Using the Smart Search feature of a Finder window within the Messages Attachments folder for a specific file type can also be a helpful way to narrow down file contents. This places attachments, audio files, movies, and pictures from the latest messages at the top of the active folder, which would still need to be explored manually, or by using the little arrow icons to expand the folders in List view: Because of this, you can navigate the the folder manually if you want, or, perhaps a better way to find the newest attachments is to sort the Attachments folder by Date Modified. Again, this is not supposed to be a user facing directory, and the way files are stored here are not going to correspond to any hierarchy that would be user friendly.Īll attachments and images are stored here in this variety of folders, you’ll find the message attachments are contained within seemingly random folder names of hexadecimal within subfolders of subfolders, there is no direct indication of a relationship between a specific contact and the filename that would be immediately identifiable by most humans. Once within this directory you’ll see a bunch of multi character hexadecimal directory names that make no particular sense, nor are they intended to by the average user. Using the ever useful Go To Folder command, you can jump immediately to the Message Attachments folder, which is located in the user library directory of all versions of Mac OS X.įrom the Mac OS Finder, hit Command+Shift+G and enter the following path: So I guess this is one of those opinionated applications, which are only made for very serious users who are interested in getting the most out of iMessage.How to Access the Messages App Raw Attachments File Directory in Mac OS X The only problem with this app is its price of $19, which will be a problem for anyone who’s not very serious about iMessage. Chatology can solve this problem in some ways, and act as a default search engine. In case you’re using iMessage on a daily basis, and in case you’re exchanging a lot of files via this protocol, than you’re probably aware of how Apple’s Messages app is limited. You’ll be also able to open the original chat, which is going to be opened via Apple’s Messages app. Chatology also allows you to save conversation as a plain text file, or only to save a portion of a conversation. Later on, you can filter images or links, so now you can drag-and-drop and save them onto desktop, for example. In case you’ve got numerous messages and conversations saved in database, you can use a timeframe and help Chatology find the exact thing you’re searching for. This way you can search for a specific conversion, a specific message or a keyword, and you can even search for a file or a picture. What Chatology does is using Messages archive located in /Library/Messages/Archive/. Communication between these applications is instantaneous and always up to date.
This said, you can use CMD+F while you’re in Messages app to start Chatology and use its powerful search function. This is a very powerful search tool which integrates itself into Messages app database and can replace primitive and limited iMessage search.Ĭhatology is a standalone application, but it uses Messages app database for its basic function. This can be done via Chatology, which is an application developed by Flexibits.
In this article we are going to give a suggestion on how you can turn Messages app on your OSX into a serious communication tool. For now, it can be used to chat with other people on a casual basis, since files can get lost if you don’t keep track of them, and there’s very limited search functionality of Messages app on OSX. So with all this on mind, it could be said that iMessage is a project which still needs development in order to become a serious tool. In practice, iCloud synchronization doesn’t work well between iOS and OSX, so most times you need to force it which can be done only if you know how to do that safely. The best thing is that iMessage is integrated into Messages app on OSX, and all these messages can be synced via iCloud with other iOS devices and OSX as well.Įven though all of what I’ve said in the previous paragraph is true, most users are still having some difficulties with all of those features. As you’re probably well aware of, iMessage lets you exchange messages and files with other iOS/OSX users completely free of charge (if you’re using Wi-Fi on your iOS device). For me personally, one of the most useful iOS features is the iMessage protocol.