Spotlight on Mac: 5 tips and tricks that will definitely come in handy

Search applications by initials

Finding and launching apps through Spotlight on Mac is nothing new. However, many users do not know that you do not necessarily need to search for applications by entering their full name, and that simply entering their initials is quite sufficient. So, for example, if you want to search for Photoshop through Spotlight, just type the letters "ps".

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Definition of terms

Among other things, the macOS operating system also includes an integrated dictionary https://jablickar.cz/poznavame-nativni-aplikace-applu-slovnik-pro-mac/. Among other things, this tool is also used to search for definitions of individual terms. But you don't need to start the dictionary directly to find out the meaning of the given word, once again only Spotlight is enough. All you have to do is enter "definition [required expression]" (if you have Czech language set on your Mac) or "define [required expression]" (if you have English language set on your Mac) in the Spotlight search field.

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Filtering the results

Spotlight on Mac also offers some customization options that allow you to exclude specific categories from Spotlight searches, such as contacts, documents, or calendar events. To manage Spotlight results, click Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Spotlight in the upper-left corner of your Mac screen. Choose the Search Results tab, then uncheck the categories you don't want included in Spotlight search results.

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Delete search content

While using Spotlight, you may have noticed that your last query remains pre-populated in the Spotlight search box even after you close and restart the tool. Of course, you can simply delete this text field content with the Delete key, but an easier and practically immediate way to delete the content is the Cmd + Delete keyboard shortcut.

Quickly switch to web search

If for any reason you are not satisfied with the results displayed in Spotlight based on your input, you can use a simple web shortcut to switch to the web browser interface, where the query you entered will be automatically searched using the search tool you have set as default on your Mac. To switch to Internet search, just press Cmd + B after entering a query in Spotlight.