I often can't find things that have been there for years -- even if I use the exact mix of upper case and lower case letter that matches the file. Look at this image above: this "Burnes-jones" folder has been around forever. The spotling search query (scroll right) is exact. Nothing. Is there a way to make Spotlight better? Is there an alternative to it that's good and doesn't use too much CPU?
MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X (10.6.7)
Try EasyFind
Try EasyFind
If Spotlight isn't finding something that it should, it probably needs reindexing. Open System Preferences -> Spotlight, go to the Privacy tab and add your hard drive to the list of locations not to search. Wait a few seconds, then remove it again. This should cause Spotlight to reindex the drive.
I use spotlight multiple times a day and it always finds what I'm looking for. I'd suggest re-indexing your drive.
Alfred works on top of Spotlight, but with much better results on average.
Another option is Quicksilver.
Why is Spotlight so bad?
