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excluding .emlx files from SPOTLIGHT?!

hi all,


ever since i can remember i see "Mail Messages" in the form of .emlx files shown in Spotlight results. I have this item "Messages and Chats" UNCHECKED in Spotlight Preferences but they still show up.


this has been a longstanding problem and i am on a Mac Pro which cannot upgrade to Mavericks (which i don't want to do anyway because it will get rid of my highly customized colored files and folders organization).


anyway, Spotlight is significantly hampered since i end up with thousands of results basically in any kind of search.


can i please get some help with a couple of things?


1. is there a way to trash a plist for spotlight preferences so that i can set these up again?

2. is there a way to exclude a specific file type from search results.

3. can anyone explain how i would search /for/ a specific file type? i mean, say in an instance where i know there is a file that has "myfile" in the name somewhere and where i know the file i am looking for is a /numbers file or a .pdf file. can anyone help me with how to do this search?

4. can anyone help me with #3 but for a file type that is not listed as a normal mac file type such as dwg or dxf or something similar?

5. there is no way to /exclude/ a file type from a search is there? say i searched for soemthing or other but i didn't want to see pdf files shown in the result.


i would test more in Spotlight but i think i am not understanding very well how it works.


THANKS in advance.

iPhone 5, iOS 7.0.3

Posted on Feb 15, 2014 3:02 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Feb 18, 2014 12:47 PM

In Finder hold down the option/alt key while selecting the Go menu item. Select Library. Then go to Preferences/com.apple.spotlight.plist. Move the .plist to your desktop.


Open and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.


If the application is the same, return the .plist to where you got it from, overwriting the newer ones.


If you want to make your user library permanently visible, run the below command in Applications/Terminal.


chflags nohidden ~/Library/

You will need to do that after any updates.


Spotlight – 5 things You Never Knew


Spotlight Adjustments


Spotlight Basics


Spotlight – Create Good Queries


Spotlight – Key Words


Spotlight – Narrow Search Results


Spotlight Tips


3 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Feb 18, 2014 12:47 PM in response to hotwheels22

In Finder hold down the option/alt key while selecting the Go menu item. Select Library. Then go to Preferences/com.apple.spotlight.plist. Move the .plist to your desktop.


Open and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.


If the application is the same, return the .plist to where you got it from, overwriting the newer ones.


If you want to make your user library permanently visible, run the below command in Applications/Terminal.


chflags nohidden ~/Library/

You will need to do that after any updates.


Spotlight – 5 things You Never Knew


Spotlight Adjustments


Spotlight Basics


Spotlight – Create Good Queries


Spotlight – Key Words


Spotlight – Narrow Search Results


Spotlight Tips


excluding .emlx files from SPOTLIGHT?!

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