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FoxTrot Personal Search
FoxTrot Personal Search
4.6
0.0
HomeProductivityFoxTrot Personal Search
FoxTrot Personal Search free download for Mac

FoxTrot Personal Search

Version 7.5.4

Focused, precise way to find data in files.

4.6
Based on 10 user ratesRead reviews & comments
$35.00
One-Time Purchase
Buy Now

FoxTrot Personal Search overview

FoxTrot Personal Search delivers the fastest, most focused and precise way to find data in the files. Based on the revolutionary FoxTrot search engine -- used in more than 40 countries by users of CTM's PowerMail -- FoxTrot Personal Search brings high performance document retrieval and indexing to your most important files.

What’s new in version 7.5.4

Updated on Mar 06 2023

Miscellaneous improvements:
  • Updated the predefined locations to use the new DropBox folder.
  • Using the PlainTextFileLimitMB hidden preference also applies to .csv and .tsv files; and to HTML files as well when using Gumbo instead of Spotlight’s HTML importer.
Bug fixes:
  • Some plain text files were not displayed in the preview pane, when using FoxTrot’s built-in extractor instead of Spotlight’s plain text importer.
  • The PlainTextFileLimitMB hidden preference could have no effect in version 7.5.2 and 7.5.3.

Information

License

Shareware

Size

11.2 MB

Downloads

13411

App requirements

  • Intel 64
  • Apple Silicon
  • macOS 10.14 or later
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  • Comments

