Spotlight and search problems

[Chaver4u]

The past days, I think since my last MacOS upgrade, Spotlight search does not function as it did in the past.
The same problem that search box in Finder windows, but I guess that search and Spotlight are the same.

When I search for, e.g., files named 'operation' and search 'filenames' or 'content', a few completely irrelevant files are shown, but none with the name 'operation' or with 'operation' in their content.

As said, this has never happened to me before and makes the two search options completely useless.

I did all the restarts and other tricks. To no avail.
My software and MacOS are up to date.
My battery is full.
Everything else works fine.
I didn't change anything in system settings (see attachment).

Is it only me? Or....?

Robert

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Check this article out and follow the process to see if it helps.

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support

If you get unexpected results when searching your Mac, rebuilding the Spotlight index might help.

support.apple.com

 

[Chaver4u]

Thanks Ashwin.
I had already checked that PRIVACY box, but there are no locations that Spotlight is prevented from searching. I actually never had used/done this anyway.
Spotlight simply doesn't work fully. I write fully, because from time to time one or a few more files show up, but not all applicable files like in the past.
Really strange behavior.
Robert

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Its possible the index is not quite right, so rebuilding it should hopefully make it a lot more useful.

You might also want to look into Find Any File if you don't already use it.

 

[Chaver4u]

Thanks Ashwin. I downloaded Find Any File.
Great app, extremely detailed, sometimes a bit too detailed with thousands of messages/files/etc.
Robert

 

[newbutter]

Good thread. Thank you all, guys, for the info. I had a similar issue and Ashwin's suggestion to rebuild the Spotlight index actually helped. Now I know that sometimes, an index can become corrupted or incomplete, leading to search issues.
Also, I just wanna add that you could try using Alfred app for macOS as an alternative to Spotlight. Just stumbled upon it recently and I think it's quite powerful and customizable. This tool can give you more control over search parameters. I think it's worth a try if you're still looking for something like that.
Alright, cheers!