I know Mac OS X help is relatively scarce here but I had a question about this. Linux users may be able to give me a hand here, because I noticed something similar when using Beagle. I hate to say it but both experiences make me wish I could pull out Windows' find function.
Here's the problem - it's practically useless. I want to find a folder, and I know the name of the folder. I type in the folder name, and get nothing, literally. Part of the problem may be that the folder resides on an external drive (or so I think). The drive has been indexed by Spotlight and should theoretically be searchable, though. Note that I don't always have the drive on with the system. What's going on?
I also have to wonder whether Spotlight is broken in other ways. I've used some of the features to narrow down the searches, particularly when looking for system directories (which are normally hidden - I presume you need to make it specifically look for these directories) but they don't seem to be terribly effective, either. I've heard people rave about how wonderful Spotlight is but for me it's nothing better than a sort of "Start Menu" - it picks out applications rather well but it's awful for finding folders or files.
There are no directories listed in Spotlight's privacy tab (tells Spotlight not to index those areas). I'm using OS X 10.5.2; originally the system was 10.4.6, and at 10.4.10 it was upgraded to 10.5.0. I've used Google for this and people seem to have the complete opposite problems ("Spotlight won't stop searching my external drive" or "Spotlight won't stop indexing") which makes me wonder...
So, any suggestions? In the mean time I'll be off hunting for that folder on my own
Thanks in advance!