How to make Spotlight show the enclosing folder of the search result instead of opening the actual search result file?

Hi


How to make Spotlight show the enclosing folder of the search result instead of opening the actual search result file?


This just to be possible by holding the Command button + click (on search result file), but this seems not to work any longer for me for some time now (I am Ventura 13.5.2). Neither when I go through either menubar to open Spotlight nor the Command + Space shortcut for Spotlight. I can still use rick-click "Open Enclosing Folder" if using the search function in Finder.


This is very unfortunate as I almost never want to open the file but just go to the folder. (For example, if I am looking for a file to upload into a web form, I do not want to open the say PDF or JPG but instead go to the folder in Finder and drag the actual file to the web form etc. and it is generally how I work, I don't want to open files without knowing in which folder I am / the files are.)


Has Apple butchered the functionality, or is it an issue with my specific MacOS install and how can I restore normal function?


Thanks for any help!

MacBook Pro (M1, 2020)

Posted on Nov 4, 2023 03:16 AM

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6 replies

Nov 4, 2023 07:13 AM in response to _daniel_

In macOS Ventura 13.6.1, what I observe is that a command+click may display the path of the file location, but it is not a toggle, because the second instance of a command+click will open a new Finder window with the file selected. Same as if you press command+R once. In Sonoma 14.1, a command+click on a given Spotlight result will automatically open that file in its default application. Apple just cannot resist changing functionality when it doesn't need alteration…


What does work in either operating system is to use the down-arrow to select the resulting file, and then just press and hold the command-key as long as you want the path displayed. Command+R to open a new Finder Window with the file selected — in either case will inform of the enclosing folder. And finally, press return to open the file in its default application.

Jun 26, 2024 10:04 PM in response to VikingOSX

@VikingOSX – Thanks, yes, this is the behaviour I am looking for, but the issue is, instead of Command+click or Command-R opening Finder with the file selected, as I want, the system opens the actual file (in Word or Preview etc.). Getting the path when just hovering over the search result and then holding Command (not Command+click), which I think is what you meant, is useful and I did not know that function! Of course, knowing the folder is not as useful as just going there.


The issue makes it cumbersome to, say, find 10 PDFs to attach to an email that are 'somewhere' in my folder structure. I used to just Spotlight-search for them, go directly to the folder via Command-click on the search result, and then drag into email. Now, I have to literally click through the folder structure for each file, provided I can remember where it is.


My pragmatic solution is to use a combination of 'remembering where the file is located' and opening Finder, then searching in Finder and right-clicking 'Open in Enclosing Folder' on search results. The old Command-click directly in Spotlight (by which I mean the magnifying glass icon in the menu bar or by pressing Command+Space) was much better.

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How to make Spotlight show the enclosing folder of the search result instead of opening the actual search result file?

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