Find Anything on Your Mac
With Spotlight, you can find anything on your computer as fast as you can type. You can find documents, emails, apps, songs, contacts, and more—and even get quick definitions or do simple math calculations. Spotlight searches your Mac and disks attached to it.
The Spotlight menu is in the upper-right corner of your screen and has a magnifying glass icon. Click it to start searching.
The Spotlight menu is in the upper-right corner of your screen and has a magnifying glass icon. Click it to start searching.
Start a Search
You can begin a Spotlight search from the Spotlight menu, or open a search window to do a more detailed search.
- To open the Spotlight menu, click the Spotlight icon in the upper-right corner of your screen, or Press Command (⌘)-Space bar.
- To open a search window in the Finder, choose File > Find, or press Command (⌘)-F.
Decide Where to Search
You can choose a location to search—including your entire computer, a specific folder, or other disks and computers you’re connected to.
If you began your search in the Spotlight menu, click Show All to switch to a search window. Then specify a scope for your search.
This Mac: Search the entire computer.
“folder name”: Search in the current folder, whose name appears in quotation marks. (For example, “Documents” searches the Documents folder, and “Desktop” searches the desktop.)
Shared: Search shared folders on disks and computers, if you’re connected to any on your network.
You can also use the search field’s menu to specify that you want to search filenames rather than the entire contents of files.
If you began your search in the Spotlight menu, click Show All to switch to a search window. Then specify a scope for your search.
This Mac: Search the entire computer.
“folder name”: Search in the current folder, whose name appears in quotation marks. (For example, “Documents” searches the Documents folder, and “Desktop” searches the desktop.)
Shared: Search shared folders on disks and computers, if you’re connected to any on your network.
You can also use the search field’s menu to specify that you want to search filenames rather than the entire contents of files.
View Your Search Results
- If you are viewing search results in the Spotlight menu, press the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys or move the pointer to scroll through the results. A preview appears for each item as it is highlighted. To open an item in an application, click it.
- If you are viewing search results in a search window, press the arrow keys or click items to select them. To see a preview of an item, press the Space bar. To open an item in an application, double-click it.
Save This Search to Use Again
If you plan to search for these items again, click Save in the location bar to save your search as a Smart Folder.
Tips for Better Searches
Here are a few tips to help you use Spotlight like a pro.
- To find an exact phrase, enclose it in quotation marks (“”).
- To find items containing references to both San Francisco and Paris, type:
"San Francisco" and "Paris" - To find items containing references to either San Francisco or Paris, or both:
"San Francisco" or "Paris" - You can add criteria or type a Boolean query to narrow down your search, or use keywords to search an item’s metadata and find specific types of items. For more information, see:
Narrow down Spotlight search results
Keywords to use in Spotlight searches