MacOS: Search with Spotlight

MacOS: Search with Spotlight

MacOS: Search with Spotlight

Spotlight can help you quickly find apps, documents, emails, and other items on your Mac. With Siri Suggestions, you can also get news, sports scores, weather conditions, stock prices, and more. Spotlight can even perform calculations and conversions for you.

Siri: Say something like: “How many centimeters in an inch?” or “What does parboil mean?”

Search for something

1. On your Mac, do one of the following:

    1. Click the Spotlight icon  (if shown) in the menu bar.
    2. Press Command+Space bar.
    3. Press  (if available) in the row of function keys on the keyboard.
You can drag the Spotlight window anywhere on the desktop.

Tip: If the Spotlight icon isn’t in the menu bar, add it using Control Center settings.


2. In the search field, type what you’re looking for—results appear as you type.

Spotlight lists top matches first; click a top match to preview or open it. Spotlight also suggests variations of your search; those results appear in Spotlight or on the web.

The Spotlight window showing search text in the search field at the top of the window and results below.

3. In the results, do any of the following:

  1. See results of a suggested search in Spotlight: Click an item preceded by the Spotlight icon .
  2. See results of a suggested search on the web: Click an item followed by an arrow icon .
  3. Open an item: Double-click it. Or select the item, then press the Return key.
    This action may open an app, such as Messages , Help Viewer , and more.
  4. Turn a setting on or off: Click to turn a setting (such as VoiceOver) on or off when you search for it in Spotlight.
  5. Take a quick action: When you type a phone number, email, date, or time, you may be able to take a quick action—such as making a FaceTime call or sending an email.
  6. Show the location of a file on your Mac: Select the file, then press and hold the Command key. The file’s location appears at the bottom of the preview.
  7. Copy an item: Drag a file to the desktop or a Finder window.
  8. See all results from your Mac in the Finder: Scroll to the bottom of the results, then click Search in Finder.
Tip: If the Spotlight icon isn’t in the menu bar, add it using Control Center settings.
During downtime, or if you reach the time limit set for apps in Screen Time settings, app icons in results are dimmed and an hourglass icon  is shown.

Get calculations and conversions in Spotlight

You can enter a mathematical expression, currency amount, temperature, and more in the Spotlight search field, and get a conversion or calculation right in the same place.

The Spotlight window showing a weight to convert in the search field at the top of the window and the conversion results below.

  1. Calculations: Enter a mathematical expression, such as 956*23.94 or 2020/15.
  2. Currency conversions: Enter a currency amount, such as $100, 100 yen, or “300 krone in euros.”
  3. Temperature conversions: Enter a temperature, such as 98.8F, 32C, or “340K in F.”
  4. Measurement conversions: Enter a measurement, such as 25 lbs, 54 yards, 23 stone, or “32 ft to meters.”
  5. World clock conversions: Enter a phrase about a time in a location, such as “time in Paris” or “Japan local time.”
You can include or exclude specific folders, disks, or types of information (such as email or messages) from Spotlight searches.

If you want Spotlight to search content only on your Mac and not include results from the web, you can turn off Siri Suggestions for Spotlight.

Spotlight keyboard shortcuts on MacOS

On your Mac, you can quickly search with Spotlight using the keyboard shortcuts below.

Action
Shortcut
Open or close the Spotlight window
Command+Space bar
Open a search result in Quick Look
Space bar
Switch between the search field and the search results
Tab key
Move to the next result
Down Arrow
Move to the previous result
Up Arrow
Move to the first result in the next category
Command+Down Arrow
Move to the first result in the previous category
Command+Up Arrow
Show the path of a result (such as a file)
Command
Open a result
Return key
See a file in an app or the Finder
Command+R or Command+Double-click
Open a Finder window with the search field selected
Option+Command+Space bar




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