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ZDNET Highlights
- Spotlight Actions is a new feature found in MacOS Tahoe.
- By adding actions to Spotlight, you make it even more efficient.
- You can add all types of actions and as many as you want.
As a longtime Linux user, I’ve become accustomed to keyboard launchers that enable me to not only open apps, but also find and open files and do all kinds of other things. When I upgraded my MacBook Pro to Tahoe, I was excited to try out the newly revised Spotlight, which will now act like the keyboard launcher I use on Linux.
Also: MacOS Tahoe finally turned me into a desktop widget user – here’s why
However, out of the box, you may find that the new Spotlight is missing some features. Those features are added through actions. Spotlight can take action based on specific keywords. For example, through Spotlight, you can now easily add events to your calendar, but before you can start doing so, you need to add the Calendar Event action. Other actions include:
- make note
- send email
- add alarm
- start stopwatch
- call via facetime
- connect to server
Many of the apps you install on MacOS Tahoe will also have their own activities. When you scroll through the list of available functions, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer number.
Also: 6 Features I Wish MacOS Copied From Linux
I want to show you my favorites.
Before I do that, let’s see how to add a verb.
How to add an action to Spotlight
what you’ll need: To add actions to Spotlight, you’ll need a macOS device running the latest version of the OS, called Tahoe.
Click the icon that looks like two squares on top of each other to open the Actions section.
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The Actions icon is second from the right.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Find the action you want to add and then click Add quick key associated with the action. When you click on it, type the word you want to use as a quick key. For example, if you want to send an email from Spotlight, click Add Quick Key and type something like email.
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As you can see, I’ve added email as my quick key for sending emails in Spotlight.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Once you’ve taken care of that, you can do the same for other tasks. With that out of the way, you can close the Actions window.
Also: How to send instant messages via Spotlight in macOS Tahoe – and why I’m obsessed with it
how to use a verb
Using a verb is very simple (and will vary depending on which verb you’ve added and which verb you’re using). For example, if you want to use the Email action, you’ll open Spotlight, type email, and then double-tap the action for the email.
It’s that simple.
my 6 favorite things to do
And now, onto my favorite spotlight actions. Here they are:
- Email: With this action, you can send an email directly from Spotlight. Once you open the email action, the format you use is Send Message with Subject To Recipient. ,Everything in italics is what you customize for sending the email.)
- Comment: With the Note action, I can instantly add a note in the Notes app, without even opening the app. The format of this action is Create Comment with Material In folder,
- alarm: I often need to create an alarm, but don’t want the hassle of opening the Clock app. Instead, I add an alarm action for Spotlight. The format for this is Create an Alarm Time called alarm(Italics = user input.)
- Craft > Create Task: I use Craft as my default note-taking app and Create Task makes it easy for me to add tasks without opening the app. The format for this is Create a task Work In space Inside documentTo use this function, you must install Craft.
- Print Document: With this simple action, I can print a document without having to open the app I used to create the document and then print it from there. Instead, I can open Spotlight, type my quick key (print), and then print a document by typing print document To printer,
- Finder > Connect to Server: This action shortens the connection to the server on my LAN, without opening the Finder first. This is useful when I have an application open and need to save a file to a shared folder. Instead of opening Finder first, I can just open Spotlight, type in my quick key (in this case). smb) and then type connect to server smb://computer.local (Where computer.local is the IP address of the server in question).
Also: How to Update Apps in macOS: Two Options
This is how you send an email from within Spotlight.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
And these are my favorite activities to add to Spotlight. Of course, you may have other apps installed that include actions, so be sure to check the Spotlight actions list carefully. Once you’ve added all the actions you need, you’ll find that Spotlight becomes even more efficient.
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