[OS X TeX] TeXShop and .cfg configuration files

Themis Matsoukas matsoukas at psu.edu
Thu Sep 28 14:57:26 CEST 2006


On Sep 28, 2006, at 7:10 AM, Bruno Voisin wrote:

> I haven't used locate in a long time, but when I was using it it  
> was through the nice GUI Locator <http://www.sebastian-krauss.de/ 
> software/#locator> (now unsupported).
>
> Regarding Spotlight, I have grown so frustrated by its lack of  
> sophistication:
>
> - no way to combine multiple search criteria as with good ole' find  
> (like search for all files with name containing "data" created by  
> user "bruno" in application "Mathematica" with modification date  
> more recent than "2 september 2006")
>
> - hidden directories like /usr/local/man not indexed by default
>
> - automatic background operation and lack of user interaction,  
> preventing, for example, to instruct Spotlight not to index  
> specific directories (I know I have directories containing buggy  
> PDF files on which Spotlight chokes, but I want to keep these files  
> on disk given they print OK and they are results that I have  
> created years ago and might reuse someday)
>
> - start of search as soon as you start typing in the Spotlight  
> search field, instead of waiting that you have finished carefully  
> crafting your search criterion
>
> - necessity to get a specific Spotlight importer for each and every  
> file format to index, instead of allowing, for example, indexing  
> based on file name only for those files for which no importer exists
>
> - no built-in GUI offering the same functionality as the  
> SpotlightIndexer add-on (I prefer to avoid add-ons whenever possible)
>
> that I have eventually stopped using Spotlight at all.
>
> For all the hype that followed its introduction, I am now thinking  
> Spotlight is mostly a nuisance, and I miss standard search  
> functionality. I hope Leopard will turn Spotlight into something  
> eventually useful.
>
> As a result, for most searches I am using BBEdit Search  
> functionality, by instructing BBEdit to search whole directories  
> and include invisible files in the search.
>
> I miss a way of turning Spotlight off and simply returning to the  
> former Finder's Find functionality.

I also find that the Spotlight is a bad mix of progress and  
regression. For me, the two absolutely unacceptable behaviors (and I  
agree with many of the others you mention) are:

1. Hidden files are not found EVEN THOUGH you are offered the option  
to look for them! (here, Apple outdid MS -- there ought to be an  
award for blatantly poking fun at the user)

2. If you want to search for the name of a file (the most common  
search in my experience) you have to go through additional clicks to  
enter that name in a separate search field.

Themis





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