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How To Rebuild Spotlight Index on Mac. Spotlight is a helpful search tool. You can easily find apps, documents, and other files using it. You can also find news, videos, articles, and more about the keyword you’re searching for with Siri’s suggestions below the results list. The currency, temperature, and measurement calculations and conversions that Spotlight can carry out are also included.
Apple has improved this feature recently to make it simpler to use. However, there are times when Spotlight is unable to locate files that you are certain are present on your Mac. Your system may be preventing Spotlight from searching the folder where the file is located, which could be the root of the issue.
Click the Apple menu > System Preferences > Spotlight > Search Results to see if a file is blocked from searches. The list’s unchecked folders won’t show up in the Spotlight search results.
Steps To Rebuild Spotlight Index on Mac
- Select System Preferences… from the Apple menu at the top left of your screen.
- Click the Spotlight pane.
- Click the Privacy tab.
- Click the Add (+) button.
- Select the folder or disk whose index you wish to re-build, then click Choose. Alternatively, drag the folder or disk into the list. We’ve chosen Documents in our example.
- In the same list, click the folder or disk that you just added and then click the Remove (–) button.
- Click the red traffic light button to close System Preferences.
What is a Spotlight?
The system-wide desktop search tool Spotlight is part of Apple’s iOS and macOS operating systems. The selection-based search engine Spotlight builds an index of all the files and objects on the computer. The user can easily find a variety of things on the computer with its help, including documents, photos, music, applications, and System Settings.
Additionally, a web browser‘s history or bookmarks can be searched for specific words in documents and web pages. It enables the user to focus their searches by using creation, modification, size, type, and other attributes. Spotlight provides quick access to the built-in New Oxford American Dictionary’s definitions and calculator features. Additionally, command-line tools are available for tasks like Spotlight searches.
FAQ
How do I clean my Spotlight index?
Drag your drive (or the drive where Spotlight isn’t finding files) into the list of places where Spotlight shouldn’t search after opening System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy. That gets rid of the previous Spotlight index.
Why is Spotlight not working on my Mac?
Restarting your Mac can sometimes resolve system or Spotlight errors that are causing Spotlight to malfunction. Restart can be chosen from the Apple menu to restart your Mac computer. Then, try Spotlight Search once more to see if it is back in operation.
Why have my spot lights stopped working?
The power source and the bulb itself are just two examples of the many possible causes for this. A bad power supply, loose connections, a bad circuit design, or even damage from water infiltration brought on by rain are frequent causes.
Why is Spotlight not working on my Mac?
Restarting your Mac can sometimes resolve system or Spotlight errors that are causing Spotlight to malfunction. Restart can be chosen from the Apple menu to restart your Mac computer. Then, try Spotlight Search once more to see if it is back in operation.