Are you looking for a specific file on your computer or QNAP device, but only want to search within a certain time frame? In this article, we will show you how to search for files in macOS, Windows 11, and QNAP between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. in subdirectories. This can be especially useful if you need to find a file that was modified during business hours, but don't want to search through unnecessary files outside of that time frame.
Searching for Files in macOS
In macOS, you can use the mdfind command in the terminal to search for files. This command allows you to search for files based on various criteria, including modification time. To search for files that were modified between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., you can use the following command:
mdfind -t f -name "*" -mtime +7 -mtime -17
This command will search for all files (-name "*") with a file type of f (-t f) that were modified between 7 and 17 days ago (-mtime +7 -mtime -17). This corresponds to files that were modified between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. for the past week.
If you want to search in subdirectories, you can use the -onlyin flag followed by the directory you want to search in. For example, to search for files in the Documents directory, you can use the following command:
mdfind -t f -name "*" -mtime +7 -mtime -17 -onlyin ~/Documents
Searching for Files in Windows 11
In Windows 11, you can use the dir command in the command prompt to search for files. This command allows you to search for files based on various criteria, including modification time. To search for files that were modified between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., you can use the following command:
dir /s /b /tw "*.*" | find "08:00"
This command will search for all files in the current directory and all subdirectories (-s) and display only the file name (-b) with a time stamp (-tw). The find command is then used to filter the results to only show files that were modified at or after 8:00 a.m.
If you want to search for files that were modified between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., you can use the following command:
dir /s /b /tw "*.*" | find "08:00" | find "16:00"
This command will search for all files in the current directory and all subdirectories (-s) and display only the file name (-b) with a time stamp (-tw). The find command is then used to filter the results to only show files that were modified between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Searching for Files in QNAP
In QNAP, you can use the find command in the terminal to search for files. This command allows you to search for files based on various criteria, including modification time. To search for files that were modified between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., you can use the following command:
find /path/to/search -type f -mtime +7 -mtime -17
This command will search for all files (-type f) that were modified between 7 and 17 days ago (-mtime +7 -mtime -17) in the specified directory (/path/to/search).
If you want to search in subdirectories, you can use the -path flag followed by the directory you want to search in. For example, to search for files in the Public
| Reference | Description |
|---|---|
| mdfind Man Page | Documentation for the mdfind command in macOS |
| dir Command | Documentation for the dir command in Windows |
| How to Use the Linux Terminal in QNAP NAS Devices | Guide for using the terminal in QNAP NAS devices |