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I struggle daily with Finder's search. It cannot find files in my Downloads folder even if I type the exact name. Do I need to rebuild some index or some other

I struggle daily with Finder's search. It cannot find files in my Downloads folder even if I type the exact name. Do I need to rebuild some index or some other setting?

heddhunter 18d ago
It couldn't hurt. I don't have problems like that. mdutil -E -a That command will erase and rebuild Spotlight index on all volumes. Since Tahoe, Spotlight has multiple modes. You might have better luck forcing it into folder & files mode. That's command-2. So command-space, spotlight UI appears, keep holding command key, press 2. There's also 1 for applications only, 3 for "actions" and 4 for clipboard history.
- amoorthy 16d ago
  Thank you so much! I rebuilt the index and it's much better. And good to know about command-2 option; that's helpful. Thank you again!
ljm 17d ago
The annoying thing with Finder is when you're in a folder, you start to search, and then it defaults to "This Mac" and not the god damn folder you're in. Bloody daft.
- danaris 17d ago
  That's because you have that set in your Finder Settings. With the Finder open, go to Settings > Advanced, and change the drop-down at the bottom to "Search the Current Folder". This is something I do on the first run of every new Mac I set up.
  - darkwater 17d ago
    No, that's because it's a default value, so the complain is 100% spot on. Bad defaults should be treated as a bug. "Search this Mac" should be confined to Spotlight OR as a fallback if the local folder doesn't return anything.
  - amoorthy 16d ago
    I made this change. Thank you very much!