  • User Ratings

Eimbier
Eimbier
Jun 15 2015
5.0.2
5.0
Jun 15 2015
5.0
Version: 5.0.2
FoxTrot Personal Search provides the best results for file retrieval that I have found on the Mac; especially in cases where I have many files of the same subject matter and keywords. It is what Spotlight should have been. I use Spotlight for finding files that I had recently saved or where I have only a couple of a similar items in my digital filing system. I use FoxTrot for harder to locate files. Results are arrangeable by likelihood rank, category location, file type, author, date and date range. Searched keywords are highlighted in the previewed searched text. Google Desktop was great, but no longer is available on the Mac. Until FoxTrot I found paper filing in folders in a filing cabinet was more reliable than file retrieval on the Mac. So far FoxTrot is my favorite as I do not have to create a duplicate filing system or make entries into a tedious database..
Lord-Lightning
Lord-Lightning
Jul 12 2014
5.0
3.0
Jul 12 2014
3.0
Version: 5.0
JUST DO NOT BUY THIS - The Personal version has one purpose only. That is to give a consumer the impression that the Personal Product is a stand alone product and fully functional. It is technically deceptive advertising to provide what appear to be functional processes that have no function other than to throw a Push Promotion for another product. This is even more deceptive than ‘in-app’ purchases. This contravenes Consumer law in this country under ACL 2010. Macupdate should verify my claim and if I am found to be correct then it should ban this app from the MacUpdate site. Here is the latest from CTM: Sir, thank you for your message. I understand your frustration to see that quite a few features are available in Pro. unfortunately, we have to do things this way, because Foxtrot Personal does not cover its costs and hence is subsidized by the Professional version. It is important to us to have an entry level product because not everyone can afford Pro, but we do need the upgrade revenue to justify having an entry level product. There are two things that can be done. One is that you get used to ignoring the features which are not inherently part of FoxTrot personal. Exceptionally, I can offer a second alternative to you, which is to to offer you a discount on a copy of Pro, which, as you will have understood by now, does bring you much more functionality, instead of the 30% you are entitled to as a personal user. Jean-Michel / CTM qa
Lord-Lightning
Lord-Lightning
Jul 9 2014
5.0
3.0
Jul 9 2014
3.0
Version: 5.0
Being very careful what I say incase I offend any loyal Fox Trot users. This is strictly about v5. Just about everything I said about earlier versions has been fixed - Good Show! BUT why the hell do all the exhortations to buy an upgraded version - to Pro - keep coming up at almost every button click, particularly on the Result List view under what you expect to see as thumbnails? It looks like all other versions are just marketing gimmick you pay for to be bombarded with Uprade to V 5 PRO. Damn irritating. Looks like I have to stop using it again - after dropping another $30 for the upgrade to the Personal version (v5). Extortion. My advice - try the others BEFORE you buy this version. I am now leaving the thing forever. Disgusted.
Lord-Lightning
Lord-Lightning
Jun 6 2011
3.2b1
3.0
Jun 6 2011
3.0
Version: 3.2b1
Pretty much abandoned this app. You need to keep on contacting CTM after you do any work on your computer - such as a directory rebuild in DisWarrior. Fox Trot zaps the license and it tells you that your app is unlicensed. Can't be bothered - but hell, I feel ripped off. Too expensive - far too expensive for an app that behaves like a beta app. Look at the other options - just as good and they seem to work.
Anon-Bud
Anon-Bud
Feb 16 2011
3.1
4.3
Feb 16 2011
4.3
Version: 3.1
FWIW: I used Foxtrot back in the day (pre-X and a bit post-X) and it worked well. But then something happened and it quit working as well and there was an upgrade policy that I thought was a bit, shall I say, odd. Haven't used FT in quite some time. I've tried it again and can say that, IMO, both HoudahSpot and Leap outperform FT, both in terms of speed of searches and in number of results found. So, for my money, HoudahSpot and Leap. Your results may be different.
Jean-Pierre-Gattuso
Jean-Pierre-Gattuso
Feb 12 2010
2.5.3
0.0
Feb 12 2010
0.0
Version: 2.5.3
Foxtrot is a great program which I have used for a long time. However, there is NO technical support. Every time I have a question or a request, it takes several reminders to get a reply. Sometimes, there is no reply at all. This is appalling and I have enough. I have purchased HoudahSpot, which may be a product inferior to Foxtrot but its support is reported to be outstanding. Jean-Pierre
Superglide
Superglide
Jan 23 2010
2.5.3
5.0
Jan 23 2010
5.0
Version: 2.5.3
This app is awesome. I was on deadline to submit a grant proposal and couldn't for the life of me find a document containing pertinent information. Fortunately for me, I had a trial version of FoxTrot Personal Search (FPS) still active, so I fired it up. Upon first starting the app you are given a choice which folder on your hard drive you want to index. The index building process takes several minutes depending on the number of records it has to process. The index created makes for very fast searches using key word(s). The FPS uses normal boolean logic and wildcards. Well, when I typed in the search box the phrase "united way" that I so desperately needed to find, bam, a list of records (rtf, doc, pdf, etc.) popped up with all occurrences found in the folder selected to index. A separate viewer below this list shows a preview of the record with the phrase "united way" in bold and highlighted. There's also another window on the side that allows you to further drill down. For example, there's a section with a slider you use to narrow the date range to search. A second section shows the location(s) where the records were found (folders and subfolders on your hard drive) and the number of items found containing the key word(s) or phrase. You can also see in a third section the file type found (e.g., pdf, word processor, plain text, mail message, etc.) with the total number found. Within a few seconds I found the phrase I was looking for in a mail message from a colleague. That made my day and allowed me to complete the proposal on time. I immediately and gladly bought a license. There's more power under the hood (in Preferences) where you can add additional folders to include in the index (like User/Library/Mail for email searches), but it's not a good idea to index the entire hard drive because that will increase the size of the index file and slow down searches. Moreover, you can exclude certain folders (like a Backup folder) which will reduce redundancy and speed up the search function. I'm thrilled and highly recommend FPS if you have thousands of documents and/or email messages you need to regularly search for arcane data that you couldn't possibly keep straight in your head.
