stop spotlight from searching internet

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Level 1

15 points

stop spotlight from searching internet

I want to restrict spotlight to only search my mac for results, no internet. I have gone to the spotlight preference, and UNCHECKED "Siri Suggestions" in the "Search Results" tab. However when I do a search for a file on my Mac, I get - as the FIRST suggestion - a link to search the web... very frustrating. (see screen shot).

I can't see anything else to disable this and I don't see (or even know) if this "search result" is something Chrome is inserting, or if so, if there is someway to disable this completely.

Thanks

Posted on May 8, 2021 11:33 PM

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Answer 1

Jun 7, 2021 4:39 PM in response to bills7

For now I have resolved this by replacing Spotlight with Alfred (free). I've configured it to replace my spotlight keyboard shortcut and also customized it to not include web results. It's actually quite a bit faster than Spotlight, so for now I'm quite happy.

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Answer 2

Jun 7, 2021 3:30 PM in response to bills7

I have the same issue. I have a number of text files I used to access via spotlight before upgrading to Big Sur. Command + Space, type the file name, press enter, file opens. Not anymore. Now even when it finds an exact match in the file system the first result is "search the web," so now I have to reorient my right hand to press the arrow key to select the correct result.

My Spotlight preferences have "Bookmarks and History" and "Siri Suggestions" deselected because I have no interest in having Spotlight search the web for me. Now, with Big Sur, I no longer have the ability to exclude web results and, furthermore, they show as the first result in many cases.

Please, Apple:

1) Give us the ability to exclude "Search the Web" from Spotlight results

2) If Search the Web is enabled, don't make it the first result when there's an exact match on the file system.

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Answer 3

Dogcow-Moof

Level 8

36,851 points

Jun 7, 2021 5:40 PM in response to BootyWarrior

No one here can do anything about it.

Leave a comment here:

Feedback - macOS - Apple

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Answer 4

bills7 Author

Level 1

15 points

May 9, 2021 6:53 AM in response to Dogcow-Moof

It’s not helpful, it’s the first choice that comes up and you hit return and it opens a browser. I can do that if I want to search the internet. This is intrusive and unhelpful and I can’t get rid of it.

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Answer 5

bills7 Author

Level 1

15 points

May 9, 2021 6:58 AM in response to Dogcow-Moof

Just look at the presentation:

the top choice of the search is a suggestion to “search the internet”
then there is “Other”, where a file who’s name exactly matches my search phrase is presented.

why would it off to search the internet if the search results return a matching file name? Or other matches on my local storage.

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Answer 6

bills7 Author

Level 1

15 points

Jun 7, 2021 9:19 PM in response to BootyWarrior

I tried that, but Alfred doesn't actually find a file when I search by name, and I'm looking at that file! It finds other files in the same directory, so clearly this isn't a good solution, at least for me. Thanks for the suggestion though.

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Answer 7

Dogcow-Moof

Level 8

36,851 points

May 9, 2021 6:23 AM in response to bills7

But it's not the first suggestion, wmn.dmg is.

It's just offering you the opportunity to search the web, it isn't doing it.

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stop spotlight from searching internet

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