How to use OR, AND, or NOT to narrow down file search on Mac
In this short beginner’s guide, we’ll show you how to use Boolean operators (OR, AND, or NOT) to narrow down or broaden your search results in Finder to quickly locate the right image, photo, video, document, or other files.
The Option key method
1) Open Finder on your Mac, enter a search term in the search box, and then click the plus button underneath it.
2) Use the drop-down menu to choose or add search criteria.
3) To add Boolean operators conditions (OR, AND, or NOT), press and hold the Option key, then click the small three dots icon that appears on the right side.
4) Use the “‘Any’ of the following are true” drop-down selector and choose from Any (OR), All (AND), or None (NOT). Then use the search condition selectors nested under it to add your parameters; the search results will update accordingly.
5) You can also use the plus button to add more conditions and change the parameters as needed to find what you’re looking for. You can even drag and drop a specific rule to another position.
Tip: If you often need to find files based on these search criteria, use the ‘Save’ button to save the search and run it again with just a click.
Type Boolean operators in the search bar
Aside from using the Option key method above to narrow down your search, you can also use “AND, OR, and NOT” in the Finder search bar along with the right keywords.
For example, if you’re looking for all images with iDB as their file name, type the following in the Finder search bar:
name:idb AND kind:image
You can change ‘image‘ to pdf, audio, presentation, etc., and search results will update accordingly.
You can also use the minus sign (-), which means AND NOT, to exclude items when you search. For example:
If you want to see all files with the name ‘iDB‘ but not ‘wallpaper,’ then type this in the search bar:
idb -wallpaper
If you want to see all PDFs on your Mac, except for those whose file name is ‘Untitled,’ here’s what you should type in Finder search:
kind:pdf -name:untitled
or
kind:pdf AND NOT name:untitled
For more on this, I strongly recommend checking out these external websites:
- Narrow your search results in Finder on Mac (Apple)
- Database Search Tips: Boolean operators (MIT Libraries)
- The Beginner’s Guide to Boolean Search Terms (SocialTalent)
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2026/01/19/use-boolean-operators-finder-mac/
