Questions about Spotlight, a system-wide desktop search feature of Apple's Mac OS X operating system.
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17 views
indexing svn repositories via spotlight
Is there a way to have spotlight index an svn repository on a Mac server?
I have thought of doing an export and indexing that, but how about indexing the repository itself?
I am aware of web-based ...
0
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0answers
457 views
External hard drive not indexed by Spolight on Mac OS X Mountain Lion
I recently bought a new hard drive and it is not indexed by Finder. I tried to get it re-indexed by following this tutorial: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10330114-263.html and I even tried ...
0
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0answers
35 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
259 views
Xcode doesn't show up in spotlight results, neither search results
I haven't noticed exactly when it happened but previously I was always using spotlight to run Xcode. Now if i'm typing "Xcode" in it, only folders containing this name show up, or some xcode projects, ...
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3answers
936 views
How to Enable Spotlight Search Files And Directories
Is it possible to let Spotlight find files and directories from all over?
2
votes
2answers
214 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 ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
Can you get SL “Today” folder behavior in Lion?
Snow Leopard had a default smart folder called "Today". This folder was awesome! All "Open" dialog boxes could easily display all of the files you've worked on "Today" (which are probably the ones you ...
2
votes
1answer
113 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 ...
7
votes
1answer
8k views
Spotlight indexing appears stuck, what can I do?
My Spotlight index got corrupted, preventing me from searching messages in Mail.app. I added my HD to Spotlight's privacy list to delete the index. I then removed it from the privacy list so Spotlight ...
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0answers
184 views
How do you fix an app icon that got associated with a file type in spotlight?
When I try and search for something using spotlight, all application results show the .c file extension icon instead of the actual app icon you would expect to see for FireFox, Safari, Mail etc. Very ...
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2answers
264 views
Finding Firefox bookmarks in Spotlight
Is there a program that will allow me to use Spotlight to search my Firefox bookmarks and open the browser window?
1
vote
1answer
154 views
Multiple languages for dictionary Look up in Spotlight
How can I handle several languages at the same time in Spotlight ?
When a word exists in several languages including english, Spotlight gives me results in english. I would like to have all the ...
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.
...
1
vote
1answer
70 views
Spotlight's Privacy tab not backed up by Time Machine?
I just did a full restore from Time Machine and noticed that my Spotlight Privacy tab was empty. Am I correct in assuming that this information is not backed up by Time Machine? I believe it's stored ...
0
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0answers
215 views
/.fseventsd (File System Event Store) is empty?
For some reason my /.fseventsd directory (for the File System Event Store) is empty. I suspect this isn't normal, especially because the .fseventsd directory on my external drives have about 15 files ...
1
vote
0answers
502 views
helpd uses 100% CPU after installing any application with documentation
I see that after installing a software that ships with documentation in OS X’s help document format, the helpd process uses 100% CPU for up to 5 minutes or so. I also see this when you first install ...
3
votes
2answers
270 views
Can “mdfind” search for phrases and not just unordered words?
Is there a way to search for an exact phrase using the mdfind utility? For example, I created two text documents titled "test1" and "test2". The contents of "test1" are:
I love Apple
And the ...
1
vote
0answers
78 views
“Displays” system preference not showing in spotlight
I've recently upgraded to Lion 10.7.5., though not sure if my problem is related. In spotlight, I can't get the "Displays" system preferences option to show up in the results. I've tried re-indexing ...
5
votes
1answer
243 views
Applications Don't Show Up in Spotlight
Spotlight has stopped showing any results for my Applications. I've tried reindexing and removing the index so it rebuilds it. No change. I've tried adding Applications to the Privacy tab and removing ...
2
votes
2answers
185 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
168 views
OS X 10.5/10.6/10.7, Search, Spotlight
I'm handling a migration from an on old Mac server to a Windows Server 2008 R2 machine running a 12 TB (10 usable) RAID 5 server. It's using an SMB share and now the OS X 10.5/10.6 users can search - ...
1
vote
1answer
227 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, ...
3
votes
1answer
781 views
Spotlight re-index every time I restart/boot iMac
I have an iMac Late 2006 with Lion installed. I don't know since when, but since 3-4 weeks ago I am having this problem.
The point is, every time I restart my iMac or boot it, Spotlight starts to ...
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2answers
588 views
Stop Spotlight from indexing a drive that is regularly unplugged and reattached
I backup my Mac laptop to a volume on an external Thunderbolt drive using SuperDuper. This drive gets removed every day when I take my computer to work, then reattached when I get home. Because it's ...
2
votes
2answers
585 views
How can I have Spotlight Comments actually get indexed by Spotlight?
I'm running the latest OS X (10.8.1). Yesterday I discovered the Spotlight Comments feature, so I went through many of my Applications and put useful comments in that field. For example, on Music ...
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1answer
77 views
Performing unit conversions in Spotlight
Is there a way to perform unit conversions from within Spotlight? For example I want to convert 1 ft^3 to cm^3 in spotlight.
2
votes
3answers
414 views
Editing iPhoto-specific metadata
Perpetua:2011-01-16 ashley$ mdls IMAG0107.jpg
...
kMDItemComment = "Cat with is tongue out."
So, here's my question. xattr can be used to modify some ...
1
vote
3answers
508 views
How can I start the mds process
Revised Question
I am getting errors that mds cannot be started:
9/18/12 9:04:45.262 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.metadata.mds[4720]) Job appears to have crashed: Segmentation fault: 11
...
