Apple’s several patents cast new light on how Spotlight indexes the metadata and contents of local files, and why mds and other processes need to reindex periodically.
Spotlight
Productivity improvements with metadata editing and cataloguing, fun with Unicode lookalikes, and measuring the performance of storage. All now for Big Sur to Tahoe.
As the web exploded in size, early curated directories were replaced by search engines. These were revolutionised by Google’s PageRank for popularity, and are now being replaced by AI overviews.
How a long-deprecated extended attribute can stop files such as images from being found in Spotlight search, and how to fix it.
The most popular interface to Spotlight, through the menu bar, dates back 27 years to Sherlock, when mixing web and local search seemed a good idea. A great deal has changed since, but not Spotlight.
From AppleSearch and Find File in 1994, demand for search has grown with rising storage capacity. Sherlock was released in 1998, then replaced by Spotlight in 2005. Twenty years later it’s still going strong.
Entering search queries directly into a Spotlight search box, using the raw query attribute in the Find window’s search bar, and using mdfind. Which is best?
How to create and use a Saved Search or Smart Folder, which isn’t a folder at all, how you can change its search, and how it works.
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.
Applying a sequence of criteria to narrow search until you find your target. How incremental search can help. The role of predicates, and how to search the log.
The Eclectic Light Company 