Spotlight on Mac, a few simple Tips
Search for something
On your Mac, do the following:
-
- Click the magnify icon in the Menu Bar. (Top right corner.)
- Press Command-Space bar.
- You can drag the Spotlight window anywhere on the desktop.
- Click the magnify icon in the Menu Bar. (Top right corner.)
- In the search field, type what you’re looking for — results appear as you type.
Spotlight lists top matches first; click a top match to preview or open it. Spotlight also suggests variations of your search; those results appear in Spotlight or on the web.
In the results, do any of the following:
-
See results of a suggested search in Spotlight: Click an item following
. -
See results of a suggested search on the web: Click an item followed by
. -
Open an item: Double-click it. Or select the item, then press the Return key.
This action may open an app, such as Messages
, the Tips app 
and more. -
Turn a setting on or off: Click to turn a setting (such as VoiceOver) on or off when you search for it in Spotlight.
-
Take a quick action: When you type a phone number, email, date or time, you may be able to take a quick action — such as making a FaceTime call or sending an email.
-
Show the location of a file on your Mac: Select the file, then press and hold the Command key. The file’s location appears at the bottom of the preview.
-
Copy an item: Drag a file to the desktop or a Finder window.
Get calculations and conversions in Spotlight
Spotlight’s unit conversion feature is impressive because you don’t need to specify the exact conversion you’re looking for—it intelligently provides the most likely result along with additional suggestions.
To use it, there’s no special syntax required. Just press Command–Space Bar (or your custom Spotlight shortcut), then type the number and a reference to the unit or currency. For example, entering “999 Dollars” or “$999” will display conversions to other currencies.
By default, Spotlight shows the most common conversions, but you can specify a particular one if needed. You can also use common symbols or labels for other measurements, and Spotlight will return relevant conversions accordingly.
If you like these types of tips let me know in the comments below.