1
vote
1answer
196 views
Why does mdworker keep spamming the logs on Lion?
After upgrading to Lion I keep noticing strange spamming of mdworker on the logs, even though there doesn't seem to be any noticeable CPU or IO work being done. The machine is snappy but I just can't ...
3
votes
1answer
607 views
Is “All My Files” slow because of my git and svn repos?
All My Files is often painfully slow, long beach ball spins when I open a new finder window.
The thing is I actually like it... and I'm wondering if perhaps it's because of all my GIT and SVN repos ...
1
vote
1answer
217 views
Tips for using spotlight with webpages served via https
I've started using spotlight with webpages today. It will actually index the content of web pages in your history and bookmarks. It's great. But I can't find any documentation on how to use it.
...
0
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0answers
173 views
Spotlight no longer able to index or search Mail.app
For a while now Spotlight has been unable to index Mail.app messages on my 10.6 system. In system.log I always see sections like:
Jun 30 13:34:43 macbook mdworker[8819]: Error loading ...
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vote
2answers
238 views
Exclude files from “central metadata store”
I'm fairly familiar with the mdfind utility. I find it's very useful when I can't find a file or when I need to find a file with certain contents. The problem is that I need to exclude some files from ...
2
votes
2answers
530 views
How to fix missing icons and labels in System Preferences -> Spotlight?
I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro and I started noticing a weird bug in my Spotlight system preferences.
It looks like every time I open preferences -> Spotlight an assortment of icons and labels are ...
0
votes
3answers
601 views
Keyboard shortcut for Spotlight doesn't work in full screen Google Chrome on Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)
I've noticed that the Spotlight Search keyboard shortcut (cmd space) doesn't work if I'm running Google Chrome (12.0.742.122) as full screen application in Lion.
Is this a Chrome-related bug or is ...
1
vote
1answer
353 views
Needs Office for Mac 2011 Outlook Spotlight?
I have deactivated Spotlight, because the mdb process used a lot of memory and I use Spotlight not really often :-) Today I searched some emails in Outlook (Office for Mac 2011) and the mails could ...
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0answers
314 views
Finder Search attribute “Tags”
It looks like the search attribute "Tags" is no longer available in the Mountain Lion Finder. I used this to quickly find Open Meta Taggged files on my Mac by means of a Smart Folder. Is there an ...
1
vote
1answer
60 views
Why does spotlight search for “term” result in AquaTerm before Terminal?
I have AquaTerm and Terminal both.
Whenever I do a search in the spotlight with query "term" it shows up AquaTerm before Terminal. Terminal matches better, so it should come first.
Why does ...
7
votes
5answers
7k views
Spotlight reports “Indexing and searching disabled” in Lion
Lion keeps "losing track" of Spotlight information. Directories and Applications disappear, full text searches stop working, etc. I seem to need to re-index it once a week or so.
However, now it ...
1
vote
2answers
376 views
How can I use Regular Expressions in Spotlight on Mountain Lion?
How can I use Regular Expressions in Spotlight on Mountain Lion?
I want to use my knowledge of regular expressions to make my search results more exact.
5
votes
2answers
4k views
Removing spotlight icon from menu bar persistently
I tried to remove spotlight form the menu bar with the following trick:
sudo chmod 600 /System/Library/CoreServices/Search.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Search
killall SystemUIServer
Unfortunately if I ...
7
votes
5answers
4k views
Spotlight in upper right screen corner in Mountain Lion
In the System Preferences panel for Spotlight in OS X 10.8, it claims "Spotlight is located at the top right corner of the screen". On my system, this no longer appears to be true; the Notification ...
1
vote
1answer
446 views
How can I make Spotlight index source code in Mountain Lion?
Under Lion I had Spotlight set up to index .as (ActionScript) files using the general instructions here: http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=2005052015041510
but installing Mountain Lion seems ...
3
votes
4answers
291 views
If I use LaunchBar can I disable Spotlight?
If I use LaunchBar can I disable Spotlight? Does LaunchBar do all of its own indexing and never use the Spotlight database? Or does it rely on the Spotlight database for some of its search ...
2
votes
2answers
351 views
Disable Spotlight indexing, save battery life
I am using my laptop with very limited battery availability. I need to save as much battery as possible.
I would like to disable Spotlight indexing, how do I do that?
What else should I disable, ...
4
votes
5answers
5k views
Lion not searching SMB volume
I just upgraded to Lion on my work computer and it seems like Spotlight doesn't index SMB volumes. This used to work for me perfectly under Snow Leopard. I've talked with Apple and they said it was ...
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vote
3answers
3k views
How do I search all hidden files that are in hidden folders using Terminal?
I need to find some configs buried in some hidden folders and can't recall where they are to navigate to them directly Cmd+Shift+G.
I did a sudo find -name Foo* (slow), but none of the returned files ...
0
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0answers
46 views
“Open in Finder” dock command opens Preview instead
When I use the "Open In Finder" command in any Dock Folder Preview opens and scans the entire folder opening any file it can recognise. The same thing happens when I select an item in from the search ...
0
votes
1answer
359 views
How do I add folders to spotlight search priority?
How do I add a system link to the Applications folder and have it show up in spotlight.
Alternatively how do I add a specific folder to spotlight search priority. Easy to rearrange but I can not add ...
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 ...
