Spotlight Window

Can I have the Finder icon in the dock open the Spotlight window? Seems logical to me

CMD+spacebar opens just the Spotlight field, I would like to have the Spotlight window (AltCMDspacebar)...I don't like working with so many shortcuts, I find clicking with the mouse more practical. Spotlight window is now just a regular Finder window in Leopard, don't know why I can't choose it in the preferences.

Similar Messages

Spotlight window dominating Finder

Somehow I have ended up with a spotlight window in the finder that I can't get to go away. It says "Spotlight Comments" and it sits on top of everything.
It also has a drop down menu for Labels and a place for comments. But my cursor can't interact with it.
How did it get there anbd how do I make it go away? Never seen anything like it.

Turns out it is a bug with Default Folder. They are probably soon going to be releasing updates. Quit default folder and the window will go away.

Anyway to resize the new spotlight window?

I've stayed with Lion for a long time before getting the iMac and introduced to Yosemite. Mostly good improvement, but the new spotlight implement is killing it's efficiency big time!
Old spotlight search was on the side, and use a long vertical space to display as much info as it can suggest. Now the new spotlight, is right in the middle of the screen and blocking everything. That's not the worse, it's so tiny in size, especially on the 27 iMac, that most searched files can't even be displayed by the full name. The preview isn't really useful when the preview window is that small?
There isn't an obvious way to resize, or relocate the spotlight window. Is there a hack exist that can do this? Thanks!!

At present Spotlight window cannot be enlarged.
Sidebar and the preview window can be scrolled.

Resizable Spotlight window

The spotlight window appear with search list is just plain small if running in large and high resolution screen. Is there a way to resize it to be larger to take advantage of larger screen estate ?
Seriously this look like a oversight on spotlight UI design if it fixed in size.

Probably about half our eLearning content is designed for
800x600,
simply because most everyone's computers/monitors can handle
it without
a problem. Laptops have smaller sizes, older computers,
kiosks, etc...
Flash is definitely scalable. The trick is to change the code
in the
HTML page that encompasses the SWF:
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=tn_14149
How good the result looks, however, is completely variable...
HTH
Erik
Bill 6303 wrote:
> Can I output a training simulation such that the flash
video it appears as is
> resizable?
Erik Lord
http://www.capemedia.net
Adobe Community Expert - eLearning
http://www.adobe.com/communities/experts/
http://www.awaretips.net -
Authorware Tips!

Spotlight Window Keyboard Shortcut not working

Okay. The keyboard shortcut for opening the spotlight window is Option-Command-Space. It was working fine for me until two days ago. I have tried using other shortcuts and so on but it's just not working. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

HI,
Open System Preferences/Keyboard and select Keyboard Shortcuts
Click Spotlight on the left. Make sure the shortcuts are correct. If not, click: Restore Defaults.
Carolyn

After installing moutain lion all clicks to anywhere on desktop only opens spotlight window

After upgrading my iMac from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion, all clicks to anywhere on the destop result in only opening the spotlight window....I can't lauch anything whatsoever....any ideas?

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
Step 1
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select Help from the menu bar, and enter “Set up guest users” (without the quotes) in the search box. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
Step 2
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.
When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.
If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
*Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

Task switching (APPLE+TAB) between apps and spotlight window not possible

Hi, I opened a spotlight window to search for some items by pressing ALTCMDSpace and ran my search query. Then I task switched to my other app to look at some info, but when I tried to task switch back to the open Spotlight window I was unable to do so. The only way to get back to it was either to Exposé or to press ALTCMDSpace again. Not a natural flow to the way I and most other people probably work. Is this normal/a feature? I am sure it wouldn't be hard for Apple to add the hook to show the Spotlight window in the Task List (CMD+TAB)

Hi, John.
Unfortunately, that's the way it works: You cannot Command-Tab to the Spotlight window. I see this as a design glitch, aka a "feature." As you note, it can be found using the Exposé "All Windows" (F9) function.
To let Apple know how you feel about this, I suggest you submit a Mac OS X Feedback. All Feedbacks are read and used to prioritize development investments.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

Spotlight Window Sizing

Is it just me or does Leopard not remember the last window size you use in spotlight among others. I have it set for cover flow view but the window is always too small and I have to readjust. Is there anyway to set it as you left it. This was always the case before when opening a window. Don't know why it's not remembering the size now? Any help would be nice.

