Houdah Software has introduced version 3.0 of HoudahSpot, a Spotlight replacement that allows users to perform powerful, complex searches on their filesystems.
The latest release—the application is actually at version 3.0.2 already, thanks to a couple of bug-fix updates—includes a number of enhancements over its predecessor. The flagship feature is file tagging, which allows you to append metadata to files and folders and then perform searches based on it. For example, you could catalogue all your business files by customer for easy retrieval of a client’s entire data set.
In addition, HoudahSpot includes an all-new “tray”—a window that can be anchored to any side of the screen which pops up, Dock-style, when you move the mouse cursor to the edge of your display. The tray can be used to quickly look for particular file types based on one of the application’s search templates, or to examine and tag a given file by simply dragging it into the appropriate inspection slot.
A full version of HoudahSpot 3.0.2, which requires OS X 10.5 and is fully compatible with Snow Leopard, costs $30 and can be purchased directly from Houdah Software’s website. A 15-day trial is also available.
Customers who bought the software after January 1, 2010 can upgrade for free, while other users will have to pay an upgrade fee of between $5 and $8. The company is also offering special prices for students ($15) and for household installation of up to five users ($45).
HoudahSpot 3.0