All Questions
188 questions
88
votes
8
answers
249k
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.
...
- 4,584
44
votes
4
answers
11k
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, ...
- 655
40
votes
6
answers
75k
views
Searching by file name (as opposed to name and contents) in Lion
In earlier versions of OSX, when you search in a Finder window, it gave you the choice of searching by contents or file name. In Lion this choice seems to have disappeared, I can only search by ...
- 532
33
votes
8
answers
15k
views
How can I create a Saved Search that excludes a specific folder from the results?
I'm trying to set up a Saved Search of my Mac that will exclude files in a folder called 'XYZ' from the search results. The reason is because I'm getting a ton of false positives from that folder that ...
- 518
25
votes
3
answers
5k
views
How do I get a lone missing app to appear in Spotlight searches?
When I enter a string that matches part of the name of an application on Mac, the OS X Spotlight search feature will suggest apps for me to launch. This works for every app except one: Mathematica:
...
- 12k
18
votes
5
answers
9k
views
Search file duplicates in OSX by hash
I am looking for a way to search for a determinate file in OSX (Maverick but more generally OSX).
In particular I would like to do the following:
given a File_001 I'd like to search if in the ...
- 460
16
votes
3
answers
7k
views
how can I filter out unwanted search results in Alfred (ie node_modules folder, caches)
Been a user of Alfred for a long time, however whenever I search anything I get a lot of FUD results due to alfred also indexing all my web project node_modules directories.
Is there any way to path-...
- 293
15
votes
2
answers
10k
views
Does Spotlight keep a search history?
Occasionally, I use Spotlight to quickly compute some expression because I'm too lazy to do it in my head, on paper, or fire up some program. Sometimes I would like to view the result again, but when ...
- 2,002
14
votes
2
answers
14k
views
Spotlight re-indexing takes too long or doesn't work
Issue
After forcing Spotlight to reindex, no files or directories can be found.
Setup
I've got a MacBook Pro 15" 2017 with a 512 GB SSD: 250 GB main volume (36 free) and a BOOTCAMP partition (not ...
- 456
13
votes
3
answers
7k
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 ...
- 3,107
12
votes
2
answers
52k
views
Search in a particular folder and subfolder through Spotlight
As the titles indicates, I would like to search a file in a particular folder, and its subfolders, through Spotlight. Is it possible to do that in Spotlight? If so, how can that be done?
- 245
12
votes
7
answers
2k
views
How to search LaTeX -documents in Spotlight?
I have reproduced the problem now also in El Capitan with new components (motherboard, 3x SSD) in my Macbook Air 2013-mid.
I have had clean installation of OS X (El Capitan, Yosemite) while doing the ...
- 6,440
11
votes
6
answers
43k
views
Spotlight "Indexing and searching disabled." message in terminal on OSX. Why?
My spotlight searching hasn't worked for quite some time and I've tried everything I could find on Google. I can't search for anything on my MacBook.. literally nothing shows up. I'll list the things ...
- 637
11
votes
0
answers
579
views
Fixing app search in iOS 11 [duplicate]
Since updating to iOS 11, I've lost the ability to surface apps from the swipe-down Spotlight search field. This was my preferred method of launching apps as it was quite a lot more convenient than ...
- 3,638
10
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Exclude sub-folders from Finder search
How can I force Finder to only search the current folder, ignoring the contents of all the sub-folders?
I don't want to exclude the sub-folders permanently from Spotlight, just for a certain search.
...
- 5,907
9
votes
2
answers
12k
views
Finder not searching files in ~/Library and /Library
I am using a Macbook Air with macOS High Sierra.
When I install a third party application and later delete it, I have to remove files stored by it in Application Support, Preferences etc. in ~/...
- 469
9
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Spotlight search results priority
I noticed recently (could be caused by upgrade to 10.10.4) that Spotlight is changing order of the search results dynamically as you type and OS X installed apps have no more the highest priority (I ...
- 208
9
votes
3
answers
14k
views
Is there any search tools like "everything" on MacOS?
Now I want to search a file exists or not on my mac, when I am using Windows, I can using the everything tool that searching any files less than 50ms on the disk, I was wonder if there is any tool ...
- 1,195
8
votes
1
answer
7k
views
How do I change Spotlight search engine?
when I use Spotlight, it offers to "Search web for: " (something like that, my system is german). When I use this feature, Chrome pops up and searches with the Yahoo search engine.
Chrome is the ...
- 361
8
votes
3
answers
2k
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 ...
- 225
7
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why doesn't OS X Spotlight search inside .json files?
I am trying to search a folder for an ID number. The folder contains various different file types. The ID can be found in several .json files, but non of them show up.
If I rename the .json file to ....
- 309
6
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Spotlight search bar doesn't show up in middle of screen
For some reason, when I activate Spotlight, the bar shows up in the top right part of the screen instead of the middle. I've tried restarting and connecting to an external monitor, to no avail.
- 63
6
votes
2
answers
3k
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 ...
- 2,316
6
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How can I find an exact string in file contents across many folders from the command line on macOS?
I tried all the recipes (double quotes, escaped double quotes etc.) in vain. I'm not interested in files containing any or all of these words, only the exact string. (EasyFind does the job.) I'm using ...
- 63
6
votes
4
answers
7k
views
How to search for .zip files instead of all compressed files?
How do you search for a file of a specific type in OS X Yosemite? I cannot seem to find any instructions on how to do this.
In the Finder search I enter: kind:zip
But it returns all compressed ...
- 467
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Get Spotlight to search in Caskroom subdirs (which is now in /usr/local/)
I'm using Homebrew with Caskroom and since a recent update, it installs the apps downloaded through brew cask within /usr/local/Caskroom/
I always used Spotlight to find and open these apps, but now ...
