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i disabled spotlight after it stopped searching the system preferences and also they reordered some items where apps which used to be at the top of the list (af

i disabled spotlight after it stopped searching the system preferences and also they reordered some items where apps which used to be at the top of the list (after entering a few chars in search) became 3rd place by default-apps that are part of the read-only system that macos provides... took me only a day to forget i ever used apple+space for apps (though for non cli apps i still open finder to app-window to find some obscure thing in Applications ive forgotten names of)

prawn 2y ago
I am about to give up on Spotlight. I size the taskbar to minimum and permanently hide it, then use Spotlight to launch apps but the config frequently screws up and then fails to find Applications or preferences. Or sometimes takes 10+ seconds to find something. It's done this for me across multiple MacBooks, multiple versions of macOS, etc. All I want from Spotlight is instant finding of apps/utilities and systems prefs. I've tried so many solutions suggested across the internet (rebuilding refs, restarting indexing, etc) and nothing has consistently worked.
al_borland 2y ago
I just tried searching for a few things the system prefs with Spotlight and it worked, I guess they brought it back. I'm not always a fan of the order, but it's good enough for me. I used to head down the power user road for everything (I used Quicksilver in the pre-Spotlight days, used LaunchBar for a bit, PathFinder, etc), but I like being able to use a system without having to do a ton of setup. It also seemed like the people who had so many little utilities running that they needed yet another utility, like Bartender, to manage their menubar complained about their system being slow a lot. So the less I can run the better. These days something has to be really worth it, I tend to avoid installing something that replaces an OS function if it's just a marginal improvement. I've toyed with the idea of not installing any 3rd party apps to see how far that takes me, but that's tough given my current wants/needs. Is there a reason you go to Finder to open apps instead of using Launchpad? I throw it down in my dock, and even if I want to avoid the iOS-style full screen menu, a right-click on it works kind of like the start menu in Windows, listing all the apps/folders.
- out-of-ideas 2y ago
  > but I like being able to use a system without having to do a ton of setup i agree on this; i used to try to automate settings on macos but gaveup well over 10years ago as each os version changed plist files, and some settings only changeable via mouse-clicks; im sure there's been improvements nowadays but i wont hold my breath (just disable features i dispise now like notification-spam and auto-index/search "features") the reason i use finder is finder is always open; apple+tab to it, then some hotkey to open Applications. if i can avoid the mouse (on the laptop) i will - although since mac keyboards are tiny they have been giving my hands cramps lately - so ive just slowed down a little lol. launchpad: ive rarely used, typically disable its hot-corner thing too (i often prefer having layers of stacked windows vs "fresh desktops" or even tiling wm's) ps nice handle lol edit: i forgot to mention, i also use `open /Applicatons/bla` but going into Applications and seeing icon + list of names triggers some memory of why that app is there) - going to Applications is basically an edge case that happens rarely (use dock for terminal/browser) and thats about all i open

prawn 2y ago

I am about to give up on Spotlight. I size the taskbar to minimum and permanently hide it, then use Spotlight to launch apps but the config frequently screws up and then fails to find Applications or preferences. Or sometimes takes 10+ seconds to find something. It's done this for me across multiple MacBooks, multiple versions of macOS, etc. All I want from Spotlight is instant finding of apps/utilities and systems prefs. I've tried so many solutions suggested across the internet (rebuilding refs, restarting indexing, etc) and nothing has consistently worked.

al_borland 2y ago

I just tried searching for a few things the system prefs with Spotlight and it worked, I guess they brought it back. I'm not always a fan of the order, but it's good enough for me. I used to head down the power user road for everything (I used Quicksilver in the pre-Spotlight days, used LaunchBar for a bit, PathFinder, etc), but I like being able to use a system without having to do a ton of setup. It also seemed like the people who had so many little utilities running that they needed yet another utility, like Bartender, to manage their menubar complained about their system being slow a lot. So the less I can run the better. These days something has to be really worth it, I tend to avoid installing something that replaces an OS function if it's just a marginal improvement. I've toyed with the idea of not installing any 3rd party apps to see how far that takes me, but that's tough given my current wants/needs. Is there a reason you go to Finder to open apps instead of using Launchpad? I throw it down in my dock, and even if I want to avoid the iOS-style full screen menu, a right-click on it works kind of like the start menu in Windows, listing all the apps/folders.

out-of-ideas 2y ago
> but I like being able to use a system without having to do a ton of setup i agree on this; i used to try to automate settings on macos but gaveup well over 10years ago as each os version changed plist files, and some settings only changeable via mouse-clicks; im sure there's been improvements nowadays but i wont hold my breath (just disable features i dispise now like notification-spam and auto-index/search "features") the reason i use finder is finder is always open; apple+tab to it, then some hotkey to open Applications. if i can avoid the mouse (on the laptop) i will - although since mac keyboards are tiny they have been giving my hands cramps lately - so ive just slowed down a little lol. launchpad: ive rarely used, typically disable its hot-corner thing too (i often prefer having layers of stacked windows vs "fresh desktops" or even tiling wm's) ps nice handle lol edit: i forgot to mention, i also use `open /Applicatons/bla` but going into Applications and seeing icon + list of names triggers some memory of why that app is there) - going to Applications is basically an edge case that happens rarely (use dock for terminal/browser) and thats about all i open