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Make Spotlight results easier to read System 10.5
By default when viewing a Spotlight "all results" window or a Smart Folder or Search, the view is set to "icon view" and the file names are truncated, making it very hard to find the exact file you want.

You can switch the search results to "list view" but you may find that the setting doesn't stick. Well, there's good news. Under Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, there's a way to make the view settings for all Smart Folders and the "All Results" search window stick.
  1. Open the Finder.
  2. Under "Search for" in the sidebar, click on one of the search items (for example, All Documents). (If you don't have any smart folders there, just do a Spotlight search and choose Show All.)
  3. Switch the view to "List view" or whatever view you are comfortable with.
  4. In the menu bar, click View > Show View Options, or press Command-J on your keyboard to open the View Options window.
  5. Check "Always open in list view".
  6. Close the view settings window, and then close the Finder window.
From now on, your search results will be easier to hunt through.
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Make Spotlight results easier to read | 2 comments | Create New Account
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Make Spotlight results easier to read
Authored by: Stormchild on Aug 18, '08 11:15:36AM

My results have always opened in list view by default, but I tried setting it to "Always open in List view" in the View Options panel, and it does indeed stick.

Now if only it would remember my column widths, and let me view other columns like Size, Date Modified/Created, or Comments.

Spotlight is still a total disaster if you ask me. The interface got a lot worse in Leopard, but at least it's fast enough to actually use now. This is where tools like HoudahSpot and other improved interfaces for Spotlight come in handy.



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Make Spotlight results easier to read
Authored by: baltwo on Aug 18, '08 12:53:45PM
Sorry, only name, kind, and last opened are available. Send feedback via http://www.apple.com/macosx/feedback/ or file a bug report/enhancement request via its Bug Reporter system. To do the latter, join the Apple Developer Connection at https://connect.apple.com/MemberSite/";—it's free and available for all Mac users and gets you a look at some development software. If you already have an Apple username/ID, use that. Once a member, go to https://bugreport.apple.com/ and file your bug report/enhancement request. The nice thing with this procedure over using feedback is that you get a response and a follow-up number; thus, starting a dialog with engineering.



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