Ajoe
Ajoe
Jul 30 2008
2.0.2
5.0
Jul 30 2008
5.0
Version: 2.0.2
Wow, this is an amazing application. I have been looking for a fast local search tool that provides live previews and FoxTrot does the trick. I often have to search thousands of pages of developer references to find answers and this is the only search program I have found that is worth keeping open on my desktop. Using FoxTrot 2 on Mac OS X 10.5.4 (Intel)
Lev
Lev
May 21 2008
2.0b3
0.0
May 21 2008
0.0
Version: 2.0b3
The new FoxTrot Professional beta is promising, although at €99 it's pretty steeply priced. BUT... it can't index Mail.app emails. Just ignores them. And if you index them with FoxTrot 1.5 and then upgrade the index (automatically) to 2.0 beta, it's unable to preview them, which rather kills the point. Hopefully this is a beta bug. If not, it obliterates FoxTrot, which would be a shame. I'd have filed a bug reported, but their website -- perhaps the worst developer's site I've ever seen, so bad it makes me want to demolish the internet -- has no means of doing so. Perhaps they just don't want to know bad news. Perhaps it's some Swiss secrecy thing. Who knows? The skinny: stick with 1.5 for the time being.
Macmaria
Macmaria
Apr 18 2007
1.5
5.0
Apr 18 2007
5.0
Version: 1.5
It's been now more than three months using FT. I must say I'm very happy with it. It has been very stable, including the indexing process. I really love its capability of searching inside packages. That makes all the difference. My only cons is the price. It's a bit pricey, however it was the only app that did all that I wanted/needed...
Macmaria
Macmaria
Dec 13 2006
1.2
5.0
Dec 13 2006
5.0
Version: 1.2
I have to say that I don't agree with Anon Bud at all. I knew of FoxTrot for the first time in a user's forum of a different application (DEVONthink). Someone said it made an amazing job on searching files and contents, including metadata. (For instance, it finds pdf contents that are inside a DEVONthink database without it being open.) Since I don't like Spotlight capacities (or lack of them) I decided to give it a try. Version 1.1 indeed made a fine job on searching (and indexing). Its capacities are great. However, it crashed from time to time. So, while on trial mode, I reported this to the developers. They were fast and very competent on their reply. More so for two weeks they asked me to try several builds and report the crash logs to them. I got today a final build (already on 1.2) made specially for me. I'm thinking: "Wow! These people really care about users. Even when they are still trying their application." It has not crashed so far. I'll give it some more use and if the great behaviour continues, I'll buy it. Then I'll make my review here. I must say that on terms of support I can already give this application *5 stars.* I wish all developers would behave like them. :)
Anon-Bud
Anon-Bud
Dec 12 2006
1.2
4.3
Dec 12 2006
4.3
Version: 1.2
This is my final two words on FoxTrot: Doesn’t work. After some bugginess reported earlier and fixed, or so I thought. This latest version brings back the buginess. Indexing takes forever; updating the index takes forever; and then, it can’t even find what I am searching for. What Spotlight was able to find in less than five seconds...Foxtrot worked on for over ten minutes. I got tired of waiting and quit the app. Now I’m going to trash it and consider that my money has just gone down the drain!
Anon-Bud
Anon-Bud
Oct 17 2006
1.1
4.3
Oct 17 2006
4.3
Version: 1.1
Well, the developer did respond about some erratic behavior I‘d been having. Things are working now. I like that I can have a real time view into the docs I’ve searched and plug-ins from various apps really helps this (i.e. Mellel, VooDooPad, etc.) I’m upgrading the rating a bit, but just hope that all bad behavior has stopped.....
Anon-Bud
Anon-Bud
Oct 16 2006
1.1
4.3
Oct 16 2006
4.3
Version: 1.1
Been using for about a year and when it’s working, it’s great. After a crash while updating the index, I have not been able to get it to working again. I just keep getting the spinning beachball and have to force quit! Due to this erratic behavior, I cannot recommend the purchase.
Sherman
Sherman
Apr 21 2006
1.0.9
4.5
Apr 21 2006
4.5
Version: 1.0.9
Incredibly powerful and useful. If you're thinking "Yeah, I have Spotlight, and it was free" then think again. FoxTrot is instantaneous. It lets you do those good boolean searches that Spotlight makes impossible to do (or to remember how to do). I can't believe how fast it finds Mail messages, and then shows me the subject line, mailbox location, and the full text of the message in preview. One drawback -- it doesn't automatically keep the index up to date. Hope that gets added soon!
Dave-Burbank
Dave-Burbank
Mar 4 2006
1.0.8
4.8
Mar 4 2006
4.8
Version: 1.0.8
When I gave FoxTrot Personal Search a first look, I had some difficulty making it work properly. It crashed during the indexing phase. I posted my findings online here. I am delighted to report that the good people at CTM Development contacted me almost immediately. They were anxious to help turn my experience with FoxTrot into a positive one. Since that time, CTM Development helped me understand that my problems were not with FoxTrot itself, but with the third party MDImporter file called "Ziplight.mdimporter". They have added a new feature to the program (in version 1.0.6) so that users can disable specific mdimporter files as needed. My current impressions of FoxTrot are: It is elegant, stable, fast, fun, and it keeps getting better. FoxTrot finds what I'm looking for VERY fast. I have turned SpotLight off and rely on FoxTrot for my searching needs. I am extremely impressed with the people at CTM Development. They are responsive and clearly work hard to make their products better.
Gakesmith
Gakesmith
Oct 19 2005
1.0.1
4.8
Oct 19 2005
4.8
Version: 1.0.1
I use this software with OS 10.4. It works like Spotlight only many times faster, it sorts the results more logically, and best of all it provides previews of the results. This is far and away more accurate and useful than Spotlight. Maybe Apple should include Foxtrot as an improvement in OS 10.5!
jy1105
jy1105
Jul 5 2019
5.0
Jul 5 2019
5.0
Version: null
Eimbier
Eimbier
Jun 15 2015
5.0
Jun 15 2015
5.0
Version: null
Lord-Lightning
Lord-Lightning
Jul 9 2014
3.0
Jul 9 2014
3.0
Version: null
Superglide
Superglide
Jan 23 2010
5.0
Jan 23 2010
5.0
Version: null
Ajoe
Ajoe
Jul 30 2008
5.0
Jul 30 2008
5.0
Version: null
Macmaria
Macmaria
Apr 18 2007
5.0
Apr 18 2007
5.0
Version: null
Anon-Bud
Anon-Bud
Oct 17 2006
4.3
Oct 17 2006
4.3
Version: null
Sherman
Sherman
Apr 21 2006
4.5
Apr 21 2006
4.5
Version: null
Dave-Burbank
Dave-Burbank
Mar 4 2006
4.8
Mar 4 2006
4.8
Version: null
Gakesmith
Gakesmith
Oct 19 2005
4.8
Oct 19 2005
4.8
Version: null
$35.00
One-Time Purchase
Buy Now
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