Tagged Questions
1
vote
1answer
20 views
Auto switch input source to English when entering Spotlight, typing URL in Safari, etc
I don't have files with non-english names, and don't type non-latin URL's, so question is how to auto switch system input source in these occasions.
0
votes
0answers
15 views
Is there a way to omit certain directories from where Mac OSX finds applications for its Applescript dictionaries et al?
Mac OSX maintains a list of applications for Applescript dictionaries, for the open-with list in finder etc.
This list gets collected from local directories (e.g. /Applications) but it finds as well ...
1
vote
1answer
27 views
Spotlight not indexing attachments of exchange Mail
I recently got a MBP and really love how quick spotlight is. I'm reading my exchange email via the Apple Mail app. The messages are indexed by spotlight but the contents of the attachments are not.
...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
Finder spotlight tool not “grepping” through all file types?
We've got this development stack that's mostly javascript, and if I'm looking for a variable definition or something I can use Finder's spotlight tool to easily find the file that contains the ...
2
votes
1answer
71 views
Spotlight for currency conversion
I know that Calculator app has ability to convert currencies but is it possible to get this shortcut in Spotlight like that:
currency 100 USD to GBP
0
votes
1answer
523 views
Spotlight doesn't work anymore in OS X Mountain Lion
I can't get Spotlight to search for any documents.
When I search the Finder for documents, nothing happens and the Spotlight search through the menu bar only shows up web searches.
3
votes
2answers
91 views
Non-recursive spotlight search?
When using the Spotlight search at the top right of a finder window, I often want the search to be non-recursive, i.e. only look at files in that specific directory, not any directories within it. Is ...
0
votes
1answer
313 views
How to make Spotlight index PDF documents to search faster or on my command?
I need to search some words in many PDF documents. It worked very well when I searched over old documents but my OS X has not indexed yet the new PDFs. How can I search over the new PDFs?
0
votes
0answers
33 views
Search across multiple OS X computers via offline indexing
A feature I would love to see in Spotlight or some other Search/Indexing application would be the ability to search multiple desktops even when they are not currently connected via AFP/Bonjour or ...
2
votes
1answer
111 views
Is it possible to make “Look Up” appear higher in Spotlight? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How to place Dictionary definitions higher up in spotlight results
If so, how?
I happen to use Spotlight a lot for looking up definitions. Basically, I'll be reading or ...
2
votes
2answers
210 views
How to locate a file in Spotlight using folder and file name?
I often want to navigate to a file or folder that does not have a unique name. Instead, the parent folder in combination with the file or foldern name makes it unique. Here are a few examples:
I ...
1
vote
1answer
225 views
How do I launch shell applications after changing shell to MacPorts bash?
I have installed a current bash version via MacPorts and changed Terminal.app to use /opt/local/bin/bash. Unfortunately shell applications won't launch from Finder and Spotlight anymore. (OSX 10.8.2, ...
2
votes
1answer
221 views
Why do some app spotlight results show the “.app” extension, but not all?
Even though I've explicitly set the Finder preference to display all file extensions, I'm still finding that some apps do not show the file name extension in their Spotlight result.
Here are some ...
1
vote
3answers
932 views
How to Enable Spotlight Search Files And Directories
Is it possible to let Spotlight find files and directories from all over?
3
votes
1answer
2k views
Why is OS X indexing *again*?
For some reason, OS X thinks it's a good idea to reindex my entire hard drive (which takes it a few hours) about twice a week. This is really getting annoying, especially since it does this on ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
Adding tags to files in OS X: How to use, where are tags stored, and will they work on a network?
I've heard it is possible to add tags to a file's meta data in OS X, and have Spotlight search through such tags.
In a nutshell, how would one access this feature in Finder – not Spotlight ...
13
votes
3answers
2k views
How do so set “date added” metadata in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
The Finder in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion shows a new piece of file metadata, "Date Added," which tracks the date an item was added to a folder. After upgrading to 10.7, none of the items in my ~/Downloads ...
2
votes
1answer
333 views
Prevent automatic removal of the Spotlight index due to low disk space
I am guessing that when disk space runs low, it automatically deletes the Spotlight index to make room for virtual memory. Then when space becomes available it reindexes. But I'm not sure about that. ...
2
votes
2answers
184 views
How can I alter the spotlight category spreadsheets to include ODS
In Lion, the "All My Files" smart folder in finder is based on spotlight search categories. While I can see how from System Preferences->Spotlight->Search Results I can alter the order of these as ...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
Can I make a symlink (to a .app folder) in Applications directory show up in spotlight?
I used brew to install MacVim and it put it in /usr/local/Cellar/macvim/7.3-61/MacVim.app
I would like to be able to go to spotlight and type MacVim to launch the app. I tried creating a symlink in ...
3
votes
1answer
207 views
How to add Spotlight comments to the bundled OS X apps?
I'd like to add a Spotlight comment to TextEdit.app. Is that possible?
What I've done:
Open Finder
Browse to /Applications/
Select TextEdit
Press ⌘ + I (Get Info)
Click the lock icon to unlock the ...
0
votes
1answer
343 views
Spotlight menu shows results, but Finder window doesn't
When I type anything into the Spotlight menu in the top right corner, I get the normal list of top results. But if I then click "Show All", or if I just go to the Finder and initiate a search there, ...
3
votes
2answers
285 views
Can I use Spotlight to search for files by name?
My most common search pattern is to search for files based on their name. When I try this in Spotlight (cmd-space) it rarely works. Is there a way to make Spotlight search for file names, and to place ...
3
votes
5answers
366 views
How to increase size of the Spotlight search results window?
Is it possible to increase window width of the Spotlight search results under Mac OS X 10.6.6? I mean the semi-transparent "instant search result" window appearing at the top right corner under ...
27
votes
8answers
17k views
How to stop OS X from writing Spotlight and Trash files to memory cards and USB sticks?
When plugging a USB stick into a Mac, OS X creates a number of hidden files on the stick, including a Spotlight index and Trash folder.
Example from the terminal for a USB stick "Untitled":
$ ls -a ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
How to use Regex with spotlight [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How Can I Search A Specific Type of File in Mac?
How could I use spotlight to search for example for files that end with jar or files that end with doc and at the same ...
3
votes
5answers
275 views
How useful is spotlight?
Personally, I am happy with Spotlight in the sense I just use it for finding something. But, I'm also not happy with Spotlight, as I sometimes feel it slows down my Mac pretty much. Even, I can find ...
6
votes
5answers
4k views
How Can I Search A Specific Type of File in Mac?
Is there any way to search a specific type of file using Spotlight? I remember there was a special command or something that I had to put in front of the search phrase but I cannot remember it now.
...
3
votes
1answer
108 views
Search a phrase using Spotlight
I find Spotlight very very useful, however I would like to be able to search for documents that contain a given phrase, i.e. words appearing together, instead of anywhere in a document. Do you know of ...
