How to Build Smart Folders on Mac

How to build a smart folder on a Mac: create a saved search in Finder, add criteria with the plus button, then save it to the sidebar for reuse.

1. Create a new smart folder. In Finder, choose File then New Smart Folder from the menu bar. An empty search window opens. Choose This Mac or a specific folder using the buttons under the toolbar to set where the search will look before you add any rules.
2. Add your first criteria row. Click the plus button at the right of the search bar. Set the first popup to Kind and pick a type such as PDF or Image. Each plus adds another row, and the rows combine, narrowing the result set with every one you add.
3. Add a date rule that keeps working. Add a row and set it to Last Modified Date, then choose within last and enter a number of days. Because the rule is relative, the folder stays current on its own. A fixed calendar date freezes the result and ages badly.
4. Save the search and name it. Click Save at the right of the search bar. Name the search, choose where to keep it, and leave Add To Sidebar checked if you want it in every Finder window. The default location is the Saved Searches folder inside your Library.
5. Edit the rules later. Open the smart folder, click the action button in the toolbar, and choose Show Search Criteria. The rule rows reappear above the results. Change them and click Save to overwrite the existing search rather than creating a second one.
6. Remember what it is not. You cannot drag a file into a smart folder the way you can with a real folder, because there is nothing to put it in. Deleting a smart folder deletes the saved query only. Every file it listed stays exactly where it was.