Spotlight for external drives
How do I use spotlight to find files on external drives?
MacBook Air (2018 or later)
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1.
Click the "System Preferences" icon on the Dock at the bottom or on the side of the screen. If you have removed the System Preferences icon, find it on the Apple menu; click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the screen and select "System Preferences" on the pull-down menu.
2.
Click the blue "Spotlight" icon under the "Personal" heading.
3.
Click the "Privacy" tab at the top of the Spotlight window. This list displays all of the locations that Spotlight is prohibited from searching.
4.
Click the name of your external hard drive on the list, and then click the "-" button at the bottom of the window. This allows your Mac to index the contents of the hard drive, which should now appear when you perform searches. If the external hard drive was not on the Privacy list, skip this step.
5.
Click the "+" icon at the bottom of the window. A navigation window appears. Click your external hard drive under "Devices" on the left side of the navigation window, and then click "Choose." This forces your Mac to delete the file index for the hard drive.
6.
Click the external hard drive on the Privacy list, and then click the "-" button to rebuild the file index.