The Mac OS X makes it easy to manage files. The most familiar way is by using the finder but OS X also included a feature called Spotlight that helps you pinpoint the exact files, programs, and system settings you need. Let me show you how.
Click the Spotlight icon in the upper right corner of the OS X menu bar. The icon has a magnifying glass. Then type a query into the text field. The top results appear in the menu and from there, you choose the file or program you’re looking for. You get a list of anything related to the word you just type, applications, system preferences, documents, image files, all the relevant hits.
If you want an even more detailed list of results, click Show All in the menu to open the Spotlight Window. This lets you search a specific location. Choose the location from the sidebar on the left. Speed up the searches by specifying which resources you want Spotlight to avoid searching. Just click the Apple icon, choose System Preferences and click the Spotlight icon.
The Spotlight Preferences Window shows that all of the folders and applications you check. Click Next to any resource, you don’t want Search. When you click, you remove the check mark. You can also block folders from being searched. Near the top of the Spotlight Window, click the Privacy button. And then at the bottom of the window, click the Plus sign to add the folders you want to block. When you select a folder, click the Choose button and the folder appears in Spotlight’s list.
And those are the basics for finding what you need but Spotlight has a couple of other—for example, if you type a math equation in the Spotlight, it turns into a calculator and provides an answer.
You can also look at dictionary definitions, the word or phrase with Spotlight. Just click the Dictionary option and a new window reveals the full definition. And Spotlight is more than a search engine or a calculator or dictionary. Apple’s website offers great plug-ins to help you work more efficiently. Have fun using Spotlight.
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