The Mac Spotlight Shortcuts You Should Be Using [Complete Guide]

Most operating systems come with a nifty feature that lets us search for anything on our system with ease, and on macOS, that's the Spotlight search. Spotlight is one of the easiest ways to find files and folders, launch apps, and get all sorts of information about anything on a Mac. We're all familiar with Spotlight, but we don't use it to its full potential. So, in this article, we'll dive deep into what Spotlight search is all about. We'll discuss the features Spotlight has to offer, how to create a custom keyboard shortcut to access it, and how to customize it according to our needs. Let's get started.

What are Spotlight shortcuts on a Mac?

We all store various types of files on our Mac, and it's not that easy to access them quickly without using any tool, right? That's where the Spotlight search comes into play. Spotlight is everyone's favorite tool that lets them search and open anything on their Mac with ease. When I say “anything,” I mean anything like documents, apps, photos, notes, reminders, and so on.

The quickest way to access Spotlight is by using the “Command + Space” keyboard shortcut. You can search for documents by name or content. You can also type abbreviations into the search bar, like “GB” to launch GarageBand. One great use of Spotlight is that you can perform complex calculations without having to open the Calculator app.

How do I set a custom keyboard shortcut to open Spotlight?

As mentioned earlier, you can access Spotlight search by pressing the Command and Spacebar keys on your keyboard simultaneously. However, you might have assigned this keyboard shortcut to another task, or you simply want to reassign it. In such cases, you can set a new custom keyboard shortcut for Spotlight search. In this section, we'll explain in detail how to set a custom keyboard shortcut for Spotlight search. Let's get started.

Step 1: First, click on the Apple icon in the top menu bar, open the Apple Menu, and then choose “System Preferences.”

Step 2: In the System Preferences window, click on "Keyboard" to open the keyboard settings.

Click on the keyboard

Step 3: In the Keyboard settings, select Shortcuts from the top to navigate to the Shortcuts section.

Step 4: You'll see several utilities listed in the left pane of the window. Select “Spotlight.”

Select "Spotlight" from the left-hand column

Step 5: Once configured, select “Show Spotlight Search,” and then click on the “Keyboard Shortcut” to assign a new one.

Select “Show Spotlight Search”

Step 6: On the next screen, you'll see a virtual keyboard. Use this to input the new shortcut key you want to use to open Spotlight. Hold all the keys down for a few seconds, and then let go.

Please enter the new shortcut here.

That's it! You can now use your custom key combination to quickly open Spotlight search on your Mac.

How to customize Spotlight quick searches?

When you open Spotlight and search for something, it looks everywhere on your Mac. Sometimes, even if the item is on your Mac, the search results don't show the same one you want to open. This might be because you didn't allow Spotlight to search specific folders or apps. In this section, we'll show you how to customize Spotlight search and get the expected results without any issues.

Step 1: First, click on the Apple icon and select “System Preferences” to open a new window.

Click the Apple menu

Step 2: Next, in the System Preferences window, click on "Spotlight," and then navigate to the "Search Results" tab.

Step 3: You can then choose which categories you want to appear in your Spotlight search results. If, for example, you don't want Spotlight to search within “Calendar and Reminders” or “Developer,” uncheck those boxes.

Select the categories that should appear in search results

Conclusions

Spotlight is one of the most useful features on a Mac. It saves us a ton of time by eliminating the need to manually search for files on our Macs. In this article, we discuss everything there is to know about Spotlight search. We share both basic and practical information about Spotlight search. So, hopefully, this guide helps you make the most out of the Spotlight feature on your Mac.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mac Spotlight Shortcuts (UTF-8 Encoded)

1. How do I open Spotlight?

You can open Spotlight on a Mac by pressing the Command and Space keys at the same time.

2. What can I do if Spotlight on my Mac isn't working as expected?

If Spotlight isn't working correctly on your Mac, you can try rebuilding your Mac's Spotlight index. You can do this from the Privacy section in Spotlight settings in System Preferences.

3. How can I fix issues with Windows Spotlight not working?

One of the simplest ways to fix Windows Spotlight not working is by deleting the Spotlight files. Here are the steps to do it easily:

Step 1. First, open the "Run" dialog by pressing the Windows + R keys on your keyboard.

Step 2: Next, in the Run dialog box, type the following command and press Enter:

In American English, this would be: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets Keep in mind that the actual path can differ across operating systems and user accounts, since %USERPROFILE% is an environment variable that represents the current user's personal folder path.

Step 3: Now, select all the files in the folder and delete them. After that, restart your computer and see if the issue is resolved.