Spotlight is your Mac's search function. With one shortcut you find apps, files, e-mails, messages and settings, and you can also do sums and conversions with it. Once you are used to Spotlight, you use the Finder and the Dock much less. This article explains how to use Spotlight, handy tricks, and what to do when Spotlight no longer finds anything.
Blue Apple repairs MacBooks in Amsterdam. A Spotlight that is slow after an update is usually normal; more about that below.
Opening Spotlight
Press Command + Space bar, or click the magnifying glass top right in the menu bar. A search bar appears in the middle of your screen. Type what you are looking for; results appear as you type. Choose a result with the arrow keys and open it with Return.
What can you search?
- Apps: type a few letters, such as "saf" for Safari, and press Return. The fastest way to open an app.
- Files and folders: by name, but also by text inside them.
- Mails, messages, notes and calendar events.
- Settings: type "bluetooth" or "battery" and you go straight to the right part of System Settings.
Handy tricks
- Sums: type 125*1.21 and you see the answer.
- Conversions: type "10 inch in cm" or "50 usd in euro".
- Dictionary: type a word and you see a definition.
- Where is a file? Hold Command on a result: the path appears at the bottom. Command + Return opens the folder it is in.
In newer macOS versions you can also run actions in Spotlight, such as starting a mail or making a reminder, and find earlier copied text. Also see copy and paste on a MacBook.
Searching smarter
You can also ask Spotlight for a kind of file or a period, for example "pdf invoice" or "photos from last week". When searching in the Finder, press Command + F in a Finder window; there you can combine search filters, such as kind, date and size, and save a search as a smart folder.
Deciding what Spotlight searches
In System Settings, Spotlight you choose which categories appear. If you do not want certain folders or drives searched, add them to Spotlight's privacy settings. Handy for folders with many files you never search.
Spotlight finds nothing or is slow
- After an update or on a new Mac: Spotlight first builds an index. That can take hours and makes the Mac temporarily a bit slower. Leave it on the charger. In Activity Monitor you then see processes such as mds and mdworker. See Activity Monitor explained.
- A file is never found: the index may be damaged. Add your drive (Macintosh HD) to Spotlight's privacy list, wait a moment, and remove it again. Spotlight then rebuilds the index.
- External drives: they are only searched while connected.
When it is not Spotlight
If your Mac is slow in general, or Spotlight does not find files because the drive gives errors, more may be going on. Run First Aid in Disk Utility and make a backup. Also read MacBook keeps freezing.
What we do at Blue Apple in Amsterdam
If your Mac is slow or the drive gives errors, we test the storage, temperature and battery, and tell you what is wrong. More on our page about MacBook repair in Amsterdam.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the Spotlight shortcut?
Yes, in System Settings, Keyboard, Keyboard Shortcuts, under Spotlight.
Does Spotlight search the internet too?
Spotlight can show suggestions from the internet. You turn that on or off in the Spotlight settings.
Why do I see files I already deleted?
They are probably still in the Bin. Empty it to get rid of them for good.
