Powerful and File Desktop Search Software for your macOS

HoudahSpot for Mac

Browse by Company

Adobe, Apowersoft, Autodesk, Avast, Corel, Cyberlink, Google, iMyFone, iTop, Movavi, PassFab, Passper, Tenorshare, Wargaming, Wondershare

HoudahSpot for Mac

  -  11.1 MB  -  Trial
Free Download

Security Status

Use HoudahSpot for Mac to find important documents, mail messages, photos, image files and more. It shows search results in a convenient and easy-to-use interface that keeps all the important details at your fingertips. The program is a powerful desktop search tool. It builds upon macOS Spotlight to get you to your files in no time.

It takes all the tedium out of file search. Use HoudahSpot to locate hard-to-find files and keep frequently used files within reach. HoudahSpot for macOS is an essential tool for professionals and power users who work with thousands of files. It picks the needles out of the proverbial haystack.

Quick Search Field
Find files by typing just a few words. It starts the search at your command: Hit Return when you are ready.

Refine your Search
Add criteria to narrow down your search to the exact files you are looking for. Choose from hundreds of attributes to search by: name, text, tags, file size, date created, etc.

Locations
Search several locations at once. Specify which subfolders to include and which to exclude. Houdah Spot can, for example, search your home folder, skip the Library folder, but still show results from the Mail folder, which is nested within your Library folder.

Columns
Add and sort by any of the hundreds of columns available. See file paths, folder sizes, image dimensions, etc. Customize results display: view as list, icons or thumbnails. Save your perfect setup of criteria, locations and columns as default for new windows.

Preview & Info
The Info pane, Quick Look and Text Preview help you explore search results and pick the files you are looking for. A concise summary shows the most relevant properties of found files. These include file size and modification dates as well as image dimensions, video duration, etc.

Snippets
Create snippets to hold sets of criteria you use frequently. The sample snippet “Images” contains criteria commonly used when searching for images.

Templates
Save searches as templates. These serve as blueprints to create new searches. It comes with a set of sample templates. The “Apple Mail Messages” template is set up with useful criteria for finding email messages stored by Apple Mail.

Features and Highlights
  • Start with a simple search
  • Refine it by adding and combining criteria
  • Search several folders at once. Exclude others
  • Add and sort by any of the hundreds of columns available
  • Preview files and text matches
  • Find files by name, text, file extension, author, recipient, image resolution, etc.
  • Combine criteria to quickly narrow in on the files you need
  • Customize columns in the search results list
  • Filter the results to see only relevant files
  • Set up templates for recurring searches
  • Mails about “CV” or “resumé” received this year
  • Word processing files containing “invoice” or “estimate”
  • Image files named “logo” that are 512 pixels wide
  • Files created, modified, or opened in the last 7 days
  • Enter advanced queries in the search field
  • Copy result lists as tab delimited text
  • Inspect files by dropping them onto the Info window
  • Automate search using Apple Script
  • Start Houdah Spot searches from third party tools like Alfred, LaunchBar, Butler, etc.
Note: 15days trial version.

Download HoudahSpot for Mac Latest Version

  • HoudahSpot 6.5.6 Screenshots

    The images below have been resized. Click on them to view the screenshots in full size.

    HoudahSpot 6.5.6 Screenshot 1

What's new in this version:

HoudahSpot 6.5.6
- Works around a problem where iCloud drive fails to sync Finder label colors
- Corrections to French and German localizations
- Performance improvements


HoudahSpot 6.5.5
- Updated for full compatibility with macOS 15 Sequoia
- Added support for the Finder alternative QSpace Pro


HoudahSpot 6.5.4
- Fixes a bug where the search pane re-appeared for no reason when hidden
- Improved support for traditional Chinese searches
- Addresses an issue with trashing files


HoudahSpot 6.5.3
- Fixes a regression introduced in 6.5.2


HoudahSpot 6.5.1
- HoudahSpot can now show file label colors even when that information is missing from the Spotlight index
- You can now see the exact total size in bytes of selected files. Hover over the combined size in the Inspector pane to get the byte value as a tooltip.


