How to search using finder on mac how to#
How to search using finder on mac mac#

By default, your Mac will start searching the selected folder for any specific files, but if it doesnвЂ™t find anything, it will search вЂњThis MacвЂќ to see if the file is stored anywhere on your computer.

Now, you can start searching for the specific file using the search field at the top-right corner of the window.

Open the Finder window by clicking on the icon in the Dock.

Just follow the steps below to get started.

How to search using finder on mac how to#

How to Find Files on Mac Using FinderДЇinding any file on your Mac is a pretty simple and straightforward procedure using Finder. Therefore, in this article, weвЂ™ll help you find any file located on your Mac using Finder and Spotlight. If youвЂ™re new to the macOS ecosystem, you might not be familiar with these search options. And then thereвЂ™s Spotlight, the system-wide search utility that can also search the web, get dictionary definitions, perform calculations, and of course, find files. The Finder app lives up to its name by making it easy to find specific files stored on your Mac by the filename, date, etc. Clicking on the Finder app will show the contents of your Mac, iCloud Drive, and other connected storage devices. Finder is also the first app located in the Dock and its menu bar is displayed at the top of your desktop. I never had problems with Finder finding things on my backup clones, but then I'm an Admin account so I wouldn't expect to have any issues.Finder is the macOS file manager, and itвЂ™s the first thing you see after you boot up your Mac. Is your account a Standard user or an Admin account? It may be that to search that drive for Finder, you have to be an Admin. I don't know if that will work or if it will fix things, but it's worth trying. Try adding mds to the list to see if that lets Spotlight index the drive. I'm on Big Sur, not Catalina, but I think in System Preferences, Security and Privacy, under the Privacy tab there is one option for 'Full Disk Access' and another for 'Files and Folders.' If you click the lock icon and give an administrator password, you can add applications and processes that can have access to the data. And that may be the reason you cannot change the mdutil settings on the merged volume, or on the direct system volume at all. What makes it difficult is that SBP BackupHD is, like the source drive, read-only and secured to be available only to the system. Then it created a second Volume, named 'Macintosh HD - Data' that got cloned by SD to 'SBP BackupHD - Data.' And that is where your files, that you want searched, are located.

That Volume has /System, /Applications and /Library on it. What Apple did was to put the System files on the 'Macintosh HD' drive, and that got cloned by Super Duper to the SBP BackupHD. The two Volumes you found in Disk Utility are merged by Finder into one displayed device. Ok, there are a couple of things going on. When i say 'not searching' i mean i selected the drive in Finder, and in teh upper right search box type something in like t or tree, something that i know it should find. I just attached another USB external drive and finder isnt searching that either. (ive now learnt about the two volumes apple make) The drive isnt a clone, it was just formatted APFS, and then i dump files on it (or use superduper to backup files to it) Yes as i said 'Commander one' (a 3rd party file access programme) works fine, searches the drive and everything perfectly (but i dont like it)ДЇinder searches all drives fine, except this particular external drive. Yes finder works fine on this drive (except search), perfectly accessible. Yes using the search function in the upper right.