I was crushed to learn that Leopard was not going to sport the spotlight window (remember that?!) which displayed the results in a clean way, with collapsible file types, reordering of searches, and the fact that you would see around 15 results per file type. I hate Leopard’s Finder search, since it puts everything together, shows you every file on your system related to that match, and looks pretty much like a mess.
I’ve known about HoudahSpot for a while now (I even won a license back in 2005, which I totally forgot about), but never got round to using it. A recent update caught my attention, and here I am with a small review of this search tool that promises to companion Spotlight during those difficult times
HoudahSpot does not attempt to replace the Spotlight menubar. I still use that for quick look ups, which when used with conditional searches works for most part. I do however sometimes find the need to grab very specific results, and the Finder search as I have mentioned is quite painful.
Daily use
HoudahSpot instead promises a very advanced search that is super simple to use. I could find very specific files by quickly setting up conditions and locations. Most of the time I could narrow it down to less than 10 results, with my required file right at the top. All this done with just a few mouse clicks.
The performance of the search is super fast (except in certain cases where it would lock up for a few seconds). This is partly because it conducts the search after you have hit enter, after which it will live update according to the search criteria. It doesn’t render any icon previews, and there’s even an option to turn off the icons completely.
The interface is very pleasant (I’m told the previous UI colour was a hideous yellow), and features a button for an inspector as well as integrated Quick Look support. The bottom of the window shows a path bar so you know exactly where the file comes from.
Features
Saved templates is similar to saved searches in Spotlight, but they’re much more flexible. It comes with a bunch of search templates for finding long lost files, recent files, music gone astray, and you can create your own templates. The devs have also put up a whole lot of tips and tricks you can do with the app.
Blitz Search is something that I just don’t understand. It’s a spotlight-like drop down search from the menubar, but all it does is spawn a new search window. I mean, why wouldn’t I just hit the shortcut to go to the main search instead of coming to this? Perhaps there’s more to it than meets the eye.
For what its worth
My only complaint about this app, is its price. At $25, it may be a few dollars too much for casual usage. If you plan to use this app extensively, it will definitely be worth it. Features wise, it is perfect.
For me however, I don’t usually need to use anything other than the spotlight menu (not many files I’d say), and even then, I wouldn’t mind taking the extra effort to find something in Finder. A demo version is available, to give you a sneak preview of what the app is all about.
Any HoudahSpot users out here? What’s your opinion about this app?
