In order to understand file extension Metadata_Never_Index, you should first understand the term metadata and how it relates to particular files in your PC. A very simple explanation is that the term metadata means data about data. Metadata is descriptive information that pertains to a specific data set, resource, or object including when the data was collected and the formatting which was used to create the file.
Metadata_Never_Index file extension is associated with Mac OS X and the content relates to data about other data that is not to be indexed to a specific folder or hard drive partition. The file contains information which tells the operating system not to index specific folders. This can be a very tedious and time consuming process.
For instance, if you are using a PC running on Mac OS X, that also contains a hard drive partition for running Windows and you do not want the operating system to index information to Windows, adding a file with a Metadata_Never_Index file extension to the partition reserved for Windows will prevent the operating system from indexing the information to this area of your PC. This process greatly increases PC performance since you are not using valuable resources to facilitate the indexing process to the Windows partition.
How to Open Metadata_Never_Index Files
Apple Spotlight is a program in the Apple Macintosh system that automatically indexes metadata. The program is also responsible for searching for and launching application files in a Mac-based PC. Therefore you can also use Spotlight to open and view Metadata_Never_Index files since the program provides tools for inputting search questions about specific metadata.
Click on an icon where you want to learn more information about a specific file. When the icon darkens, click on File and then choose Get Info. When the Info window opens, you will be presented with different options for viewing information. You can choose one option or you can select multiple triangle icons in the Finder and then press the Option key. Click on Show Inspector from the File menu which will display all of the information you requested.
You can also choose to access and view Metadata_Never_Index files by using a text editor provided the file is a text file. This is an option you can pursue if you are unsure of the content that is contained in the file. If you do not have the application which corresponds with the file, a metadata file is useless without the presence of the application.
Metadata_Never_Index files are created using the Terminal feature. The files are created as a blank file which is named Metadata_Never_Index. This file is then placed in the root directory, volume, or folder that you are restricting from the operating system and the file must be at the top of the hierarchy as opposed to being placed in a subfolder.
