
To narrow down your results, start by selecting one of the criteria in the first menu, such as Created Date, Last Opened Date, or Name. Clicking on it brings up two pull-down menus by default, the first is set to Kind, and the second is set to Any-but there are other options to choose from.

On the right side of the Finder window’s search bar is a plus-sign button.
#MAC SIERRA SEARCH FOR FILES CONTAINING MAC#
But when your computer is connected to a Mac running Tiger, Spotlight will search only file names. When your Mac is connected to other Leopard machines, Spotlight will search both file names and file contents. If your computer is connected to other Macs, click on the Shared button to search networked machines as well. Or you can click on This Mac to change the target of your search from the folder you were in when you started searching, to your entire Mac. You can click on the File Name button (new in Leopard), which forces Spotlight to search only for file names rather than names and contents. The Finder window’s search bar contains several options for tailoring your results. (Note that Tiger’s dedicated Spotlight results window-which appeared when you chose Show All Results-is now a thing of the past.) Simply choose Show All at the top of the menu, and Spotlight will display the results of that search in a Finder window. You can also access the Finder window after you’ve started a query in the Spotlight menu (useful if you’re having trouble narrowing down your results). Click on a column header to changer how results are sorted. You can limit your search to specific areas of your system or network. Press command-F to open a search window in the Finder.

You can open a generic Finder window and use the search box at the top, press command-F to convert any open Finder window into a search window, or press command-option-spacebar to open a brand-new search window. There are several ways to access Spotlight via the Finder. This will let you access a wider range of attributes and search criteria, let you combine multiple criteria to define your searches more precisely, and give you more options for sorting and viewing your results. For large or complex searches, open a Finder window and run your query from there. But finding the files you need isn’t always as simple as typing a few words. And with the right keywords and Boolean operators, the Spotlight menu can dish up impressive results. The Spotlight menu is often the quickest way to start a search.
