I have a folder with many subfolders. These subfolders contain many documents.
I want to search the current folder, including all subfolders, for a particular word or phrase. (Searching the CONTENT of all documents.) How can I do this?
Thanks
I tried EasyFind before but it wasn't very easy. Didn't seem to work for something so simple.
Find any file says....
If you search for content, such as in e-Mails, PDFs, Word docs etc., use Spotlight.
So, I'm still without a solution. 😟
In Finder Preferences, Set it to Search current folder.
Then, open the folder you wish to start from and type in the search terms. It will by default search all content and file names for those terms.
If you just want contents, click the + button on the right of the search header bar.
Choose Contents and type the search term there.
You can bring up a search window by typing cmd-F, then change the criteria to Contents.
Spotlight, or the Finder search window can get the job done in a recursive folder drilling, provided you have followed the advice to set Finder Preferences : General to search the current folder — and you have the appropriate Spotlight search result categories selected in System Preferences.
A single word search does not require quoting, but multiple words do. You can also perform an exclusion search, such as: wintry -portmanteau that finds all documents containing wintry but not portmanteau. The keywords AND and OR can also be used in the search too.
See if you can find the file(s) using one of these programs. If you go Finder/View/Show Path Bar, it will show you where it is located.
EasyFind – Spotlight Replacement
Search content of all documents in all subfolders
