10 Useful Spotlight Search Tips Every Mac User Should Know.
Spotlight search is one of the most useful features of macOS . You can access it by pressing Command-Space , and it lets you find anything on your Mac . And Spotlight search is much more powerful than you might imagine. From converting currencies to running complex automated processes, here are 10 useful Spotlight search tricks.
Enable clipboard history to keep track of all copied files.
Starting with macOS 26 Tahoe, Spotlight search can retain clipboard history . This means Spotlight keeps a record of every item you’ve copied on your Mac. This feature is disabled by default. You can enable it by clicking the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your Mac’s screen and going to System Preferences > Spotlight . Scroll down and enable “Clipboard Results.” You can use the drop-down menu below this option to set a timer for automatically deleting clipboard history, choosing from 30 minutes, 8 hours, or 7 days.
To open your clipboard history, press Command-Space to open Spotlight search, then press Command-4 .
Use the built-in converter to instantly convert currencies and units of measurement.
I’ve stopped using online searches to convert currencies and units of measurement since discovering this Spotlight feature. To convert currency in Spotlight, you can type “USD 100 to INR.” The results will appear in Spotlight, which is much faster than opening a browser and searching the web. Feel free to replace the currency abbreviations with your own, as Spotlight supports currencies from almost every country (except cryptocurrencies). You can use a similar syntax for converting units of measurement. For example, try something like: “100lbs to kg” or “3L to oz.”
It’s also worth trying Spotlight’s built-in calculator, which handles arithmetic operations quite well. Ask it to add, subtract, divide, or multiply numbers, and Spotlight will show you the results instantly.
Use Spotlight search filters to find any file on your Mac.
Once the search bar opens, you can type any file or app name, and Spotlight will search your Mac—it’s pretty simple. The fun begins when you start using search filters for advanced queries. You can ask Spotlight to limit search results to PDF files by typing “/pdf” before your query. This also works for other file types, such as jpeg, png, and tiff. To use it correctly, you need to select a filter from the search results. When you type “/pdf,” the first search result will be “PDF” with the word “Kind” underneath. Select it and enter a query to limit your search to that file type.
This format can also be used to search within specific folders, such as “/downloads” to search for files in the Downloads folder on your Mac.
Send messages to any contact directly from Spotlight.
Whenever I open any chat app with the intention of sending a message, I get distracted by other unread messages. To avoid this on my Mac, I started sending messages to people directly from Spotlight , which saves me from scrolling through irrelevant messages. To use this feature, open Spotlight and type “Send message.” You can select the “Send message ” action from the search results to begin composing your message. Then, select a recipient and press Enter to send the message.
Use Spotlight’s built-in timer to bypass the Clock app.
The built-in Mac Clock app lets you set alarms, timers, and use a stopwatch. It works great, but when I set timers, I usually need to do it quickly. That’s where Spotlight comes in handy. Type “Start timer” and select the action in Spotlight. Then you can add a timer duration, and it will notify you when the timer is up.
Use this Spotlight shortcut to open files in Finder.
When I see search results in Spotlight, I sometimes want to open a file or app, but more often than not, I want to open the folder containing those results. I recently discovered a keyboard shortcut that opens the folder containing any search result directly from Spotlight. To use it, search for something in Spotlight and use the arrow keys to find the desired result. Then press Command-Enter to open the file or app in Finder.
Translate languages directly from Spotlight.
I had no idea Spotlight could be your personal translator until Lifehacker Senior Technical Editor Jake Peterson told me about it. Now that I’ve used this feature, I think I’ll no longer open Google Translate by default when I need translations. To set this feature up on your Mac, go to System Preferences > Language & Region and select “Translation Languages.” Download the languages you need for translation and enable “On Device” mode on the same page if you want to use the translation offline. Click “Done” when all downloads are complete.
Next, type “Translate” into Spotlight and select “Translate Text” from the results. Type or paste the text into the “Text” field, and Spotlight will promptly show you the translation.
Use Spotlight to find and open hidden system settings.
Ever since macOS deprecated the old System Preferences menu, I’ve had trouble finding many settings on my MacBook. The new System Preferences menu is less confusing for iOS users, but it doesn’t help those of us accustomed to the old interface. To get around this problem, I started using Spotlight search to find System Preferences. You can type in the name of a Preferences page or even specific features, like “Reduce Motion.” Spotlight search results will show you two types of results: one where you can open the System Preferences app, and another where you can toggle a setting directly from the search results. The latter is especially handy for features you want to toggle multiple times, like Bluetooth.
Assign custom keyboard shortcuts to your favorite actions.
Now that Spotlight search lets you perform actions like creating notes, calendar events, and sending messages, it’s worth considering ways to speed up the process. Typing the full name of each action isn’t ideal for frequently used actions, so it’s helpful to assign keyboard shortcuts to your favorite actions. Instead of typing “Send message” every time, you can launch the action by typing “sm.” To set this up, open Spotlight and press Command-3 . This will load a list of actions supported by all installed apps on your Mac, and you can click the “Add keyboard shortcut” button next to any action to assign it a keyboard shortcut.
Change Spotlight settings to exclude certain apps from search results.
If you don’t want to see search results from certain apps in Spotlight, you can easily exclude them. On your Mac, go to System Preferences > Spotlight and scroll down to the “App Results” section. You can click the button next to any app to remove it from Spotlight search results. Scroll down to the “System Results” section. Here, you can click the “i” button next to “Files” to exclude specific folders from Spotlight search results.