Spotlight problems
Criticising Spotlight's file search is fair. Ignoring the rest of it wastes a good tool.
⌘Space and type: 847*1.2, (2400/7)*3, 2^16. Results appear inline; ⌘C copies the number. Faster than opening Calculator for anything one-line.
100 usd in inr, 72 f in c, 5 miles in km, 3.5 kg in lb — live currency and unit conversion with no app involved.
Type a word → the dictionary definition appears; useful daily as a spelling checker: type the attempt, see whether it resolves.
For apps, Spotlight remains excellent: two letters and Return. It learns your habits — sa resolves to Safari after choosing it once. This use alone justifies the hotkey.
kind:pdf created:today and similar natural-ish queries work in the menu bar for rough filtering — weaker than Finder's criteria rows, handy for one-offs.
Type a settings pane name (bluetooth, display, network) to jump straight into System Settings — beats navigating the sidebar.
The setup that serves most people: Spotlight for launching, arithmetic, conversions, definitions and content search — a filename index for actually locating files. The two overlap barely at all, hotkeys keep them apart (⌘Space and ⌥Space), and each does what the other is worst at.
Yes, live — type '100 usd in eur' and the conversion appears inline.
Standard arithmetic with parentheses and powers, inline, with the result copyable.
Everywhere keeps track of every file on your Mac — including the folders Spotlight hides and drives you have unplugged. Free for a day, then $19 once.
Download for Mac