Changing system defaults (such as search criteria in Search windows) isn't as scary as it sounds - provided you follow the rules.

WHAT YOU NEED
> Mac OS 10.4 or later

 

Historically, the Mac OS (or, as we old fogies once called it, its System) has given you easy ways to change most of its basic default settings - which printer to use, how windows display, whether you're warned when you empty your Trash, and so on. But in the brave new world of OS X, some settings are inexplicably buried in plist files. Here's how to hack those plist files, using Tiger's unchangeable Command-F default search criteria as an example.

 

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Step 1: Safety First

 

It's downright foolhardy to hack plist or other system files without backing them up first. Navigate to /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app (or simply Finder if you have Show All File Extensions unchecked in Finder > Preferences > Advanced). Control-click Finder.app and select Show Package Contents from the pop-up menu. Dig into /Contents/Resources and locate default_smart.plist. Tiger's Smart Folders are merely saved search strings, and this plist file defines the default state of a new Smart Folder - or a Command-F search (which becomes a Smart Folder after you press the Find window's Save button). Option-drag the plist file to your desktop to make a copy.

 

Back up, Jack, for the good of your Mac.

 

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Step 2: Unlock It

 

The Finder and all of its packaged files are crucial to the system, so they're locked down tighter than the Apple HQ. To unlock the plist file for editing, you first need to give yourself permission. Click the file to highlight it, and choose File > Get Info (Command-I); at the bottom of the Info window, click the disclosure triangle labeled Ownership & Permissions. Click the lock icon, and change the name in the Owner pull-down menu from System to your user name, and enter an administrator password at the prompt. The Access pull-down menu should automatically change to Read & Write - if it doesn't, change it manually.

 

Permission is half the law ... right?

 

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Step 3: Hack It

 

If you installed the Xcode Developer Tools with Tiger, simply double-click default_smart.plist to open it in Apple's Plist Editor; otherwise, open the file in TextEdit (/Applications) to edit it as raw text. Now it's time to replace Find's two default criteria (Kind and Last Opened) with one: Name Contains. Find the SearchCriteria key up near the top; notice the two FXSliceKind keys below it. Delete the first key (everything from <dict> to </dict>). In the second key, change Slsv to Snam, and change DA** to S:**. Now press Command-S to save the changes, close the file, and start searching your way.

 

We actually prefer a text editor to Plist Editor for editing plists.

 

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Step 4: Go Criteria Crazy

You can set your Find default to include as many extra criteria as you wish; to find out how to change the keys in the plist file, simply create and save a Smart Folder. Press Command-F, and select the criteria you want for your new default; type something (it doesn't matter what) into one of the search fields to activate the Save button. Press the Save button, and save the Smart Folder to your desktop. Drag the Smart Folder icon into TextEdit - the Smart Folder will open just like default_smart.plist did, revealing all of the FXSliceKind keys for you to cut and paste into the default_smart.plist file.

 

Paste these keys into your plist to make them part of the default search criteria.