HoudahSpot 6.5
- Addresses a change in macOS Sonoma where HoudahSpot fails to load file tag colors
- Updated ForkLift integration to work with the latest version of ForkLift
- Fixes a bug displaying files with multiple tag colors
- Fixes a problem where Text Preview failed to show .eml mail message files
- Various minor fixes and enhancements


HoudahSpot 6.4
- Updated for macOS 14 Sonoma
- Caveat: Apple Mail on macOS 14 no longer accepts plug-ins. HoudahSpot will not be able to search your Apple Mail messages
- Improves performance when selecting a large number of files
- HoudahSpot can now edit Finder comments
- Various bug fixes


HoudahSpot 6.3.2
- Compatibility Mail on macOS 13.6 Ventura
- Note: macOS 14 Sonoma will no longer allow Mail plug-ins


HoudahSpot 6.3
- Compatibility Mail on macOS 13.3
- Some of the sample search templates now auto-start upon opening
- HoudahSpot now translates Mail flags to color names
- New sample template: "Name Does Not Contain"
- Adding double quotes to search text in the main search field has HoudahSpot search for an exact match
- USB install - Use for client work and troubleshooting: You can now copy both HoudahSpot and your license file to a removable drive. This install can be used without copying the license file to the user home folder.


HoudahSpot 6.2.6
- Duration for audio and video files is now displayed in hours, minutes and seconds
- Fixes a problem with Text Preview on macOS 13.1


HoudahSpot 6.2.5
- Works around a macOS Ventura bug where previewing address book cards can crash
- Fixes an unexpected slowdown when switching between windows
- Fixes a bug when re-saving a recently renamed template


HoudahSpot 6.2.4
- Fixes issues with the "is set" operator used to find files where a certain property is known
- Improved support for login item options on macOS 13 Ventura


HoudahSpot 6.2.3
- Updated for compatibility with macOS 13 Ventura


HoudahSpot 6.2.2
- Fixes a bug displaying tag colors that was introduced in HoudahSpot 6.2.1


HoudahSpot 6.2.1
- Fixes the "Search Finder Window" option from the global menu item
- Tentative compatibility with the latest beta of macOS Ventura
- Various bug fixes


HoudahSpot 6.2
- Support for images searches by orientation: portrait vs. landscape
- Tentative compatibility with the latest beta of macOS Monterey 12.4
- Various bug fixes


HoudahSpot 6.1.11
- Works around a macOS Monterey bug where searches can return duplicate results
- Fixes an issue with Quick Look preview for documents stored in DEVONthink
- Fixes an issue with enhanced Quick Look previews for XMP sidecar files


HoudahSpot 6.1.10
- Works around a macOS Monterey 12.1 bug where searches by "Kind" fail
- Works around an issue where HoudahSpot may hang when an external drive is connected


HoudahSpot 6.1.9
- Fixes a bug with the keyboard shortcut to activate HoudahSpot
- Addresses a situation where the suggested value for a folder filter where not updated
- Fixes a few rare bugs and crashes


HoudahSpot 6.1.8
- Fixes a crash when loading certain saved searches or search templates


HoudahSpot 6.1.7
- Updated for macOS 12 Monterey
- Improved Quick Look support for documents stored in DEVONthink


HoudahSpot 6.1.6
- Works around a crashing bug on macOS 10.14 Mojave
- Updates the HoudahSpot Mail plug-in for compatibility with the latest macOS 12 Monterey beta


HoudahSpot 6.1.5
Fixed:
- parent folder name column could fail to show a value
- a search failure in Mail could lead to an error message in HoudahSpot
- on some configurations the Filter pop-up window was too small


HoudahSpot 6.1.4
- When searching for DEVONthink items, HoudahSpot now suggest known database names
- Added menu items and keyboard shortcuts to toggle (show/hide) File Info and Text Preview windows
- Fixes a situation where HoudahSpot erroneously reported waiting for an Apple Mail search
- Fixes various minor bugs


HoudahSpot 6.1.3
- Restores compatibility with macOS 10.15 Catalina


HoudahSpot 6.1.2
- Improves status update while waiting for the Mail plug-in
- Fixes minor bugs


HoudahSpot 6.1.1
- Avoids "beachball" while gathering Mail search results
- Various bug fixes


HoudahSpot 6.1
- Find mail messages by MailTags keywords & projects. Requires MailSuite 2021 for macOS Big Sur
- Faster Apple Mail messages search
- Improved Quick Look Preview for files hosted by DEVONThink
- Text Preview can now be set to use a fixed width font
- You can now select and copy text from the Quick Look preview pane
- You can now hide the Tag cloud
- The window toolbar offers more space where to grab and move the HoudahSpot search window
- Fixed a bug where "Find by Example" failed to pick up file properties
- Worked around a macOS Catalina bug where toolbar items can disappear when working with tabs
- Fixed a bug where Mail search results initially failed to show


