File Metadata Searchable in Mac OS 9 Sherlock

In Apple’s Mac OS 9, Sherlock 2 served as the operating system's primary search utility, providing users with the ability to locate local files using a variety of built-in file metadata attributes. While a standard search defaulted to querying file names, Sherlock included an advanced options panel that natively recognized classic Mac file system attributes, including modification dates, file types, creator codes, and Finder comments.

Basic Search Metadata

By default, launching the "Files" channel in Sherlock presented a simple search bar. In this default state, Sherlock queried:

  • File Name: Matched partial, exact, starting, or ending strings against the file name.

Standard File Attributes

By selecting "Custom" or accessing the expanded search criteria options, users could search across several core file attributes maintained by the Mac OS Extended (HFS+) and Standard (HFS) file systems:

  • Date Modified: Filtered by whether a file was modified before, after, or on a specific date.
  • Date Created: Searched files based on their initial creation timestamp.
  • File Size: Filtered files that were greater than or less than a specified number of kilobytes (KB).
  • Kind: Categorized files into broad categories, such as Application, Document, Folder, Alias, or Clipping.

Classic Mac OS Specific Metadata

Mac OS 9 relied heavily on unique file system tags and Finder-specific attributes that Sherlock could natively read without third-party tools:

  • File Type (Type Code): A four-character code (such as TEXT or PICT) identifying the exact format of the file.
  • Creator Code: A four-character code (such as ttxt for SimpleText) specifying the default application assigned to open the file.
  • Finder Label: Searched files categorized under user-assigned color-coded Finder labels (e.g., Essential, Hot, In Progress).
  • Comments: Scanned text entered into the "Get Info" comment field of a file.
  • Version: Searched the resource fork’s version string ('vers' resource) in applications and system extensions.

Status and Visibility Flags

Sherlock could also locate files based on low-level file system flags:

  • Lock Status: Searched for files marked as locked or unlocked against modification.
  • Visibility: Allowed users to include or isolate invisible (hidden) files and folders.

Content Indexing

In addition to structural metadata, Sherlock included a background indexing engine. When a local volume was indexed, users could search the actual text content within documents, treating text extraction as a searchable data field alongside standard system metadata.