Spotlight does not stop searching

[zp3dd4]

Since upgrading to Snow Leopard I have an issue with spotlight.

When I search for something and I select it, spotlight seems to continue on searching and I have to click the spotlight button again and press ESC to stop it from continuing searching.

I want it to stop searching after I've used it, as it spins the hard drive quite fast, which generates noise. I'm not sure if this occurred to anyone else..

 

[GGJstudios]

Perhaps it's still indexing. Does the look like ?

 

[zp3dd4]

nono, it's defenitly done indexing. The issue I have is that when i look for "mail" for example, it will list mail.app, a couple folder labeled mail etc. So when I select mail.app, spotlight will still continue to search my harddrive for trying to find more items to list. In fact, it doesn't stop searching at that point and I have to open spotlight again and press esc in order for it to stop searching. I notice it, because my harddrive gets significantly louder until i press spotlight again and press esc. for it to stop searching.

 

[GGJstudios]

Just curious, but why would you use Spotlight to locate your Mail app?

 

[devburke]

Just curious, but why would you use Spotlight to locate your Mail app?

A lot of people use Spotlight as an app launcher. I know there’s the dock, but some of us like to use the keyboard a lot

Personally I use Quicksilver, but that’s because it’s powerful. If all I needed was an app launcher, Spotlight would work fine.

 

[GGJstudios]

A lot of people use Spotlight as an app launcher. I know there’s the dock, but some of us like to use the keyboard a lot

Personally I use Quicksilver, but that’s because it’s powerful. If all I needed was an app launcher, Spotlight would work fine.

Very strange! I can click the Mail icon on the Dock a lot faster than anyone can use a keyboard command.... and a LOT faster than clicking on Spotlight, typing "mail", waiting for the search results, then clicking on the Mail.app. I can launch any app with two mouse clicks. I guess some just like taking the "scenic route" to getting things done!

 

[devburke]

Very strange! I can click the Mail icon on the Dock a lot faster than anyone can use a keyboard command.... and a LOT faster than clicking on Spotlight, typing "mail", waiting for the search results, then clicking on the Mail.app. I can launch any app with two mouse clicks. I guess some just like taking the "scenic route" to getting things done!

Well to be fair, you don’t have to type out the full word to get Mail. Also, ever since Leopard, you don’t have to wait for results, they’re immediate (they took a little longer in Tiger). You also don’t have to click Mail.app, because the first result will be highlighted, so you can just hit return. I can launch Mail by quickly hitting cmd-space, m, a, return. It sounds like more steps, but it can actually be quicker, as you don’t have to “aim” in the same way as you do with a mouse and make sure the cursor lands on the icon. If you’re a fast typer or used to the shortcut, using the keyboard to get things done is often much faster than the mouse.

 

[zp3dd4]

well mail was just an example, but i use it for all those apps that are not on my dock, such as disk utility or activity monitor.

 

[devburke]

Very strange! I can click the Mail icon on the Dock a lot faster than anyone can use a keyboard command.... and a LOT faster than clicking on Spotlight, typing "mail", waiting for the search results, then clicking on the Mail.app. I can launch any app with two mouse clicks. I guess some just like taking the "scenic route" to getting things done!

Well to be fair, you don’t have to type out the full word to get Mail. Also, ever since Leopard, you don’t have to wait for results, they’re immediate (they took a little longer in Tiger). You also don’t have to click Mail.app, because the first result will be highlighted, so you can just hit return. I can launch Mail by quickly hitting cmd-space, m, a, return. It sounds like more steps, but it can actually be quicker, as you don’t have to “aim” in the same way as you do with a mouse and make sure the cursor lands on the icon. If you’re a fast typer or used to the shortcut, using the keyboard to get things done is often much faster than the mouse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9vXmVzBcw8

That demonstrates how the keyboard can be a quicker way. Learning your way around the keyboard can really make you more productive. OS X has a lot of great shortcuts and everything.

 

[GGJstudios]

well mail was just an example, but i use it for all those apps that are not on my dock, such as disk utility or activity monitor.

If you have an Application stack and a Utilities stack on your Dock, all programs are two mouse-clicks away.

...If you’re a fast typer or used to the shortcut, using the keyboard to get things done is often much faster than the mouse.

I'm a fairly fast typist, but the mouse is SO much faster, unless someone isn't very proficient with the mouse.

...That demonstrates how the keyboard can be a quicker way. Learning your way around the keyboard can really make you more productive. OS X has a lot of great shortcuts and everything.

That's definitely NOT quicker than me using the mouse. I agree that OS X has lots of great shortcuts, many of which I use regularly. I just don't see how the methods described in this thread could possibly match the speed of one or two mouse-clicks. But to each their own!

 

[devburke]

If you have an Application stack and a Utilities stack on your Dock, all programs are two mouse-clicks away.

I'm a fairly fast typist, but the mouse is SO much faster, unless someone isn't very proficient with the mouse.

That's definitely NOT quicker than me using the mouse. I agree that OS X has lots of great shortcuts, many of which I use regularly. I just don't see how the methods described in this thread could possibly match the speed of one or two mouse-clicks. But to each their own!

Well there are many people on these forums and teh webs in general that would disagree, but there are many that would agree too. Good thing they’re both options!

 

[zp3dd4]

yeah, so my issue right now is that when I do use spotlight, it doesn't seem to clear the last thing I searched / stop searching, which is really annoying as it makes my harddrive spin at maximum speed..

 

[zp3dd4]

actually, i think I fixed it.. I had to exclude my bootcamp partition from spotlight..

 

[devburke]

yeah, so my issue right now is that when I do use spotlight, it doesn't seem to clear the last thing I searched / stop searching, which is really annoying as it makes my harddrive spin at maximum speed..

actually, i think I fixed it.. I had to exclude my bootcamp partition from spotlight..

Yeah it’s normal not to clear it, but it’s not normal to make your HD spin up like that. Hopefully it was the Boot Camp partition.

 

[glassFractals]

actually, i think I fixed it.. I had to exclude my bootcamp partition from spotlight..

THANK YOU.

I wish there was a way to move this to the top of the thread. I've had this exact issue for over a year (Spotlight search never ends, even after a choice is selected)-- simply having Spotlight not attempt to search the Bootcamp partition solved it immediately.

This comment deserves to be stickied to the top, rather than buried by hilariously dumb argument over whether or not it's valid to use a spotlight search as an application launcher (Hint: it is. It becomes muscle memory and you can launch an application in under an eighth of a second).