I just did a quick test. I created this plist file in TextEdit, made it plain text, and saved it to the Desktop as default_smart.plist:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>CompatibleVersion</key>
<integer>1</integer>
<key>RawQuery</key>
<string>((_kMDItemGroupId > 6))</string>
<key>SearchCriteria</key>
<dict>
<key>CurrentFolderPath</key>
<string>/</string>
<key>FXCriteriaSlices</key>
<array>
<dict>
<key>criteria</key>
<array>
<string>comappleSearchSystemFilesAttribute</string>
<integer>1220</integer>
</array>
<key>displayValues</key>
<array>
<string>SEARCHSYSTEMFILES</string>
<string>YES</string>
</array>
<key>rowType</key>
<integer>0</integer>
<key>subrows</key>
<array/>
</dict>
</array>
<key>FXScope</key>
<integer>0</integer>
<key>FXScopeArrayOfPaths</key>
<array>
<string>kMDQueryScopeComputer</string>
</array>
</dict>
<key>ViewOptions</key>
<dict>
<key>SidebarWidth</key>
<integer>135</integer>
<key>ToolbarVisible</key>
<true/>
<key>ViewHeight</key>
<integer>582</integer>
<key>ViewStyle</key>
<string>icnv</string>
<key>WindowBounds</key>
<dict>
<key>bottom</key>
<integer>850</integer>
<key>left</key>
<integer>457</integer>
<key>right</key>
<integer>1207</integer>
<key>top</key>
<integer>268</integer>
</dict>
</dict>
<key>Version</key>
<string>10.5.3</string>
</dict>
</plist>
I then ran these commands in the Terminal, following each with hitting the return key:
*cd /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources*
*sudo cp default_smart.plist default_smart.plist.bak*
entered my admin password at the Password: prompt
*sudo cp /Users/<your username>/Desktop/default_smart.plist default_smart.plist*
Copy & paste it into TextEdit, etc. and when you do a CMD+F, the search box that pops up will have your home folder as a place to search, will include all system files, is higher than the original, and the cursor is set for your search term. Note that the View Height = bottom - top. So you can adjust it and the window's width, to suit your needs.
To view the original file, run this:
*cat /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources/default_smart.plist. bak*

Holding Spotlight window size and others

Hope this is easy no brainer that I can't remember- When I open spotlight into it's finder window (I am using cover flow mode) I have to always resize it to a larger view. How can I get it to remember the last open window size? I see this happen in some others windows as well.

alucardbc wrote:
Hello, I'm new to OS X, recently coming from Windows, and I was hoping someone could help me with something. I'm constantly bringing my Mac Mini from work and home, so the resolution is constantly changing
I assume you're changing resolution because of very different monitors in the two places?
That's the cause of the problem, obviously. 99.9% of users want things to remain the way they left them.
. . . Never save windows position and size, always keeping them at OS X default. Is there a way to turn off the save windows position and size feature, or do I need to find and delete files holding these values.
Unfortunately, no. This is done by each application, and if you delete the files, they'll come back each time you use the app again (and for most apps, you'll lose all their "preferences" as well.)
Many apps will resize their windows to fit on (but not necessarily fill) the screen, if you click the green button in their menubars. In most cases that's probably not what you want, but may be the best you can do.
The only other option I can think of is to find some way to use the same resolution for both monitors.

Help! I've lost my Spotlight window and can't get it back!