HoudahSpot 6.0.4
- HoudahSpot is now available on Setapp: a subscription service for Mac and iOS apps. For $9.99/mo, use HoudahSpot plus over 200 other apps. No extra fees, no ads.
- Fixes a crash when organizing search criteria snippets in HoudahSpot preferences
- Fixes a bug with filtering search results by folder name in path
- HoudahSpot now works with both the direct download and Setapp version of Default Folder X


HoudahSpot 6.0.3
- Fixes a bug introduced in HoudahSpot 6.0.2. HoudahSpot could fail to open saved searches or templates


HoudahSpot 6.0.2
- Fixes a bug where excluding ~/Library also excluded results from Mail searches
- Fixes a possible crash when grouping search results by volume name or by kind


HoudahSpot 6.0.1
- Fixes a bug where the Info pane failed list current attribute filters
- Fixes a bug where filters using regular expressions did not work as expected
- Fixes a bug where clicking the menu bar icon did not always perform the action specified in HoudahSpot preferences
- The HoudahSpot 6.0 plug-in for Apple Mail could slow the start of the Mail application


HoudahSpot 6.0
- Smart Text Preview: Focus on paragraphs that match your search
- Arranged Results: Group search results by date, size, kind, or application
- Recent Attributes: HoudahSpot remembers recently used search attributes and result columns
- Recent Values: HoudahSpot remembers recently used file extensions, tags, and file types
- Customizable Search Field: Option to search by name, text content, or any text
- Improved Date Searches: Search for files by dates in a given month or year
- Enhanced Grid View: See pertinent file info right next to icon or thumbnail
- Regular Expression Filtering: Filter search results by name, path, parent folders, etc.
- Faster File Tagging: Custom keyboard shortcuts, favorite, and recent tags
- Templates Menu: Organize your search templates into folders and submenus
- Compact Mode: Shrink the HoudahSpot window. Make room for easy drag-and-drop to other applications
- Vertical Layout: See details and previews below search results. Save screen space
- Fewer Windows: Reset a search. Start over with a new search in the current window
- Dark Mode: HoudahSpot also looks good in black
- Touch Bar: Access common functions from the comfort of your MacBook Pro keyboard
- Finder Extension: Summon HoudahSpot from the Finder toolbar
- Quick Action: Open HoudahSpot from the context menu on folders in Finder
- Printing: Print search results as lists or contact sheet
- Much more: Many refinements make HoudahSpot more efficient than ever


HoudahSpot 5.1.6
- Prepare for macOS 11.0 Big Sur


HoudahSpot 5.1.5
- Addresses a compatibility with the Dropshare app
- Fixes a problem with configuring keyboard shortcuts for assigning Finder tags


HoudahSpot 5.1.4
- Fixes a crash on launch when running on macOS 11 Big Sur beta
- It will take a lot more work to update HoudahSpot for macOS 11 Big Sur. The next major version is currently distributed as developer preview or beta. We cannot currently recommend you install this pre-release software on computers you need to rely on.


HoudahSpot 5.1.3
- Change log not available for this version


HoudahSpot 5.1.2
- Fixes an bug where the Search->Add Criterion menu items failed to function


HoudahSpot 5.1
- Enhanced Quick Look Preview: Quick Look Preview of as XMP sidecar now shows the actual image file
- Enhanced Quick Look Preview: Quick Look Preview of a DEVONthink item now shows the cataloged file
- Use Templates from Finder: The HoudahSpot Finder toolbar item now gives direct access to HoudahSpot search templates
- Simplified Chinese: Improved support for searches using Simplified Chinese
- Re-save Templates: When saving a search created from a template, HoudahSpot now suggests updating the original template
- New Keyboard Shortcuts: You can now set custom keyboard shortcuts to start a HoudahSpot search from Finder or bring HoudahSpot to the front
- Improved File Tagging Control: You can now click a recently used tag to add it to the files' tags
- Text Preview in Dark Mode: Text matches are now highlighted with colors that provide better contrast in dark mode


HoudahSpot 5.0.11
- File tagging from the context menu now also works when opening the context menu without releasing the mouse button
- Fixes an issue where some menu items failed to work in fullscreen mode
- Adds an option during activation to save your license to 1Password 7


HoudahSpot 5.0.10
- Updated for macOS 10.15 Catalina
- Adds support for the version of ForkLift distributed via SetApp
- Fixes a rare crash when using snippets


