Level 1 (11 points)

Spotlight on Golden Gate 27.2 with Siri too slow

Using Spotlight on Golden Gate 27.2 with Siri is too slow / cumbersome. It seems you can only stop it from using Siri / AI by turning Siri completely off(?) I mostly use it to search my Mac Apps & Files, etc. not the universe, but I think Apple has done themselves a disfavor by not separating the two or allowing users toggle the Siri use in Spotlight on / off (like within the Spotlight interface itself). I can see there may be times when I might want to search the universe that includes my Mac but I kinda look at them as separate--my mac universe vs. the universe universe ;-)

Posted on Oct 31, 2026 11:16 AM

4 replies

neuroanatomist

Level 9 (72,871 points)

Oct 31, 2026 11:30 AM in response to farmerchuck

When using Spotlight, you can restrict the results displayed in the results. For example, you can toggle off the show related content setting.

Adjust Spotlight Settings:

Open System Settings
Click on Spotlight in the sidebar
Toggle off the setting to Show Related Content
You can also restrict the results from your Mac to certain items

More info from Apple: Spotlight settings on Mac - Apple Support

Note that you can use the search box in any Finder window to search for files within Finder only. That uses the Spotlight index, but only returns results from Finder.

You can also narrow those results:

Narrow your search results in Finder on Mac - Apple Support

neuroanatomist

Level 9 (72,871 points)

Nov 3, 2026 7:04 AM in response to maestro71

maestro71 wrote:

The best I can do is:

Command-Tab to bring Finder to the front

Command-N to open a new Finder window

Command-F to enter the Spotlight search field / mode

type search string

Tab to get out of the search field

Arrow keys to navigate the desired result

Command-O to open the file.

Skip Command-N. Command-F will bring up a search window directly.

Previously it was :

Command-Space

<search string>

Enter

I know Siri can do amazing things, but making basic things more complicated is literally going backwards.

Personally, I don't use Siri AI. I don't have it turned on. When I press Command-Space then start typing, I immediately get a list of local items that are relevant.

maestro71

Level 1 (16 points)

Nov 3, 2026 6:38 AM in response to neuroanatomist

I don't think this responded to the original question. I believe I have the same issue as the original poster. Several (hundreds at least) times a day I want to open a given file on my local hard drive. I can either open a Finder window and navigate to it, or I can hit command-space, pop open a spotlight dialog, type part of the filename, and press enter as soon as the desired file appears in the results list. That process takes literally 2 seconds or less. With 27.2, Siri gets involved and takes upwards of 10 seconds to search the internet for how to locate a file that is right there in my documents folder. This morning, she was repeatedly unable to locate a file that existed exactly where I told her it was located.

You are correct that Finder / Spotlight index search (without Siri) is available within a finder window. But it is not nearly as convenient or accessible as the command-Space combination. The best I can do is: