There are some excellent features built into macOS – some are obvious, while others are a little more hidden, but once you’ve learned the key tips and tricks, using Mac day-to-day is an absolute breeze. There is one feature in particular I can’t get enough of. In fact, it is hands down the feature I use the most and the one I do so without even thinking about it: Spotlight.
It might surprise you to learn that Spotlight has been around for nearly a decade. Yes really. The feature was first introduced at WWDC in 2004 (gasp) and it was part of the macOS X Tiger release that took place in April 2005. In that time, it’s become more useful and far more intelligent, leading it to become my favourite feature of macOS. It is also available on iOS though here I’m focusing on Mac. This is everything you need to know about Spotlight, including tips and tricks to help you get the most out of it and your Mac.
What is Spotlight and what can it do?
On a basic level, Spotlight is a search function on Mac that allows you to quickly find documents, apps, emails and various other items, but that’s really only the start of its capabilities. It does a lot more than that and it does them brilliantly.
You can also use Spotlight for calculations and conversions, finding restaurants near you, looking up word definitions, finding the latest match score for your team and looking up the weather, and it presents suggestions from the Internet, App Store, Music and other elements. And that’s not even everything. In fact, I’m pretty sure there’s plenty it can do that I’ve not even discovered yet and I’ve been using it since it first launched.
How to launch Spotlight on Mac
To launch Spotlight, the easiest way is to hit Command+Space Bar. This brings up the Spotlight search bar where you can start typing your search request, calculation, unit conversion, or natural search language requests like “documents I created this week”.
You can also launch Spotlight by pressing F4 on the function keys, or by using your mouse cursor to click on the search icon in the top right of your screen.
Best Spotlight tips and tricks
I use Spotlight for everything when it comes to using my Mac. I must hit Command+Space Bar around 100 times a day to search my emails, launch apps, convert units, do calculations, find documents and whatever else I need on a day-to-day basis. Here are my top tips for using Spotlight to help you get the most out of it.
How to do unit conversions using Spotlight
To do unit conversions on Spotlight, just launch Spotlight and type in the unit you want to convert, followed by the unit you want to convert it to. For example, “12-inches in mm”. Spotlight will show the result without you even having to hit return.
How to do calculations using Spotlight
To do a calculation using Spotlight, launch Spotlight and type the calculation directly into it. For example, “120 x 120”. Like unit conversions, the answer will appear before you even press enter. Key tip: Use / for division. You can only do basic calculations overall, but it’s still very handy.
How to do currency conversions using Spotlight
It’s not just measurement or weight units that Spotlight can convert, it can also convert currency. Want to know how much $100 is in British pounds? Launch Spotlight and type “$100 in £” and the answer will appear immediately.
Find an app quickly using Spotlight
One of the key use cases I have for Spotlight is finding apps. I don’t have all the apps I use frequently on my Dock so if I want to find an app that isn’t in my Dock quickly, I use Spotlight to do it. Launch Spotlight and type in the initials of the app you want to find or the first letters of its name. For example “Pa” will pull up “Pages” almost instantly.
Use Spotlight to find word definitions
There are plenty of ways to look up the definitions of words – including Google Search, but you can do it using Spotlight too, which may reduce a couple of steps and get you a definition quickly. To find a definition of a word, type “Define” followed by the word you want the definition for and then press enter to see the definition appear as a pop up.
Find specific files
Another use-case I find Spotlight comes in particularly handy for is searching for files. I have a very organised desktop, but because of this, I have several folders so finding a particular file would sometimes take longer than I would like if I use the traditional method. Spotlight makes it simple though. Simply type in part of the file name and files will appear that are on your Mac. You can narrow them down by typing in the type of file too. For example “Awards PSD” would show me all the Pocket-lint Awards files I have created in Photoshop.
Use the Command key to find a file path
Speaking of finding files using Spotlight, you might want to know which folder the file you are looking for is in and Spotlight doesn’t show you this by default. If you do want to know where that file is for future reference though, hold Command when you click on the file to open it in Finder and see the file path.
Transfer your Spotlight search directly to browser
If Spotlight hasn’t retrieved the search results you were expecting, or you want some more information, you can press Command+B to transfer your search directly from Spotlight to your default search browser.
Use natural language for more results
Spotlight understands natural language so you can use it to find a range of things, such as restaurants or hotels near you, game match results or more specific results like “documents I created last week”. If you aren’t sure if Spotlight will understand what you’re asking, give it a go, you might be surprised.
Exclude specific categories from Spotlight results
Spotlight searches your entire Mac for results, though you can choose to exclude certain categories so you get more filtered results. To do this, go to the Apple icon in the top left of your screen> Tap on System Settings> Siri & Spotlight> Untick any categories you don’t want Spotlight to search.
Clear your Spotlight search
Spotlight is great but your search terms remain in Spotlight even after you close it. It means that the next time you open Spotlight, the search you put in the previous time will still be there. You can double click to highlight the entire phrase and press delete, or you can press Command+Delete to delete the entire search without highlighting it.
Spotlight keyboard shortcuts worth knowing
Last but by no means least, there are a number of keyboard shortcuts worth knowing when you’re using Spotlight.
- Command+Space – Open or Close Spotlight
- Return – Open a Spotlight result
- Command+Delete – Delete a Spotlight search
- Command+R – Open a file or app in Finder
- Command+B – Open the Spotlight search in browser
- Arrow Down – Scroll down the Spotlight search results
- Arrow Up – Scroll up the Spotlight search results
- Command+Arrow Up – Move to the first Spotlight result in a category
- Command+ Arrow Down – Move to the last Spotlight result in a category