Mac Search Guides
Mac search guides: every shortcut and fix in one place.
Short, practical guides to searching on macOS: the keyboard shortcuts, where the search bar is, how Control F works on a Mac, and what to do when Spotlight stops finding files.
How to Search on Mac
Press ⌘ Space for Spotlight, ⌘ F to find on a page, or use Finder filters for files.
Read the guideMac Search Shortcuts
⌘ Space opens search on any Mac. On a MacBook, the F4 🔍 key does the same.
Read the guideHow to Control F on Mac
Press Command + F (⌘ F). ⌘ G jumps to the next match, ⇧ ⌘ G to the previous one.
Read the guideSpotlight Search on Mac
Open Spotlight with ⌘ Space, filter with kind:pdf, and preview results with Space.
Read the guideHow to Search Keywords on Mac
Find a word on a page with ⌘ F, or inside every file with Finder's Contents filter.
Read the guideHow to See All Windows on Mac
Press F3 or Control + ↑ for Mission Control; Control + ↓ shows one app's windows.
Read the guideFix Spotlight Not Finding Files
Re-index the drive from System Settings or run sudo mdutil -E / in Terminal.
Read the guide