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What You May Not Know

Our past coverage of Leopard noted that in addition to supporting boolean logic and letting you search for exact phrases and date ranges, OS X 10.5's version Spotlight also allows calculations. We know a little bit more about this capability now-enter 123*456, for example, and in the list of results a Calculator entry appears that reads 123*456 = 56088. You can also type a word you wish to define into the Spotlight field; Spotlight will return a Definition entry in the list of results. Select that entry and press the Return key to open Dictionary and view the definition.

Here's another feature we haven't addressed previously: searching through system files. Under Tiger, Spotlight largely stayed out of areas reserved for the System-the contents of the System and Library folders, for example. Leopard allows Spotlight to enter these previously forbidden areas.

Apple's list of Spotlight features notes a Web history search feature, in which Spotlight indexes the names of any Web site you visit as well as the contents of the sites themselves. Searching for recently visited Web pages takes you back to Safari.

What we Think

Spotlight's features work as advertised. The technology has largely become the utility many of us hoped it would be in Tiger. Better yet, unlike Spotlight under Tiger, this version of Spotlight is speedy. You should no longer type in the beginning of a search term only to have Spotlight pause after you've entered just the first few characters.

Spotlight remains a good tool for those Mac users who relied on the search technology in the past. The difference here is that those who turned to more advanced (and faster) search tools such as Devon Technologies' EasyFind may be tempted to return to Spotlight, as it's now usable for conducting more complex and thorough searches.

Great or Wait? With this release of Spotlight, Apple has signaled the all clear. Those who have stayed away from Spotlight due to its too-broad searches and uneven performance will be impressed with its Leopard implementation. Great.

Senior editor Christopher Breen fields troubleshooting questions in the Mac 911 blog.