Apple’s Spotlight is a handy search tool that tracks down anything and everything across your computer, but macOS Tahoe introduces new Actions and Quick Keys functions, allowing you to kick off a range of commands right from the search results window.
Want to send someone an email or text, set up a calendar event, start a timer, create a new note, or change a system setting? You can do all that and more. Even better, you can assign a two-letter keyboard combination to trigger any of those actions and save you some time.
To take advantage of these new features, you’ll need to be running macOS Tahoe or higher. Click the Apple icon, go to System Settings > General > Software Update, and click the Upgrade Now button to allow the latest update to install. With that complete, let’s go through how to use Actions and Quick Keys with your favorite apps, files, and other items.
How to Run a Search in Spotlight
To use Spotlight on your Mac, press Command-Space bar on the keyboard. The first time you do this, the Spotlight window describes the latest changes to the feature. Hover over the Spotlight window and you’ll see icons for Applications, Files, Actions, and Clipboard. From there, you can narrow the search by selecting one of those categories or simply start typing the name of the item you want to find.
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Let’s do a general search to start. As you begin typing the name of the item, a list of possible matches appears. Press the up arrow on your keyboard to see your previous searches. Scroll down the results page, and you’ll find ones across different categories, including calendar appointments, emails, messages, contacts, music, podcasts, web pages, and more. Select a specific result to open it in its associated app.
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You can narrow the search a couple of ways. The Spotlight Results window displays a list of categories, including apps, messages, photos, calendar, and system settings. Press the right arrow on your keyboard to go through each category until you find the one you want and then press return to select the category and narrow the results accordingly.
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Otherwise, you can limit the results before you run the search. Hover over the Spotlight window and choose the Applications, Files, Actions, or Clipboard icon. Type your search term, and the results will appear only for the category you selected.
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Spotlight Keyboard Shortcuts
Beyond running a search, you can use Spotlight more conveniently through a series of built-in keyboard shortcuts. Here’s a handy list of shortcuts and their associated commands:
Command-Space bar: Open or close the Spotlight window.
Space bar: Opens a search result in Quick Look. From the list of results, move to a specific one and then press the space bar. The resulting content appears in a Quick Look window so you don’t have to open its native application.
Down arrow: Move to the next result in the list of results.
Up arrow: Move to the previous result in the list of results.
Return: Open a selected result.
Command-R or Command-Double-click: See a file in an app or in Finder.
Option-Command-Space bar: Open a Finder window with the search field selected.
Command-1: Narrow the results to Applications.
Command-2: Narrow the results to Files.
Command-3: Narrow the results to Actions.
Command-4: Narrow the results to the Clipboard.
How to Use Actions in Spotlight
One of the coolest new skills in Spotlight is the ability to run specific actions. From the results, you can select an action, such as sending a text, and then add the contact and write the message. Your action then runs in the background without having to open the associated program. Set this up by pressing Command-Space bar to trigger Spotlight. Hover over the Spotlight field and select the Actions icon. You’ll see a list of suggested actions, followed by other categories, including Books, Calendar, Clock, FaceTime, Maps, Messages, Notes, Shortcuts, and System Settings. Actions even work with third-party programs, like Microsoft Office and ChatGPT.
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Select a specific action you want to run. Let’s send a message to someone as an example. Double-click Send Message, and another field appears with placeholder text where you would fill in the specific details. In this case, click the Message field and type what you want to send. Click Recipients, type the name or number of the contact, and then double-click to kick off the action. You’ll find this all works very similarly to Apple’s Shortcuts app, which can be used to automate certain functions.
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Another way to find an Action is to simply search for it. In the search field at the top, start typing the name of an action you want to run. For example, let’s say you want to get directions from one location to another. Start typing the word “directions” in the search field and choose the Open Directions action. In the first Current Location field, enter the starting address. In the second Current Location field, add the destination address. Run the action, and the Maps app opens to show you the directions.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
How to Use Quick Keys in Spotlight
To trigger a specific action even more quickly, you can turn to the Quick Keys option. Here, you assign a two-letter keyboard combination to an action. Typing that combination then displays the action for you to run. To check this out, run a Spotlight search for Actions. Scroll down the list and you’ll see that certain actions already have assigned quick keys. For example, typing “ac” lets you add a city to the clock, “sp” lets you search your photo library for an image, and “gd” shows you the distance between two locations.
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To assign a quick key to an action that doesn’t already have one, click the Add quick keys button next to it. Enter the two-letter combination you wish to use and then press the Return key to save it. Typing this key combination in the Actions window will then run that action.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
So far, I’ve found it difficult to remember all the quick keys that are already set up, and it can be just as confusing to keep track of all the combinations I can assign. However, if you can find a way to associate the two letters in the key with the name of the action, I believe you should be able to recall and use a fair number of them.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)
About Our Expert
Lance Whitney
Contributor
Experience
I’ve been working for PCMag since early 2016 writing tutorials, how-to pieces, and other articles on consumer technology. Beyond PCMag, I’ve written news stories and tutorials for a variety of other websites and publications, including CNET, ZDNet, TechRepublic, Macworld, PC World, Time, US News & World Report, and AARP Magazine. I spent seven years writing breaking news for CNET as one of the site’s East Coast reporters. I’ve also written two books for Wiley & Sons—Windows 8: Five Minutes at a Time and Teach Yourself Visually LinkedIn.
I’ve used Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products for years so I’m well versed in that world. I also know the Mac quite well. I’m always working with iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and Android on my various mobile devices. And these days, I write a lot about AI, so that’s become another key area for me.
My wife always jokes about all the tech products we have around the house, but I manage to put them to good use for my articles. I like Lenovo computers, so I own a couple of Lenovo desktops and several laptops. I have three MacBooks and a Mac mini. For my mobile life and work, I use an iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro, and iPad mini as well as an Apple Watch. But since I write about Android, I own several Android phones and tablets. Like any tech person, I have a cabinet full of cables, wires, and assorted mysterious gadgets. And when it’s time to take a break from writing, I have an old Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, both of which I use for exercise and fitness games.
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