Spotlight Searches POP Mail Attachments

Question

Level 1

8 points

Spotlight Searches POP Mail Attachments

I started using POP to fetch my Gmail. Now Spotlight is indexing all message attachments and showing results from them (which I do not want). If I add the Mail folder to the list of locations not to be indexed by Spotlight, messages in Mail become unsearchable.

How do I stop Spotlight from showing results from my mail attachments without altogether stopping search within Mail? (I do not have Mail and Chat checked in Spotlight preferences)

Thanks

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Aug 11, 2012 2:58 AM

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Answer 1

Sep 15, 2012 9:34 AM in response to halixk

Hello I have the same problem and I don't think this behavior happened in Lion or Snow Leopard (at least for me). Although the Spotlight "Search Results" pane in my preferences excludes "Messages and Chats", every spotlight search from the finder windows also includes result from every attachment in every mail message. As a result, spotlight searches are barely useable. I found no solution. However, it looks like it was an old bug (since 2007 at least: see https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1252521). Bug or bad decision -- the limit is hard to set between the two -- that reappeared in Mountain Lion.

l.

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Answer 2

May 3, 2013 5:59 AM in response to lucafrombrooklyn

Wouldn't it be nice if the they added back IS NOT and DOES NOT across the board? I would love at least be able to limit the search to several folders, or to EXCLUDE the mail folder. It would save me a ton of time.

I'm tempted to switch to another Mail app just to get out from under the crippling Spotlight search.

I thought John Ivy believed in the "Less is more" design concept? Not when it comes to searching. UGH. But he LOVES to hide useful tools. Baby-proofing the OS is such a bad idea.

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Answer 3

Csound1

Level 9

60,033 points

May 3, 2013 6:13 AM in response to kafelatte

kafelatte wrote:

Wouldn't it be nice if the they added back IS NOT and DOES NOT across the board? I would love at least be able to limit the search to several folders, or to EXCLUDE the mail folder. It would save me a ton of time.

I'm tempted to switch to another Mail app just to get out from under the crippling Spotlight search.

I thought John Ivy believed in the "Less is more" design concept? Not when it comes to searching. UGH. But he LOVES to hide useful tools. Baby-proofing the OS is such a bad idea.

Let's hear your vision of the non baby proof OS please.

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