HoudahSpot 5.0.9
- HoudahSpot now scrolls to the selected files after sorting search results
- Fixes an issue where loading and sorting search results were slower than expected
- Fixes an issue where previews in grid mode appeared washed out
- Fixes a rare crash when printing search results


HoudahSpot 5.0.8
- Templates and saved searches now open with the grid view set to the previously saved zoom level
- When searching DEVONthink databases, HoudahSpot now suggests possible "Document Kind" values


HoudahSpot 5.0.7
- In preparation for macOS 10.15 Catalina, HoudahSpot recently started using the new "hardened runtime". Unfortunately, this broke things that went unnoticed during testing.
- "Search current Finder window" could fail to access the path of the Finder window
- Fixes a bug that prevented Text Preview from reading some third-party file formats
- Fixes a crash in HoudahSpot > Preferences > Extensions


HoudahSpot 5.0.5
- Integration with the Fork Lift application.
- Adds a keyboard shortcut to tag files: control-command-T
- Allows for Apple Script to start a search by names
- Fixes a crash when tagging files using the MacBook Touch Bar
- Fixes a couple of minor bugs


HoudahSpot 5.0.4
- Improves auto-completion of search criteria values. E.g. known tag names
- The purple file label color is now a better match for macOS 10.14 Mojave
- Fixes a crash in Text Preview
- Fixes a crash when using Snippets on macOS 10.13 High Sierra


HoudahSpot 5.0.3
- Improves performance of Text Preview when working with large files and non-latin characters
- Fixes a bug where the Finder Extension failed to install
- Fixes a bug where templates could not be loaded from Apple Script commands
- Fixes a bug where arrow buttons in Text Preview did not show


HoudahSpot 5.0.2
- Fixes a bug where the View > Arrange By > Kind menu item was not shown
- Fixes a bug where the HoudahSpot LaunchBar action could fail over non-latin characters
- Fixes a bug where searches by date did not work from the main search field


HoudahSpot 5.0.1
- Fixes a bug in the LaunchBar action. Install the updated action from HoudahSpot > Preferences > Extensions
- Fixes a bug where HoudahSpot failed to determine the folder of the current Finder window
- Improves the performance of Text Preview on large files


HoudahSpot for Mac 5.0
- Smart Text Preview: Focus on paragraphs that match your search
- Arranged Results: Group search results by date, size, kind, or application
- Recent Attributes: HoudahSpot remembers recently used search attributes and result columns
- Recent Values: HoudahSpot remembers recently used file extensions, tags, and file types
- Customizable Search Field: Option to search by name, text content, or any text
- Improved Date Searches: Search for files by dates in a given month or year
- Enhanced Grid View: See pertinent file info right next to icon or thumbnail
- Regular Expression Filtering: Filter search results by name, path, parent folders, etc.
- Faster File Tagging: Custom keyboard shortcuts, favorite, and recent tags
- Templates Menu: Organize your search templates into folders and submenus
- Compact Mode: Shrink the HoudahSpot window. Make room for easy drag-and-drop to other applications
- Vertical Layout: See details and previews below search results. Save screen space
- Fewer Windows: Reset a search. Start over with a new search in the current window
- Dark Mode: HoudahSpot also looks good in black
- Touch Bar: Access common functions from the comfort of your MacBook Pro keyboard
- Finder Extension: Summon HoudahSpot from the Finder toolbar
- Quick Action: Open HoudahSpot from the context menu on folders in Finder
- Printing: Print search results as lists or contact sheet
- Much more: Many refinements make HoudahSpot more efficient than ever


HoudahSpot for Mac 4.4.2
- Fixes a bug where the "+" button to add search criteria could get stuck
- Fixes a bug where dragging search criteria snippets to the Refine pane could fail
- Fixes a bug where HoudahSpot failed to request permissions to search your photos


HoudahSpot for Mac 4.4.1
- Fixes a bug that could cause Quick Look preview to crash


HoudahSpot for Mac 4.4
- During initial activation, HoudahSpot now offers the option to save your license to 1Password
- On macOS Mojave, HoudahSpot needs to ask permission to automate Finder when you want it to search the frontmost Finder window
- Fixes a bug where searching using "contains all" produced different results depending on the order of search words
- Fixes a bug where previews could fail to follow selection in the list of results
- Fixes a bug that could cause Quick Look preview to crash
- HoudahSpot could quit unexpectedly when the option to "quit on close of last window" is enabled

Top Downloads

More Popular Software »