Spotlight
Spotlight, which is brand-new in Mac OS X 10.4, makes Finder searching available in the menu bar, no matter which application is active. Simply click the Spotlight icon in the menu bar (Figure 19 ) and enter a search word or phrase. Spotlight displays a menu of matches (Figure 20 ) or a window that lists all of the matches (Figure 21 ).
Figure 19. Clicking the Spotlight icon in the menu bar displays Spotlight's search field.
Figure 20. As you enter a word or phrase in the search field, Spotlight displays results in a menu.
Figure 21. Choosing Show All from Spotlight's menu of found items displays the items in a window like this.
Chapter 21 .Spotlight also works within certain Mac OS X applications, such as System Preferences. I explain how to use Spotlight with System Preferences in Chapter 21 .
To find items with Spotlight
1. | Click the Spotlight icon on the far right end of the menu bar. The Spotlight search field appears (Figure 19 ). |
2. | Enter a search word or phrase in the search field. Spotlight immediately begins displaying matches for what you enter in a menu beneath the search field (Figure 20 ). |
3. | To open one of the items in the menu, click that item.or To display a window that lists all of the items Spotlight found (Figure 21 ), choose Show All from Spotlight's menu of found items. |
Tip
- In step 1, you can press to activate the Spotlight search field.