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.
Version 2.20.3 · macOS 13+ · 4.7 MB · notarised