Traces the path of metadata from inside a PDF document and its extended attributes, to those in Spotlight’s indexes and displayed in the Finder. Only a third survived that journey.
mdimport
This new version adds a drag-and-drop window to inspect the metadata of files using mdimport and mdls.
Use the mdimport and mdls commands to dump full information about all the metadata attributes found for a file, and those indexed by Spotlight.
The Preview pane in Finder windows can show a comprehensive list of metadata, or a shortened list you can customise in Preview Options. Here’s how to use it and how it can provide further information.
In macOS Mojave, Apple changed the way that Spotlight indexes the contents of plain text files. That introduced a bug that prevents indexing of any of the contents of files starting with certain characters. For many Macs, that bug won’t ever be fixed.
Using the Spotlight window and Finder’s Find window to locate local files that match your search criteria. Word boundaries and their effect on search results.
You use Spotlight to search for something you’re sure is there, but it can’t find it. Here are some methods to discover why that search failed.
Almost 16 years old, many think it has grown steadily worse. It has faced new challenges such as iCloud, privacy, and APFS backups. Here’s how it works, and how to get the most from it.
The Eclectic Light Company 