[OS X TeX] TeXShop and .cfg configuration files

[Herbert Schulz]

On Sep 28, 2006, at 6:10 AM, Bruno Voisin wrote:

> 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")
>

Howdy,

I think that this will, at least partially, change in Leopard.

> - hidden directories like /usr/local/man not indexed by default
>

I wish there was a Force Search list in the Spotlight preference pane  
like there is a Privacy list. Until then SpotlightIndexer (or using  
mdimport -f on the command line) is the best solution and works very  
nicely; at least until the next changes in those directories.

> - 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)
>

See the Privacy tab in System Preferences->Spotlight. Doesn't seem to  
work to exclude external volumes but there always is Spotless (or the  
CLI equivalent, mdutil -E -i off /Volumes/VolumeName) for that.

> - 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
>

I think that's a matter of taste and especially the speed of your  
computer.

> - 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
>

That definitely is annoying; one should at least have old behavior if  
new can't be done.

> - no built-in GUI offering the same functionality as the  
> SpotlightIndexer add-on (I prefer to avoid add-ons whenever possible)
>

See above for my wish.

> that I have eventually stopped using Spotlight at all.
>

Once I started using SpotlightIndexer, at least for directory trees  
that change slowly, adding directories to the Privacy list, disabling  
indexing on some backup data drives and adding importers for .tex  
and .dvi files I use it more and more.

Good Luck,

Herb Schulz
(herbs at wideopenwest.com)


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