I can't access two application windows -- Mail and Spotlight. I sometimes use a external monitor so this may be related to that.
When I switch to Mail, the Mail menu appears on top, but I do not see the window with my mailboxes in it. When I use Expose to see all the open windows, there's my Mail window, in light purple. I click on it, to select it, and the window zoooms away to the left, never to be seen again. The top menu indicates that I'm in Mail.
The same thing happens to me with Spotlight. I can search in Spotlight, but the results are in an inaccessible window that zooms away when I try to select it in Expose.
Plugging in an external monitor again does not retrieve the window, regardless of whether I mirror the displays or not. After searching these forums, I tried changing the screen resolution to 640x480 instead of 1024x768 but that didn't help. I looked in Library/Preferences to see if I could trash some preferences, but neither application seems to have any, that I know how to identify.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Just in case this comes up for anyone else... I got the windows BACK by hooking my computer up to the external monitor, and REVERSING the arrangement of the monitors (so the one that was on the left was on the right, and vice versa). This placed the window in my field of view and I was able to retrieve it.

Spotlight window always need adjusting

Whenever I do a Spotlight search, I get a small search results window. It's about 1/3 the width of my screen. If I click on the green plus button to maximize it, it makes it taller, but not wider. So I have to physically drag the corners to make it big enough to read.
The Name and Kind columns are always too narrow to show the full width of their data, so I have to manually re-size them, too.
Is there any way to get a Spotlight results window to open up maximized, with columns wide enough to see what's in them?

Start with http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1918978&tstart=0

Spotlight window doesn't open!

I cannot type a request in Spotlight search window because when I click the spyglass icon the window does not open - Help?

I was having the same problem as both these gentlemen (Spotlight dropdown wouldn't open up when I clicked the magnifying glass), and the changing-the-resolution trick worked for me as well.

Spotlight menu vs Spotlight window

Ever since upgrading to Mavericks, some types of files will no longer appear in the spotlight menu even though they match the search terms. The same files actually do show up when the search is performed from a finder window and not from the menu .
It appears that this happens with files that the finder classifies as "developer" files (for instance, xml files).
Is there any way to change this and make these files appear in the spotlight menu as well?

I was on an iPhone when I responded previously. However, I am now looking at my Spotlight list in Mavericks and it has a Developer option and I can search for xml files, along with other “Developer” files.
I’m not sure why yours would not have the category.
Perhaps this will help: http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20110805192212447
It is the opposite, but should be same method to add a category back.

Spotlight "window" missing

After a system crash, attempting to use Spotlight results in a blue background behind the Spotlight icon in the menu bar, but no entry area appears.
However, every time I invoke Spotlight (CMD+Spacebar), the following message appears in the syslog:
SystemUIServer[190]: -[MDMenuWindow _checkTopRight] the window is off the screen topRight point is {0, 1028}
Any idea how I can recover this window to a visible position on my screen? I've tried using the Display object from the system preferences to "Gather Windows" to the primary display (didn't work); I tried using Finder to "Bring All to Front".
Note that the entry area IS active, if I hit CMD+Spacebar and type an application name, that application is launched. However, the display area normally displayed when using spotlight for searching is missing in action in addition to the entry area.

Yes there is a hack to get it to appear, but it is buggy as all get out--which is undoubtedly why it didn't get turned on. Evidently finding out why it ain't working is not a priority, so it still hasn't been enabled in the OS updates (I would guess it is not likely it ever will be fixed). See this old MacOSXHints tip:
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=2009083113534843
For little more information, including some screen captures, see my article here:
http://www.pinkmutant.com/articles/mods.html
Its about half way down the page, in the section on "Brute Force Edit of the Plist"--did I mention it is really buggy?
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Spotlight Window: No keyboard shortcut will work...

I can assign any keyboard shortcut for Spotlight's search bar and it'll work, but the inverse is true for Spotlight's window (which I prefer to use).
Any shortcut I assign to the window does not conflict with another.
This problem doesn't, and never existed on my gigabit G4 tower.
Suggestions?
Thanks.
MBP 17" Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Do you have an active selection before Ctrl+Alt+Shift clicking on the layer thumbnail?
(click on the area as below)
MTSTUNER

Spotlight Window

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for