Search for files with Remote Desktop
You can search for files on client computers by content or by name.
Use Spotlight to find items
You can use Spotlight to find items on client computers. For information about Spotlight search, click the Help menu in the Finder and search for Spotlight.
In Remote Desktop
, select a computer list in the sidebar of the main window, then select one or more computers.Spotlight searches can’t be used for offline client computers.
Choose Interact > Spotlight Search.
Choose where to search:
Computer: Searches every volume attached to the selected computers.
Startup Disk: Searches only the volume used to start up the selected computers.
Home: Searches the home folder of the currently logged-in user.
Folder: Searches the folder you specify by pathname—for example, /Applications, or /Users/admin/Documents.
Enter the search term in the field at the right of the toolbar, and press Return.
Review the results. You can do any of the following:
Open Selected: Opens the items on the client computer.
Copy To This Computer: Copies the items to the administrator computer.
Delete Selected: Deletes the items from the client computer.
Use the Filter field at the bottom of the window to filter the list by the name of the file, computer name, modification date, or document type.
Generate a File Search report
The File Search report lets you find up to a total of 32,000 items on selected computers. The items can be files, folders, or apps, but they must be items accessible (or visible) in the Finder. This report can determine how many copies of a particular app are in use so you don’t violate license agreements.
The search parameters for Remote Desktop are slightly different from those used by the Find command in the Finder. For example, Remote Desktop doesn’t search by visibility or by label or tag.
In Remote Desktop
, select a computer list in the sidebar of the main window, select one or more computers, then choose Report > File Search.Use the pop-up menus under “Find items whose” to choose what to search for.
To search by date, enter it as you would type it. For example, “today,” “July 1, 2013,” or “1/27/2013.”
To perform a wildcard search, choose “matches using wildcard (*)” from the center pop-up menu, and use “*” as the wildcard. For example, “g*g” matches “goldengate.jpeg,” or “goalkeeping.”
Choose what to display in the report.
For information, see Report field definitions.
Click Search.
Review the report. You can do any of the following:
Print: Prints the report.
Export: Saves the report to a file.
Open Selected: Opens the items on the client computer.
Copy To This Computer: Copies the items to the administrator computer.
Delete Selected: Deletes the items from the client computer.