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Pro Tip: Narrow your search results in Spotlight on Mac

You can add criteria to a basic search. For example, you can search for particular kinds of files, or for items created on a particular date.

Narrow your search results

  • Open Spotlight , enter your search term in the search field, then click Search in Finder at the bottom of the search results

  • Alternatively, in a Finder window: Enter your search term in the search field, then press Return

  • Click the Add button (+) on the right side of the search window, below the search field

  • Click the far-left pop-up menu, then choose or add search criteria

  • Choose criteria from other pop-up menus that appear

  • Add or remove search criteria as needed by clicking the Add button (+) or the Remove button (-)

To appear in the search results, an item must match all your criteria. For example, if one criterion specifies searching for items whose name begins with S and you add a criterion to search for items created today, the search results include only items created today whose names begin with S.


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