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All replies
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Helpful answers
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Sep 22, 2016 6:28 PM in response to agokgozby sarah_s1,Hi agokgoz!
I see that you're unable to look up definitions using Spotlight in macOS Sierra. I know it's important to have the ability to search for word definitions in Spotlight, and I'm happy to help. In order to isolate this issue further, please create a new administrator account and test to see if the issue still exists in the new user account. Here are instructions for doing that:
How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
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Sep 23, 2016 10:20 AM in response to sarah_s1by chronofar,I noticed on macOS Sierra the lookup functionality has changed, which may be what the OP is talking about here. For instance in El Capitan clicking with 3 fingers on text brought up a definition, while now it tries to figure out what that information is with varying levels of success and return relevant results. As an example if I 3 finger tapped the word "forgo" in El Capitan (or typed "forgo" in Spotlight), I would get the dictionary definition. Now if I try to tap or type "forgo" it returns directions to Fargo, MI and recommends a video.
I can see what it's trying to do, but in trying to be smarter it actually got dumber. For me a step back in most cases, though hopefully will get better over time. Would be nice if dictionary was still one of the default return results no matter what context Siri thinks it's supposed to be.
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Sep 25, 2016 5:20 AM in response to sarah_s1by agokgoz,Hi Sarah,
Thank you for you reply. I've tried creating a new admin account but the problem still exists. Three finger tapping is sometimes a solution to look up a word but the thing is i'm not a native English speaker and when i'm watching a movie or a series i used spotlight to see definition to a word i didn't know.
Is there any other solution you can suggest ? Because now i'm considering downgrading back to El Capitan. To be honest, macOS Sierra brings nothing new except Siri and i never use it neither on my Mac or iPhone. I'd prefer a quick look up in spotlight over Siri and some other so-called "new" things which Apple claims to be "lifechanger".
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Sep 25, 2016 5:55 AM in response to Barney-15Eby agokgoz,I know it still should show them but it just doesn't. No matter what setting i tried didn't solve it. Maybe i'll try a new installation once more then downgrade.
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Sep 25, 2016 7:11 AM in response to agokgozby agokgoz,OK. I've got it. The problem is input sources. I use my Macbook in English ( helps address errors quicker ) but my keyboard is Turkish ( because i am one) . So when i change my input source to English, spotlight returns word definitions. At least i know the problem now.
Different UI and input languages weren't a problem in El Capitan but it seems it is one in Sierra. Maybe any suggestions on how to solve this ?
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Sep 25, 2016 11:01 AM in response to agokgozby Barney-15E,Sorry, I can't help with that. There is at least one person on this community that knows a lot about input sources. Hopefully one of those people will find this thread and try to help.
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Sep 29, 2016 9:39 AM in response to agokgozby yalpul,Thank you for addressing the issue. I was suffering from that, too.
As a temporary solution, I use 2 input sources simultaneously. Looking forward for a proper fix.
Regards.
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Sep 30, 2016 2:43 AM in response to agokgozby 弘哥保护你,I got the same issue but luckily I solved it.
The first clue is the Dictionaries are not pre-installed with macOS now, so we need download Dictionaries, if you open the Dictionary.app and select the Dictionaries you need, it will download those Dictionaries automatically, you can see `Downloading` if the downloads are in progress. The same thing will happen if any Dictionary need a font which is also not pre-installed, the Dictionary.app will request to download the necessary fonts.
After the first step, the Dictionary.app works but Spotlight and Lookup still not work, then I Restart my Mac and it works...
Hope helps.
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Sep 30, 2016 10:20 AM in response to 弘哥保护你by yalpul,Thank you pointing it out. It solved my issue.
The dictionaries was already downloaded and active in my Mac. So, first I disabled them and rebooted. Then, I enabled them and rebooted again. Eventually the problem is solved. Without even messing with input sources.
Thanks!
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Oct 1, 2016 12:03 AM in response to chronofarby trevoz,@chronofar
You can make it dumb again by unchecking "Allow Spotlight suggestions in look up" in Spotlight preferences.
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Oct 2, 2016 9:38 PM in response to agokgozby Renato Aguiar,I'm having the same problem. The dictionary definiação Spotlight works only with English. With other dictionaries and Wikipedia stopped working on MacOS Sierra. Unfortunate, because it was a function that used a lot. Will Apple will fix?
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Oct 9, 2016 6:11 PM in response to 弘哥保护你by judyplap,Thank goodness for this forum. Who would know you had to download the dictionaries? That is counter-intuitive. This solution re-added definitions to Spotlight for me. I did not need to reboot or do anything with input sources, etc. And I did disable Spotlight suggestions. I had to turn on 3-finger tap for lookup in Trackpad System Preferences. Sierra had unchecked the preference. Now if I could only get the new OS to recognize my Time Capsule for backup, everything would be grand.

