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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > macOS > Mass Removal of Spotlight Comments?

Mass Removal of Spotlight Comments?
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megasad
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Mar 20, 2008, 01:10 PM
 
I've just downloaded 317 files using Speed Download and it has added Spotlight Comments to every one, saying where they came from.

Is there any way of stripping this data in one go, rather than getting info on each one and removing it one at a time? It it could preserve the original modification dates, that would be nice, but is not 100% necessary.
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TETENAL
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Mar 20, 2008, 01:25 PM
 
Automator



Recreate this workflow (making sure "Append to existing comment" is disabled), add the files you want the comments to be removed from to the first action and run the workflow.
     
megasad  (op)
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Mar 20, 2008, 01:33 PM
 
Nicely done, thank you. Adding a new "empty" comment is the same as removing the old one? Or the stub, for want of a better word, remains?
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Mar 20, 2008, 01:44 PM
 
Looking at a file with a in such a way removed Spotlight comment using xattr in Terminal it actually looks like "a stub" remains. Why would that matter for you? Spotlight comments are not stored in the resource fork.
     
megasad  (op)
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Mar 20, 2008, 06:11 PM
 
Strictly speaking, the comments themselves don't matter either, it's just because I don't have them on the other files I downloaded from the same site (using Safari) that I was interested in removing them. Thanks again.
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Mar 20, 2008, 06:13 PM
 
Safari also adds the origin of downloaded files by the way. It just doesn't put it into the Spotlight comments. It adds them as a separate extended file attribute.
     
   
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