Spotlight on Finding Files and Folders Faster

Even if you follow every single bit of advice provided in this chapter, a time will come when you won’t be able to find a file or folder, although you know for certain that it’s right there on your hard drive. Somewhere. Fortunately, Mountain Lion includes a fabulous technology called Spotlight that can help you find almost anything on any mounted disk in seconds. Spotlight can

check.png Search for files

check.png Search for folders

check.png Search for text inside documents

check.png Search for files and folders by their metadata (creation date, modification date, kind, size, and so on)

Spotlight finds what you’re looking for and then organizes its results logically, all in the blink of an eye (on most Macs).

Spotlight is both a technology and a feature. The technology is pervasive throughout Mountain Lion — and is the underlying power behind the search boxes in many Apple applications and utilities such as Mail, Contacts, System Preferences, and Finder. You can also use it right from the Spotlight menu — the little magnifying glass at the right end of the menu bar. Also, you ...

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