Why use Spotlaser?

Every file on your computer has name, location, date and contact information, but it's not up to you to remember all this, that's what computers are for! With hard drives getting bigger every year, more and more files are saved every day. But where did you save them? Can you get to them easily? If you're not careful in saving your files where you know you'll find them, you could have a hard time retrieving them. You may know part or all of a file's name, information that a file contains, or other related information about a file. But how do you use this information to your advantage? The in-built search functions of Finder in Mac OS X give you the capability to find files, but without the flexibility and ease you may want or need.
That's where Spotlaser comes in. Spotlaser enables you to get results that are more focused and relevant to your requirements.
Spotlaser is perfect for live searching or to create Smart Folders for your most common searches.

The 3 easy steps to finding that file with Spotlaser:

1. Answer any one or more of the following 4 questions:

In the What... section: What are your search terms?
In the Where... section: Where on your computer you want to search?
In the When... section: When was the file created/modified/last opened?
In the Who... section: Whose name is attributed to the file?

2. Click on the Search button at the bottom of the window.
3. View the results of the search in a Finder Smart Folder.

About Spotlaser.

Spotlaser Search Bar.

The Spotlaser search bar at the top of the Spotlaser window provides the ability to perform a quick filename-only search, much like the way searches worked in previous versions (pre 10.4) of Mac OS X. This enables you to find that file without sorting through all the extra files that a normal Spotlight search would throw at you. Use the wildcard character * if you don't know the exact name of the file you're after.

What... Where... When... Who...

By answering any one or more of these these four simple questions, you can find that file lurking on your over-crowded hard drive. After entering your required information, press the Spotlaser button on the bottom of the Spotlaser window and a new smart folder (named "Spotlaser Search Results") will be opened in the Finder.
If you have selected the "Save Search Results" checkbox, a save sheet will ask for a name and location to save the Smart Folder.

What... File name, contents or metadata searches.

Search for a file by name, content, metadata, or any combination of the three. By searching for all the words (logical AND), any of the words (logical OR), without the words (logical NOT) or even the exact phrase, you can find that file you want or need. Use as many search terms as you please, separated by spaces. Wildcard searches are possible by using the * character anywhere in your search terms. Select the "Word based" check box to perform "smart word searches". Word based searches are an alternative to using the wildcard character * in your searches. Word based searches detect spaces and changes from lowercase letters to uppercase letters. Select the type of file you're looking for from the File Type menu. Don't know the exact size of the file you're looking for? Optionally enter a size value and you can find files that are smaller, bigger or approximately the size you want, by way of Spotlaser's "fuzzy" search method.

Where... Location searches.

Use the quick-select buttons to search all connected drives, your boot drive or your home folder, or use the Open.. button to pick somewhere more specific. Focus your search however you please.

When... Date searches.

When was this file created, last modified or last opened? Today, yesterday, this week, in the last 42 days, whenever. You can search by date by selecting an exact date, or a range of dates by selecting starting and ending dates from the calendar date picker, selecting from a list of time frames, or in the past X number of days, weeks, months or years.

Who... Contact searches.

Whose name is attached to this file? Search by Author, Composer, Contact, Contributor, Lyricist, Publisher or Recipient if your file contains this information in it's metadata.

System requirements.

Spotlaser requires you to be running Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) or later to performs its functions.

Unfortunately earlier versions of Mac OS are not capable of running Spotlaser.

Download Spotlaser.

Click on the icon or link below to download Spotlaser.

Note: If your downloaded Disk Image shows up as a .bz2 file and won't mount on the desktop, remove the .bz2 extension and you should now be able to mount the Disk Image. This issue is being looked into.

Spotlaser1.3.1.dmg
1.2 MB
Version 1.3.1

The Spotlaser disk image includes a User Guide which outlines all the details of Spotlaser usage. It is recommended reading. It outlines the possibilities of Spotlaser and also the limitations and caveats of its use.

Donate to frovil heavy industries.

Spotlaser is donationware.

To donate, via PayPal, click on your chosen currency.
(Secure connection)

Your support will ensure continued development of Spotlaser.
Thank you.

Thank you to all who took the time to e-mail me with your thoughts, problems and ideas. They are all much appreciated.

For enquiries, suggestions or bug reports, please don't hesitate to Email frovil heavy industries.



(C) 2005-2007 frovil heavy industries