opening folders How to quickly open a folder /Applications/Optional?

[halloleo]

Just a simple question of a light user:

 

When I type  the first letters of an app in Alfred, the app appears as a selection for opening or showing in Finder. So far, so great.

 

However I have a folder in /Applications named /Applications/Optional, I sometimes would like to open quickly with Alfred too. When I start typing O p t i o n a... I never get /Applications/Optional as a selection...

 

Do I have to switch on Indexing of Folders somewhere? 

 

Many thanks for any pointers!

 

[FireFingers21]

@halloleo Unlike Spotlight Search which gives you everything at once, Alfred requires you be a little more explicit in what you're looking for, which is a big part of what makes it so much faster. Everything you're looking for should be covered here: https://www.alfredapp.com/help/features/file-search/#file-search

 

Feel free to drop any other clarifications or questions you may have!

[halloleo]

Cool. Thanks @FireFingers21 for the link. It says:

 

> Alfred's Default Results include the most essential file types; Applications, System Preferences, Contacts, and any file types you've added

 

So I somehow add Folders to the Default Results? Is there a draw back doing this?

Edited August 4 by halloleo
Add poster's name

[FireFingers21]

You can absolutely enable the checkbox for Folders in the Extras section. The Note and WARNING text underneath explain the drawback. It's really a balance between convenience and performance. Adding a few extra things to the Default Results should be fine, but finding what you want could become slower and more difficult the more things you add. I find the spacebar shortcut for the open command works best for me, but it's all a matter of preference.

 

For extra context, Alfred relies a lot on keywords for accessing specific functionality, so different Features and Workflows often have configurable keywords to access their specific functions. It makes using Alfred a lot more refined and performant since for the most part, he's only loading what you ask him to.

[Stephen_C]

1 hour ago, halloleo said:

So I somehow add Folders to the Default Results? Is there a draw back doing this?

For what it's worth I have Folders as part of Alfred's default results and:

• find it incredibly useful simply to type a folder name and press ⏎ to open that folder;
• don't find it has any material adverse effect on Alfred's performance on my M2 Mac.

As for "somehow” adding it's easy. Just do as advised in the link @FireFingers21 provided: go to Alfred Preferences → Features → Default Results and under Extras: check Folders.

 

Stephen

 

Stephen

[halloleo]

3 hours ago, Stephen_C said:

Go to Alfred Preferences → Features → Default Results and under Extras: check Folders.

 

 

This did the trick. Thanks! Very handy.

[vitor]

For this particular case, if you’re only looking to see that specific folder, I’d also consider searching for the name of an app in it, then do ⌥↩ to Reveal in Finder.¹

 

But the solution provided by @FireFingers21 is absolutely valid, and like @Stephen_C I also turn on Folders (and only that) in Extras. It’s all about moderation and managing the tradeoff: If one turns on every option in there it could get crowded, but just a couple can enhance your flow depending on what you use Alfred most for.

---

¹ Your shortcut may vary. You can set it in Alfred Preferences → Advanced → Action modifier (on the right).

[halloleo]

10 hours ago, vitor said:

For this particular case, if you’re only looking to see that specific folder, I’d also consider searching for the name of an app in it, then do ⌥↩ to Reveal in Finder.¹

 

Well, that's why I wanted to open the folder in the first place: To see what apps are in there...

 

10 hours ago, vitor said:

[...] and like @Stephen_C I also turn on Folders (and only that) in Extras. It’s all about moderation and managing the tradeoff: If one turns on every option in there it could get crowded, but just a couple can enhance your flow depending on what you use Alfred most for.

 

 

That's exactly what I now do too: Switching on Folders works for me reasonably well. So thanks for the suugestion!

 

As an experiment I have switched off "Folders in Home", but I'll see how I go with this.