft

Level 9

56,206 points

Jan 13, 2011 6:24 PM in response to Jennifer Edwards

Jennifer Edwards wrote:
Please don't flame the newbie here--what's QuickLook? Is that a separate utility I need in order to use the BetterZip plugin? I followed your BetterZip link and didn't find any info about where to get QuickLook.

QuickLook is part of the OS that allows you to take a "quick look" inside a file. Select a file in the Finder and press the space bar.

There are a number of QuickLook plugins for various file types. To install one just copy it to the "QuickLook" folder inside the "Library" folder in your home directory. You may have to create that folder.

I'm a PC who just got a MacBook Air, and I'm extremely frustrated by the fact that I can't look inside my archives or add files to existing zip archives, which is standard in Windows 7. Why on earth would Finder assume I want to unzip the whole archive by default?

Windows uses a very simple file system. MacOS X has a lot more going on underneath. It can't accurately represent Macintosh files on anything except a Macintosh file system. There are compatibility modes for things like servers and foreign file systems, but they are only for interfacing with those foreign systems. They shouldn't be used for day-to-day operations.

I'm a writer and I zip all of my text and photos together for each article when they're published, but sometimes need to refer back. Sounds like QuickLook/BetterZip just might solve my problem.

Don't forget Spotlight. While it is a bit of a hassle to update a zip file, you can search your computer (and any zip files therein) very quickly and easily for any data.

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Answer 6

Dustin E Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 14, 2011 7:38 PM in response to etresoft

Hey etresoft: Thanks! I downloaded your program. It works for me, and I was able to search the zipped files by mounting the folder. Follow up question for you. The external drive where I have all my archives is NTFS formatted. So, I think that's why I had to pull the zipped file on my Mac to use your program. Would that be accurate? If so, could I copy all my files from the external drive, reformat that drive using Mac OS protocol and then be able to search right on that drive? That's the real goal I have. Thanks so much for your help!!

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Answer 7

Dustin E Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 14, 2011 9:03 PM in response to etresoft

"Did you get an error when trying to use ZipMounter on the NTFS volume? I haven't tried that and don't know if it would work. ZipMounter is based on MacFUSE and some open-source code, so it isn't the most stable thing in the world."

I didn't get an error when using the ZipMounter on the NTFS volume. I just got nothing. It opened a new window with nothing in it. When I copied the zipped folder (one of hundreds on the volume, external drive) back to my Mac and opened with ZipMounter...bingo, no problem.

"First you will probably need to have write access to the NTFS. Install a writeable NTFS driver for MacOS X first -"

I have Tuxera installed, as that was the only way for me to read and write big folders of over 1GB. I'm thinking maybe there's not a way to be able to search an NTFS volume en toto with Finder or Spotlight. That's why I asked if I should reformat that drive. If I reformatted the drive from NTFS to Mac's format (not sure what to call it, but when you format a new drive) that it would work? Or is there simply an issue searching zipped folders.

See I have 100 or so zipped folders and I need to be able to search through them all to find keywords (just document titles and folder names, not contents).

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Answer 8

etresoft

Level 9

56,206 points

Jan 15, 2011 5:34 AM in response to Dustin E

Dustin E wrote:
I didn't get an error when using the ZipMounter on the NTFS volume. I just got nothing. It opened a new window with nothing in it. When I copied the zipped folder (one of hundreds on the volume, external drive) back to my Mac and opened with ZipMounter...bingo, no problem.

I'll have to try that out.

I have Tuxera installed, as that was the only way for me to read and write big folders of over 1GB. I'm thinking maybe there's not a way to be able to search an NTFS volume en toto with Finder or Spotlight. That's why I asked if I should reformat that drive. If I reformatted the drive from NTFS to Mac's format (not sure what to call it, but when you format a new drive) that it would work? Or is there simply an issue searching zipped folders.

See I have 100 or so zipped folders and I need to be able to search through them all to find keywords (just document titles and folder names, not contents).

Reformatting the drive as HFS+ should take care of it.

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