- 1,509
6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Spotlight for Safari tabs
Is there a way to commandspace (i.e. bring up Spotlight), type the name of an already open tab and bring it to the foreground?
Or an app that does it outside of spotlight?
I spend far too long ...
- 223
6
votes
0
answers
431
views
Is it possible to remove Web Searches from Spotlight?
when I am searching anything with spotlight a category Web Searches appears at the bottom of the results. Clicking these links Safari opens and would search the web or wikipedia. But I never use these ...
- 181
5
votes
2
answers
9k
views
How exclude a specific folder from spotlight search but not from search window?
I'm trying to set up my Mac so that it will exclude files in a folder called 'XYZ' from the search results in spotlight only. The reason is because these files are mostly private, and I don't want ...
- 153
5
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Spotlight, please don't show mail, but still let me search in Mail app
When I search for stuff, even constraining with name:whatIwant, the majority of results are old e-mail messages and Safari history items.
How can I get rid of these results, but still search my email ...
- 3,341
5
votes
4
answers
3k
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 want ...
- 2,118
5
votes
2
answers
4k
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.
- 276
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Spotlight Search: Show ALL FILES, and exclude ALL FOLDERS
I am looking for a macOS equivalent of the Windows command:
type:NOT"file folder"
This command, when entered into Windows Explorer search bar, will display all the files of a directory or ...
- 51
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Spotlight Search by Full Path?
When performing a Spotlight search, either through the Finder or via terminal commands, is it possible to filter results against the full-path of a file, or at least the name of it's parent folder?
...
- 1,757
5
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Show Library folder and subfolders in Spotlight Search
As a software developer, I often need to look into files within the Library folder.
For quick access, I'd like to be able to see the files in my Spotlight searches.
How can I do that?
user93177
5
votes
2
answers
152
views
Search for files that are NOT a specific kind on my Mac
I am trying to work out which fonts I have on my machine that are Type 1 Postscript fonts so I can avoid problems when Adobe stops supporting them next year. I have used kind:”type 1 outline font” ...
- 51
5
votes
1
answer
737
views
How to force Spotlight to index content inside a package?
I wish to use Spotlight to search inside my Papers 3 library package (i.e., a 'bundle') as the search functionality within the application is broken and/or hamstrung. Is there any way I can force ...
- 191
5
votes
1
answer
3k
views
hide safari and chrome internet results in spotlight searches [duplicate]
When i search for something using spotlight (CMD + SPACEBAR), I don't want to see anything related to internet searches using safari or chrome.
Is there a way to disable spotlight from using these ...
- 173
5
votes
1
answer
388
views
Is there a way to disable incremental search search on a Mac, especially in Preview?
Sometimes when typing a search term in the search bar in Preview or Spotlight the text entry locks up for a few seconds. I assume this happens because it is beginning to search on the letters I've ...
- 51
5
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Spotlight not connecting to internet
My problem is that Spotlight shows no results from internet sources (Wikipedia, iTunes Store, etc.). I've reindexed my drive twice, cleared all the caches, and reset the NVRAM. Still not working. I ...
- 147
5
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Find symbolic links (’s names) with Spotlight (Finder)
underwhelmed by the fact that OS X’s Aliases got really big with Mountain Lion (Lion?) I basically switched to using symbolic links instead.
Now I’m just learning the hard way that Spotlight (or, ...
- 51
4
votes
3
answers
400
views
Hide Everything For Cmd+Space Spotlight Search but Applications
I am trying to use Spotlight as a way to solely launch my most used applications.
A lot of them have similar names, so for me Spotlight displaying in a linear down list works much better then lets ...
- 1,668
4
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Can Spotlight be configured to search ALL files on the hard drive (or is there a powerful alternative) - like Windows' Start Menu search can be?
On Windows - since Vista onwards - I'm used to an extremely powerfully configurable instant file/folder/setting search feature: namely its instant indexed Start Menu search. Having a powerful computer,...
user46942
4
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Change web search engine for Spotlight
Search the web from Spotlight (⌘ CommandSpace) by entering search text and pressing ⌘ CommandB. The expected result of opening the default web browser (Firefox) and completing the web search occurs. ...
- 116
4
votes
4
answers
361
views
Spotlight crashing on `1` and only `1`
I have a really weird spotlight problem and it is driving me insane.
When I open the spotlight search and type 1 the search box disappears as if it crashed. For example, if I intended to search for ...
- 141
4
votes
3
answers
57k
views
Fully disable Spotlight Search
I would like to know if there is any way to disable Spotlight Search, even when an user goes to Settings -> Spotlight Search, and change the options there.
That's mainly because anyone could still ...
- 142
4
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How To Search For Property List Files That Contain A String On Mac
Is there a way to search for all property list files that contain a certain string? Spotlight doesn't search inside .plist files. Yes, I have 'System Files Are Included'.
For example, say a plist (...
4
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Search for files in external storage in Finder (and if possible, Spotlight as well)
I have an external drive connected to my computer, as well as a home server.
I'm trying to search for a file that is on the server, but when I do a finder search, it only looks into the internal ...
user93177
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Search files by size or star-rating using spotlight
I'm trying to search files by their size or star-rating using Spotlight. I know it can be done using finder's Command+F, but I cannot figure out which is the syntax I should be using in Spotlight's ...
- 41
4
votes
3
answers
490
views
Is there any app or anyway for mac to search within a video's texts/transcription
This might be a very niche thing, but I have a lot of local and downloaded videos on my Mac that I keep for educational purposes, and was wondering if it's possible to search through the ...
- 161