How to Search a Document on Mac - TechnologyDOTs.com

Finding and looking for files on your Mac can be a little tasking process, even if your files are neatly organized. You have two ways to look for files on your Mac. One, you can always find the Finder application on the dock through the Finder application, the default macOS file manager. When you open the Finder window, you will see various tabs like Documents, Downloads, Desktop, Recents, Applications, and iCloud drives.

To search a document on mac, open the Finder window directly from the Doc. Now, tap on the magnifying glass or the search bar on the top. Enter the name of the file. Either search for the file on the current folder or the entire Mac. Simply click on Enter to start the search. Within seconds you will have the list of the results from your search.

The next way to look for your files on Mac is using Spotlight, a search tool that can search the entire Mac hard disk and gather results from the web. You can also get dictionary definitions, perform calculations, and find files. This article details how you can use these two tools to find files on your Mac.

Table of Contents

How to Search a Document on Mac?

The first method we’re going to see is using the Finder application to look for the document. Read the steps provided below to know more.

Power on your Mac and sign in to it.
Open the Finder application. You will likely find it on the dock; however, if you cannot see it, don’t worry. There are other ways to access it too.
Press the small magnifying glass icon on the Menu bar to launch the Spotlight search bar. Subsequently, you can also use the Command-Space shortcut to do the same.
Type in “finder” without quotation marks and hit the return key to enter the app.
Once a Finder window is open, you can begin to search for your file.
Click on the search icon in the top-right corner of the window.

Enter your search term, and you will be displayed with two options. You can either search for the term everywhere on your Mac or just in the folder that you’re in.
Subsequently, you can search for the documents by entering the date or month on which the particular document was created.

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How to Search A Document On Mac Using Spotlight?

Spotlight is Mac’s search tool that can search the entire hard disk in a matter of seconds and also provides you with different results from the web. Read the instructions provided below to know how you can use it to search for a document.

Power on your Mac and sign into it.
You have two ways to access Spotlight, one is by pressing the small magnifying glass icon on the Menu bar, and the second is by using the Command-Space shortcut. Both of these methods will launch the Spotlight search bar.
Now you can enter your search term within the search bar and further narrow down the possible results using dates and months.

How to Search a Document on Mac — Search a Document on Mac

You will also be displayed a small preview of the file on the window beside it.
Additionally, you can also type in what file it is; for example, you can type whether it is a JPEG, PDF, PNG, or any other file type to narrow down the search results.
Spotlight is much better for looking for documents as it indexes your entire Mac while also fetching results from the web.

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How to Search a Document on Mac Using Pages?

The Menu bar options can easily find recently opened files in Pages. Refer to the instructions provided.

Power on and sign in to your Mac.
Open the Pages application. The Pages application can be found on the dock by default.
You can also use the Spotlight feature mentioned above to do the same.
Go to the Menu bar and click on File.
From the list that drops down, click on Open recent.
All the recently edited, opened, or saved documents will show up in a list.
Select the document you want and click on it.

How to Search For a Word or Phrase in Google Chrome on Mac?

Google Chrome has a useful shortcut that allows you to look for a particular word or phrase on a website. Refer to the instructions provided below.

Open Google Chrome using Finder or a Spotlight search.
Head over to any website that you want.
Use the Command-F shortcut and type the word or phrase you want to search in the drop-down box.
The site will now highlight all the instances of the particular word or phrase that you entered in the field.
Alternatively, you can click on the three dots at the top right corner of the screen.
Click on More and select Find from the list.

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How to Search For a Word in Safari on Mac?

Searching for a word on Safari is very similar to the method mentioned above. Refer to the instructions provided below.

Power on your Mac and sign in to it.
Open Safari. It can be found on the dock by default, or you can open it from the Applications tab in a finder window.
Alternatively, click on Edit from the Menu bar and select Find from the list.

How to Search For a Word Using Preview on Mac?

Using Preview, you can search for words or phrases within a PDF file. Refer to the steps given below.

Power on and sign in to your Mac.
Launch finder.
Look for the file that you want and double-click to open it.
Now, enter any word or phrase in the search bar at the window’s top right corner.
All the instances of the word found in the PDF file will be highlighted.

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Conclusion

Now you know every way to search for a document on Mac and also how you can troubleshoot problems if some error arises while using Spotlight. We recommend using Spotlight to search documents as it is much more accurate than searching for documents in the Finder application.

Spotlight has your entire hard disk indexed, making it easier to find exactly the file you’re looking for. That’s it for this article, folks; we hope this article provided you with some value.

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Robert

Robert is a tech expert (with more than 10 years of experience in using mac os and iPhone) who loves to help others learn about the Mac operating system and iPhone. He provides helpful tutorials on how to use Mac OS, tips and tricks for getting the most out of your Mac operating system, iPhone tips and tricks, and more. He’s always up for a challenge and enjoys learning new things about his favorite OS. When he’s not helping people get the most out of their technology, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two cats. Check out more.