One of the most powerful features of the OS X file system is Spotlight search. This often overlooked feature is highly customizable, efficient and especially fast. Located at the top right-hand side of the menu bar, Spotlight is signified as a magnifying glass.
Click on it and begin typing to instantly return files or folders for that search. Every Finder window also has a built-in Spotlight search bar to search the contents of that folder specifically.
To make Spotlight even more useful and personalized, click on System Preferences found in the Dock or Application folder.
Under the Personal heading in System Preferences, click on Spotlight (the round blue circle with a white magnifying glass).
There are two tabs in the Spotlight preferences pane. Click on Search Results.
Here you can customize the Spotlight search parameters and order. When searching through Spotlight, it will find files, folders, pictures, preferences, emails, contacts, calendars, music, and even more and will group them accordingly. To exclude some of these groups from your Spotlight search, uncheck the box next to that category. You can also adjust the order in which the files appear by dragging a file type up or down in the list.
You can also set a hot key that opens the Spotlight search bar from anywhere on your Mac. Click on the checkbox next to Spotlight menu keyboard shortcut and choose a key combination.
Here is an example of a Spotlight search:
Tip: Typing a word in the Spotlight search bar will bring up the dictionary definition as well. Clicking on Definition will open the OS X dictionary so you can have a closer look.
