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Snapfind help

Everything about setting up, searching and fixing things, on one page.

Getting started

  1. Open Snapfind. The welcome screen lists the folder where macOS saves your screenshots (usually the Desktop). Untick folders you don't want, or add more with Add Another Folder….
  2. Click Start Indexing. If macOS asks whether Snapfind may access your Desktop, choose Allow.
  3. Start typing. Newest screenshots are read first, and the status bar shows progress ("Reading text, 120 of 800").
  • Type any words you remember seeing. Partial words work: inv finds "invoice".
  • Every word must appear. If no screenshot contains all of them, Snapfind shows screenshots that contain some and tells you so.
  • Put words in quotes to match an exact phrase: "payment failed".
  • Use the date menu (Any time, Today, Past 7 days, Past 30 days, Past year) and the sort menu (Best match, Newest first) next to the search field.
  • With an empty search, Snapfind shows all your screenshots, newest first.

Working with results

  • The preview outlines the lines that matched and shows all recognised text, which you can select and copy.
  • Open (Return or ⌘O), Show in Finder (⌘R), Quick Look (Space or ⌘Y), Copy Image (⇧⌘C), Copy Text (⌥⌘C). Right-click a result for the same actions, or drag it into another app.

Keeping it up to date

Snapfind watches your folders while it's running. New, changed, renamed and deleted screenshots are picked up within seconds. Closing the window leaves Snapfind running in the menu bar. Quit from the menu bar icon or with ⌘Q. Turn on Open Snapfind when you log in in Settings › General to keep it current.

Settings

  • General: open at login, the global ⌃⌥S shortcut, menu bar icon.
  • Folders: add or remove folders, include subfolders per folder, rescan now. Removing a folder only removes it from Snapfind; the screenshots stay where they are.
  • Privacy & Data: index size and location, Rebuild Index, Delete All Snapfind Data.
  • Backup (optional): sign in with your email to back up your settings, encrypted with your passphrase, and use them on your other Macs. Folders searched on another Mac appear in Settings › Folders as suggestions. Screenshots, their text and the index never leave your Mac. Keep your recovery key safe: without it and your passphrase, the backup can't be recovered. The separate Share anonymous usage stats toggle is off unless you turn it on.

Troubleshooting

"Snapfind isn't allowed to read …"

Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Files & Folders, allow Snapfind for that folder, then click Try Again. Adding the folder with Add Folder… also grants access.

"… isn't available"

The folder was moved or renamed, or is on a disconnected drive. Existing results are kept. Reconnect the drive, or remove the folder in Settings.

"N couldn't be read"

Click it to see which files and why (damaged, unsupported, or too large). Try Again re-reads them.

"Reading paused" with a disk error

Snapfind couldn't save to its index, usually because the disk is full. Free some space and click Resume.

A screenshot isn't found

  • Check that it's in a watched folder (Settings › Folders). For subfolders, turn on Include subfolders.
  • Files that iCloud "Optimize Mac Storage" has moved off the Mac are skipped until they're downloaded.
  • Recognition is automatic and can misread very small, stylised or low-contrast text. Try another word from the image.
  • Search matches the beginning of words, so it works best for languages that put spaces between words. Chinese, Japanese or Korean text is recognised, but you may need to type the start of a phrase.

⌃⌥S doesn't work

Another app may already use it. Settings › General shows a warning when that happens.

Removing Snapfind

Settings › Privacy & Data › Delete All Snapfind Data, then quit and move Snapfind to the Trash. Your screenshots are never touched. You can also delete ~/Library/Application Support/Snapfind manually.