Mac OS Montery Search Pinwheel Problem

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Level 1

9 points

Mac OS Montery Search Pinwheel Problem

It seems that whenever I want to initiate a finder search, the default is to search not only file names but their contents as well. Given the large number of files I have here at work, that usually sets The Dreaded Pinwheel of Interminable Duration in motion.

Just to get to the little plus (+) box and do a modified search runs into this problem.

What I am doing now is copying the name a folder with a ridiculously complex name -- like (@ƒ987HIg§¶ƒ¨gvij6) -- and pasting this into the search window. This allows me to access the little "+" and then search the name only without unleashing the DPOID.

This seems like a pretty silly way to do it.

My question: is there a why to set the search to search the name only by default?

TIA

Eric

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 12.1

Posted on Mar 7, 2022 4:47 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

hc1111

Community Specialist

Mar 8, 2022 1:19 PM in response to hank_stamper

Thanks for the reply and additional details.

Let's try starting your Mac into safe mode. "When you start up in safe mode, your Mac prevents some software, such as startup items, from loading, and it performs a check of your startup disk. Your Mac may take longer to start up because of the check."

If the same thing happens while in safe mode, you can set up a test user on your Mac, then check to see if the issue persists there as well.

To boot in safe mode: Start up your Mac in safe mode

To set up a test user, follow each step under section "Add a user": Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac

Feel free to post a reply if you have any questions.

Take care.

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Answer 2

SnickZ.

Community Specialist

Mar 8, 2022 12:23 PM in response to hank_stamper

Hey Eric,

It appears that you're weary of waiting for Spotlight Search to locate a specific item, and we can definitely relate! We're glad to glad to provide assistance.

If searching your Mac returns unexpected results - Apple Support -- We’ve pulled out a few suggestions from this page of the macOS User Guide:

To search for an exact phrase, enclose it in quotation marks. For example, enter “trip to Paris” to find items that contain that exact phrase. If you don’t use quotation marks, the search results include items that contain those words in any order.

If you began your search in Spotlight, the search results can include email, Calendar events, Siri Suggestions, information from other apps, and more. If you began your search in a Finder window, the search results include only files and folders on the internal disk.

Change Spotlight preferences on Mac - Apple Support -- You can also choose which categories Spotlight searches as well.

All the best.

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Answer 3

hank_stamper Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 8, 2022 1:06 PM in response to SnickZ.

Thanks for the response. This doesn't really solve the problem. The minute I type anything into the search window, the pinwheel starts.

As I mentioned before, the workaround is to copy a complicated text string and paste it into the search field. Then when the "+" appears, hit that and select name and then type in the desired file name and delete the complicated text string above the secondary search field.

This works but it seems like a pretty kludgy solution. I gotta think there is some way to avoid searching names, contents, etc, etc from the beginning to avoid choking the finder.

Then again, maybe not...

Thanks again,

Eric

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Answer 4

hank_stamper Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 8, 2022 2:04 PM in response to hc1111

Thanks for the additional reply.

The search function did not work at all in Safe Mode. However after restarting the computer normally, the problem is gone.

Thanks again,

Eric

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Mac OS Montery Search Pinwheel Problem

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