spotlight

Search spotlight

Where’s the Calculator on iPad? Use Spotlight!

Jun 9, 2024 - Leave a Comment
You can use Spotlight on iPad as a calculator

Calculators are wildly useful tools for various obvious reasons, whether you need to perform simple math or complex calculations. One of the more curious iPad oversights on Apple’s behalf is the lack of a built-in Calculator app, which is missing on iPad, but has been included on the Mac, iPhone, and Apple Watch, since the … Read More

How to Stop Photos from Showing in Spotlight Search on iPhone & iPad

Aug 4, 2023 - Leave a Comment
Stop Photos from showing up in Spotlight search results on iPhone and iPad

If you have ever been using Spotlight to search for stuff on your iPhone or iPad, and found a situation where photos are showing up in search, and you’d rather them not at all, then you can make a settings change to make sure this does not happen. Whether you’re wanting images to stop showing … Read More

3 Useful Mac Features You Should Be Using

Jul 18, 2023 - 4 Comments
Mac tips

MacOS is loaded with features, and while some of them are obvious (like the Dock), there are a ton of other features on the Mac that may not be widely used by all Mac users. With that in mind, we’re going to discuss three super useful Mac features that all MacOS users should be using, … Read More

How to Disable Spotlight Search from Lock Screen on iPhone

Jan 6, 2022 - 6 Comments
Disable search on locked screen of iPhone

Spotlight Search is enabled by default on the iPhone Lock Screen, along with Today View. This may be convenient for some users, but for others it’s either annoying, unnecessary, or a potential privacy breech as anyone who picks up the iPhone can see and search through your apps, calendar, and other personal data. While the … Read More

How to Find Files on Mac

Jun 21, 2021 - 6 Comments
How to Find Files on Mac

Finding a specific file on your Mac can be a tedious process sometimes, even if you keep all your files and folders organized. Thanks to Finder and Spotlight search, you can quickly find the exact file you’re looking for, regardless of where it’s stored on the Mac. We’ll cover how to find files on a … Read More

Use File & Folder Paths in Spotlight for Mac

Sep 1, 2020 - 1 Comment
Enter file system path in Spotlight on Mac for quick access to file system

Did you know you can enter file system and folder paths into Spotlight on Mac? This handy trick offers a way to quickly access buried files and folders on a Mac, regardless of where they are on in the file system.

How to Use Search on iPhone & iPad with Spotlight

May 26, 2020 - 4 Comments
How to Search on iPhone & iPad with Spotlight

Do you have many apps, files, emails, messages, contacts, and other data on the iPhone or iPad that you wish you could easily search through? It can be a challenge to scroll through all the home screen pages, contact lists, notes, emails, messages, and other stuff to find what you’re looking for on iOS and … Read More

Toggle Dark Mode & Light Mode on Mac Quickly from Spotlight

Jan 29, 2019 - 8 Comments

Do you wish you could enable Dark mode or Light mode interface themes faster in Mac OS? Maybe you wish there was a keystroke to switch from Dark or Light mode on the Mac? If you’re tired of heading over to System Preferences to make the change, you can use a nifty trick to quickly … Read More

How to Open Website URLs from Anywhere on Mac with Spotlight

Apr 23, 2018 - 8 Comments
Open a website Url from Spotlight on the Mac

Need to open a website quickly on a Mac? You’re in luck, because you can open a website URL from just about anywhere on a Mac by using Spotlight. This is arguably the fastest way to get to a website by URL, aside from launching a website bookmark from the Mac Dock anyway.

How to Find All Screen Shots on Mac with a Search Trick

Aug 24, 2017 - 12 Comments
Find only screenshots on Mac

Have you ever wanted to quickly find every screen shot you have on a Mac? With a little-known search trick, you can easily list every single screen shot file on Mac OS. Going further, you can also search by names in screen shots, types, and dates as well, all by using the Mac Finder search … Read More

Search JPEG Images Only Within Spotlight on Mac

Mar 3, 2017 - 4 Comments

Have you ever been in a situation where you know you want to find a JPEG file type and you know the name of the file, but you don’t want to search other document types on the Mac? You can use image specific file format search operators on Spotlight in Mac OS to help narrow … Read More

Get Info on Anything from Spotlight in Mac OS

Jan 17, 2017 - 11 Comments

You can quickly access “Get Info” for any file or application from within Spotlight search results in Mac OS and Mac OS X. Getting file info from Spotlight requires a set of two simple keystrokes, first to get into Spotlight, then the next is to Get Info on the selected or found item in question. … Read More

Feeling Hungry? Search Restaurants with Emoji on iPhone

Nov 18, 2016 - 2 Comments

Just about everyone loves knows and loves using Emoji on their iPhone, but did you know you can search Spotlight in iOS with emoji characters too? That may sound a little pointless, but it offers a fun way to search for food and restaurants, amongst other things too.

Move & Relocate the Spotlight Search Window in Mac OS

Oct 18, 2016 - 1 Comment
Spotlight icon

The Spotlight search window can be moved around screen in modern versions of Mac OS X, which is great if you want to move the Spotlight window away from something that it’s obstructing, or perhaps because you’d rather it be in the corner of the display then in the middle of the Mac screen.

Jump Between Spotlight Search Result Categories in Mac OS X

Jul 31, 2016 - 8 Comments
Jump Spotlight search result categories in Mac OS X

Spotlight on the Mac will search through many different file types and folders to help you find what you’re looking for, but if Spotlight finds multiple matches across different categories, you’ll see the search results returned under each respective category listing. While many Mac users will use the cursor to click the result they want, … Read More

Convert Currency in Spotlight Search for iOS

Jul 23, 2016 - 12 Comments
Converting Currency in Spotlight

Spotlight Search for iOS now has the ability to perform currency calculations and conversions using up to date exchange rates. This is a handy built-in feature for travelers, anyone who needs to exchange money, and those who work across borders, and it’s built right into the latest versions of Spotlight for iOS on iPhone, iPad, … Read More

How to Remove News Headlines from Spotlight Search in iOS

Jul 17, 2016 - 21 Comments
Remove News headlines from Spotlight in iOS

Spotlight Search displays various ‘news’ headlines in modern versions of iOS for iPhone and iPad, and while some users may find this information useful, others don’t care to see what are often tabloid-like headlines splashed across their iPhone and iPad search function. Fortunately with a little effort you can quickly turn off the News headlines … Read More

Play a Song from Spotlight Search in Mac OS X

Feb 13, 2016 - 5 Comments
Play a song in Spotlight search for Mac OS X, without using iTunes

Many Mac users know that music, apps, and documents can be launched directly from Spotlight search, and newer versions of OS X support getting weather, game scores, stock prices, and more from the powerful built-in search engine. But did you know that you can play music directly from Spotlight on the Mac as well? And … Read More

Subscribe to OSXDaily

Subscribe to RSS Subscribe to Twitter Feed Follow on Facebook Subscribe to eMail Updates

Tips & Tricks

News

iPhone / iPad

Mac

Troubleshooting

Shop on Amazon to help support this site