agokgoz

Q: Spotlight Definition in macos Sierra

Hi

 

I'd been using spotlight to look up words in El Capitan without any problems before. However i've just upgraded to Sierra and spotlight doesn't return any word definitions any more. I've made a clean installation but didn't made any changes to spotlight preferences. All the options are selected as they come by default. This was a feature i was using all the time and it helped me so much. Any solutions i can try ?

 

Thank you.

MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015), macOS Sierra (10.12)

Posted on Sep 21, 2016 7:16 PM

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Q: Spotlight Definition in macos Sierra

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  • Helpful answers

  • by sarah_s1,

    sarah_s1 sarah_s1 Sep 22, 2016 6:28 PM in response to agokgoz
    Community Specialists
    Sep 22, 2016 6:28 PM in response to agokgoz
    Hi agokgoz!

    I see that you're unable to look up definitions using Spotlight in macOS Sierra.  I know it's important to have the ability to search for word definitions in Spotlight, and I'm happy to help.  In order to isolate this issue further, please create a new administrator account and test to see if the issue still exists in the new user account.  Here are instructions for doing that:

    How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac

    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.


    Cheers!
  • by chronofar,

    chronofar chronofar Sep 23, 2016 10:20 AM in response to sarah_s1
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 23, 2016 10:20 AM in response to sarah_s1

    I noticed on macOS Sierra the lookup functionality has changed, which may be what the OP is talking about here. For instance in El Capitan clicking with 3 fingers on text brought up a definition, while now it tries to figure out what that information is with varying levels of success and return relevant results. As an example if I 3 finger tapped the word "forgo" in El Capitan (or typed "forgo" in Spotlight), I would get the dictionary definition. Now if I try to tap or type "forgo" it returns directions to Fargo, MI and recommends a video.

     

    I can see what it's trying to do, but in trying to be smarter it actually got dumber. For me a step back in most cases, though hopefully will get better over time. Would be nice if dictionary was still one of the default return results no matter what context Siri thinks it's supposed to be.

  • by agokgoz,

    agokgoz agokgoz Sep 25, 2016 5:20 AM in response to sarah_s1
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 25, 2016 5:20 AM in response to sarah_s1

    Hi Sarah,

     

    Thank you for you reply. I've tried creating a new admin account but the problem still exists. Three finger tapping is sometimes a solution to look up a word but the thing is i'm not a native English speaker and when i'm watching a movie or a series i used spotlight to see definition to a word i didn't know.

     

    Is there any other solution you can suggest ? Because now i'm considering downgrading back to El Capitan. To be honest, macOS Sierra brings nothing new except Siri and i never use it neither on my Mac or iPhone. I'd prefer a quick look up in spotlight over Siri and some other so-called "new" things which Apple claims to be "lifechanger".

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Sep 25, 2016 5:36 AM in response to agokgoz
    Level 9 (50,401 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 25, 2016 5:36 AM in response to agokgoz

    Spotlight still shows definitions.

    Screen Shot 2016-09-25 at 7.33.27 AM.png

    You can jump to the Definitions with Cmd-L

     

    So, the real question is why is yours not showing any definitions. At this point, I don't know why, and I don't know what to look for to figure out why.

  • by agokgoz,

    agokgoz agokgoz Sep 25, 2016 5:55 AM in response to Barney-15E
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 25, 2016 5:55 AM in response to Barney-15E

    I know it still should show them but it just doesn't. No matter what setting i tried didn't solve it. Maybe i'll try a new installation once more then downgrade.

  • by agokgoz,

    agokgoz agokgoz Sep 25, 2016 7:11 AM in response to agokgoz
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 25, 2016 7:11 AM in response to agokgoz

    OK. I've got it. The problem is input sources. I use my Macbook in English ( helps address errors quicker ) but my keyboard is Turkish ( because i am one) . So when i change my input source to English, spotlight returns word definitions. At least i know the problem now.

     

    Different UI and input languages weren't a problem in El Capitan but it seems it is one in Sierra. Maybe any suggestions on how to solve this ?

  • by Barney-15E,

    Barney-15E Barney-15E Sep 25, 2016 11:01 AM in response to agokgoz
    Level 9 (50,401 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 25, 2016 11:01 AM in response to agokgoz

    Sorry, I can't help with that. There is at least one person on this community that knows a lot about input sources. Hopefully one of those people will find this thread and try to help.

  • by yalpul,

    yalpul yalpul Sep 29, 2016 9:39 AM in response to agokgoz
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 29, 2016 9:39 AM in response to agokgoz

    Thank you for addressing the issue. I was suffering from that, too.

    As a temporary solution, I use 2 input sources simultaneously. Looking forward for a proper fix.

     

    Regards.

  • by 弘哥保护你,

    弘哥保护你 弘哥保护你 Sep 30, 2016 2:43 AM in response to agokgoz
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 30, 2016 2:43 AM in response to agokgoz

    I got the same issue but luckily I solved it.

     

    The first clue is the Dictionaries are not pre-installed with macOS now, so we need download Dictionaries, if you open the Dictionary.app and select the Dictionaries you need, it will download those Dictionaries automatically, you can see `Downloading` if the downloads are in progress. The same thing will happen if any Dictionary need a font which is also not pre-installed, the Dictionary.app will request to download the necessary fonts.

     

    After the first step, the Dictionary.app works but Spotlight and Lookup still not work, then I Restart my Mac and it works...

     

    Hope helps.

  • by yalpul,

    yalpul yalpul Sep 30, 2016 10:20 AM in response to 弘哥保护你
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 30, 2016 10:20 AM in response to 弘哥保护你

    Thank you pointing it out. It solved my issue.

    The dictionaries was already downloaded and active in my Mac. So, first I disabled them and rebooted. Then, I enabled them and rebooted again. Eventually the problem is solved. Without even messing with input sources.

     

    Thanks!

  • by agokgoz,

    agokgoz agokgoz Sep 30, 2016 11:56 PM in response to yalpul
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 30, 2016 11:56 PM in response to yalpul

    No problem. Glad to be help at all.

  • by trevoz,

    trevoz trevoz Oct 1, 2016 12:03 AM in response to chronofar
    Level 2 (459 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 1, 2016 12:03 AM in response to chronofar

    @chronofar

     

    You can make it dumb again by unchecking "Allow Spotlight suggestions in look up" in Spotlight preferences.

  • by Renato Aguiar,

    Renato Aguiar Renato Aguiar Oct 2, 2016 9:38 PM in response to agokgoz
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Oct 2, 2016 9:38 PM in response to agokgoz

    I'm having the same problem. The dictionary definiação Spotlight works only with English. With other dictionaries and Wikipedia stopped working on MacOS Sierra. Unfortunate, because it was a function that used a lot. Will Apple will fix?