Omitting Microsoft Outlook from Spotlight results

Question

Level 2

355 points

Omitting Microsoft Outlook from Spotlight results

I have recently installed MS Outlook, because it does a couple of things with my work MS Exchange account that Mail, etc. will not. Otherwise I do not care to use it.

Since installing however Spotlight prioritises all messages, events, contacts, etc. to Outlook such that a click opens Outlook instead of Mail, iCal, Address Book, etc.

Can I omit Outlook from Spotlight?

JKB

MacBook Pro 17" 2.66GHz i7 8Gb RAM, Mac OS X (10.6.6), 30" display, iPhone 4, HP B9180, Time Capsule, AppleTV

Posted on Feb 14, 2011 10:40 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Kurt Lang

Level 9

58,008 points

Feb 14, 2011 10:53 AM in response to JKB

Yes. Open the System Preferences and click on the Spotlight icon. Click on the Privacy tab. You can either click the + button and navigate to the Office 2011 Identities folder in your user account and add it, or just drag and drop that same folder into the open window. Spotlight will now ignore Outlook's data when indexing.

Reply

Answer 2

JKB Author

Level 2

355 points

Feb 14, 2011 10:56 AM in response to Kurt Lang

Thank you. I knew that it may well be a Privacy issue, but did not know where to point it. Now that was a speedy solution!

Reply

Answer 3

Kurt Lang

Level 9

58,008 points

Feb 14, 2011 11:05 AM in response to JKB

One other important thing to know. Entourage had a check box to tell it NOT to use the Spotlight index to search your emails, and it instead searched its database directly. Outlook requires Spotlight. By making Outlook's database private, you will not be able to do a search. Any "Find" you try will return nothing, even if you're looking right at an email that contains the search text you entered.

Reply