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Let’s look at how to Customize Spotlight Search Results so you can get more out of your searches. Spotlight Search has always been a great way to find apps on your iPhone or iPad, especially if you’ve downloaded a lot of apps. Since Apple has added more to the search results, it has become a bit crowded. Depending on the version of iOS you have, you may be able to organise your results.
Spotlight search lets you look for files and folders on your Mac. Spotlight is good enough to find the exact files you’re looking for based on what you type in. But you can also change Spotlight search so that it only shows the files you want. Spotlight is a search tool in macOS that lets you look for files, photos, emails, documents, calendars, and the web all at the same time.
Spotlight makes an index of your Mac’s hard drive so that files can be found quickly when asked for. For better file indexing, you should put your Mac to sleep instead of turning it off. The search results you get from Spotlight on macOS are a lot like the ones you get on iOS. But iOS and macOS have different ways to get to Spotlight. You can also go to the official Apple support site to know more information.
How To Customize Spotlight Search Results on iphone or ipad
When you swipe down on the Home Screen of an iPhone or iPad, apps and actions are suggested below the Search bar. This is what the Siri Suggestions feature came up with.
Apple uses Siri’s intelligence to figure out which apps you’re most likely to open at a given time and sometimes suggests things you usually do around the same time every day. You might get a suggestion to call your significant other, to look at an album in the Photos app, to set your alarm clock, or to use a Siri shortcut you use often.
These suggestions aren’t always right, and if you find one or two of them annoying, you can remove them from the list by pressing and holding on the item and then tapping the “Close” button. But if you don’t want the sections with suggested apps and actions at all, it’s easy to turn them both off.
- Open the “Settings” app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Then go to the “Siri & Search” section.
- Scroll down and tap on the toggle next to the “Suggestions In Search” option.
- Now, when you swipe down on your iPhone’s or iPad’s Home Screen, you won’t find any suggestions.
How To Customize Spotlight Search Results on mac
By default, Spotlight on macOS looks for results anywhere it can, both locally and on the web. But you’ll want to turn down what it shows, especially on computers that other people use. Follow along to find out how to change the results of Spotlight on macOS.
- Open up System Preferences.
- Tap Spotlight in the top row.
- Uncheck the box next to each item you’d like to exclude.
- You can hide specific folders from the search as well as the results that the system thinks you should hide. Tap the Privacy tab at the top, tap the plus sign, and then tap the folder you want to leave out.
FAQ
How do I limit Spotlight Search?
Click on the Search Results tab in the Spotlight Preferences window. Here is a list of categories that can be added to or taken out of Spotlight. You can go through this list and turn off any category that you don’t want to show up in Spotlight results.
How do I search categories in Spotlight Mac?
Choose Apple > System Preferences > Spotlight from the Apple menu. Move your mouse to the tab called “Search Results.” Check the boxes next to the categories to make sure Spotlight can show you what you want to see. Only the items in the chosen categories will show up in the search results.
How do you customize search on Mac?
Use Search settings in the Safari app on your Mac to change how you search the web and how search results are shown. Choose Safari > Settings > Search to change these settings. You can tell Safari which search engine to use when it looks for things on the web.
How do I reset my Spotlight Search index on my iPhone?
- Press the power button at the top of your iPhone.
- If you tap the “Settings” icon on the home screen, the iPhone’s control panel for settings will open.
- Tap the “Spotlight Search” option in the “General” section.
- Tap an item to add it to the search list or take it off.
How do I use Apple Spotlight search?
Swipe right from the Home screen to get to Spotlight Search (at the top). If the option isn’t there, swipe down from the middle of the Home screen. In the Search field, type the text you want to look for. As you type, a list of possible matches may show up, from which you can choose at any time.