Unlock the Secret Shortcut: Copying Search Results in OS X Spotlight Made Easy!

Are you tired of manually typing out search results from OS X Spotlight one by one? Do you wish there was an easier way to copy multiple search results at once? Well, look no further! We have discovered a simple shortcut that allows you to copy search results from OS X Spotlight with ease.

In this article, we will guide you through the process of unlocking the secret shortcut and teach you how to use it effectively.

What is OS X Spotlight?

OS X Spotlight is a powerful search tool built into Apple’s operating system. It allows you to find files, documents, applications, and even messages quickly and easily. You can access Spotlight by clicking on the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of your screen or by pressing Command + Space on your keyboard.

The Problem

Although OS X Spotlight is an incredibly useful tool, it does have one major limitation. When you search for something using Spotlight, there is no easy way to copy or transfer the search results to another application or document.

For instance, if you want to copy the names of several files that meet a particular search criterion or want to transfer the email address or phone number of a contact discovered from the search results to another application like a text editor, you need to manually type them out one by one.

This can be a time-consuming process, especially if you are dealing with multiple search results.

The Solution

The good news is that there is a simple yet powerful solution to this problem.

All you need to do is select the search results in OS X Spotlight and then press Command + C. Voila! The results are now copied to your clipboard, ready to be pasted into any other application.

How to Use the Shortcut

Here’s how you can use this shortcut to copy search results from OS X Spotlight:

  1. Open OS X Spotlight by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of your screen or by pressing Command + Space.
  2. Type your search query in the Spotlight search bar.
  3. After the search results appear, use your mouse or trackpad to select the items you want to copy.
  4. Once the items are selected, press Command + C on your keyboard.
  5. The results are now copied to your clipboard!
  6. Open a new document or application where you want to paste the copied results and press Command + V to paste them.

Conclusion

Unlocking the secret shortcut to copying search results in OS X Spotlight has never been easier. This trick will save you time and effort when working with multiple search results. The next time you use OS X Spotlight, remember to use this shortcut, and you’ll be amazed at how efficiently you can work.

So, go ahead and try it out! We hope this article has been beneficial to you, and you have learned something new today.

Mac OS X’s Spotlight can be really useful when finding applications to launch, documents, images, files and many other items that you have stored in your user account. The shortcut to open up Spotlight is “Command + Space”, where you can enter a search term and have Spotlight return the relevant results. These results can be previewed and/or opened directly.

Spotlight can find seemingly everything, but one thing you might have not heard of is that Spotlight includes basic file functionality. You can cut, copy and paste files directly from the Spotlight windows, allowing to easily make duplicates in deep-buried files. This is done using the handy Finder’s “Cut and Paste” abilities, which happen to function directly from Spotlight in OS X.

So, without any further ado, here are three tips that you can use to easily copy, cut and paste files directly from Spotlight:

How To Copy Files Directly From Spotlight

  1. Open up Spotlight by clicking on the Microscope icon in the upper-right corner or by pressing “Command + Spacebar” on your keyboard.

  2. Search for the file/folder you want to copy. Highlight the item in Spotlight results either by hovering over with the mouse or selecting it with the arrow keys.

  3. Drag the item directly to wherever you want to make an alias of the file, or press “Command + C” on your keyboard to copy it, follow by “Command + V” to paste it.

How To Cut Files from Spotlight

  1. Search of the file in Spotlight as usual, and press “Command + C” to copy the file to the clipboard.

  2. Navigate to the location wherever you want to move the file to, and press “Command + Option + V” to move the file to the location.

Hitting the additional “Option” key will cut the file instead of simply pasting it.

Both of these tips can be extremely useful if you want to embed a searched item in a program that supports drag-and-drop embedding, such as Word, Pages, Mail, and others, or if you want to make a shortcut to an item in the Dock.

Shujaa Imran is MakeTechEasier’s resident Mac tutorial writer. He’s currently training to follow his other passion become a commercial pilot. You can check his content out on Youtube

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