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Quick look not working in spotlight (Big Sur 11).

I noticed that quick look is not working now when I use spotlight. Example: I would open spotlight, type in term (example: dog). The results would show, i would then arrow down to say dog123.jpg and press space bar. Normally a preview (quick look) of the picture would show (all in spotlight). Now when i press space bar, it just adds a space to the search term (meaning 'dog' changes to 'dog ')

Any suggestions?

I'll try reindexing spotlight. This a feature i use multiple times a day

(also, quick look works fine when using the finder, ONLY spotlight)

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Apr 14, 2021 11:34 AM

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Question marked as Best answer

With macOS updates and upgrades, what is past is not guaranteed to be prologue.


When you perform a Spotlight search from its open panel, the returned results can only be viewed in the associated Spotlight window, or by clicking/return on the item's selection, launching the file in its default opening application. There is no Quick Look functionality here, as the search term(s) are always active and intercept the space bar input.


If you were to perform a Spotlight search from an open Finder Window's search field, you can click on a result item, and press the space bar to invoke Quick Look on that item.

Posted on Apr 14, 2021 12:24 PM

3 replies
Question marked as Best answer

Apr 14, 2021 12:24 PM in response to AlchemicExpression

With macOS updates and upgrades, what is past is not guaranteed to be prologue.


When you perform a Spotlight search from its open panel, the returned results can only be viewed in the associated Spotlight window, or by clicking/return on the item's selection, launching the file in its default opening application. There is no Quick Look functionality here, as the search term(s) are always active and intercept the space bar input.


If you were to perform a Spotlight search from an open Finder Window's search field, you can click on a result item, and press the space bar to invoke Quick Look on that item.

Apr 14, 2021 4:28 PM in response to AlchemicExpression

It looks like now you have to hit 'tab' to invoke preview;


Just as before, you call up Spotlight by pressing ⌘+Space, or by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the menu bar. However, things change once you start typing.


In macOS X, Spotlight showed your search results in a list on the left side, with a preview on the right side. In Big Sur, the search results are presented in a single list, with no visible preview.


spotlight search:


Now hit 'tab':


These previews—which were originally introduced as a headlining

feature of macOS 10.10 Yosemite—are not actually gone, just hidden.

Clicking on a result, or pressing Tab will show the preview.


It’s clear that hiding the preview is an attempt to make the

interface appear simpler and more iOS-like. Indeed, it frees up space;

but the new space isn’t actually used for anything. For most queries,

this space is left completely empty. What’s worse, this whitespace

visually separates the results from the crucial new interface element on

the far right side, the disclosure indicator.



Quick look not working in spotlight (Big Sur 11).

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