Do you want to enjoy the systemwide search on Windows 11 or Windows 10, just like on macOS? Here’s the complete guide on how to get macOS Spotlight Search on Windows PC.
Windows OS comes with a lot of features but there are some features which it does not have but they are available on macOS. And there are many features that are in Windows but not in macOS. Today we are going to talk about a specific feature that is part of macOS but is not available in Windows. It’s the cool Systemwide search called Spotlight.
Spotlight Search is a cool and useful feature that allows users to find anything (folder, file, app, query etc.) on any page. For example, you can search for files even without opening Finder or File Explorer.
Microsoft should bring this great feature to Windows also. We don’t know whether Microsoft will bring it soon or whether they will bring it at all. But don’t worry, I have a Windows tip using which you can get Mac Spotlight on Windows PC.
Install PowerToys on Windows
For this guide we will be using PowerToys which is a powerful tool for Windows that adds tons of new advanced features such as Spotlight like Search. Although Microsoft did not add spotlight like search on Windows by default, the company shared an application to get the spotlight on Windows. Yes, PowerToys is now offered officially by Microsoft.
It’s quite easy to get PowerToys since the tool is now available on Microsoft Store. It is also possible to download and install the tool manually from Github, but here I will be using Store method for downloading PowerToys.
- Open Microsoft Store on your Windows PC.
- Search for PowerToys and wait for results.
- Open PowerToys from Microsoft from search results.
- Now click on the Install button and wait for the installation to complete.
Once the Microsoft PowerToys is installed, the real fun begins. Let’s see how to enable the spotlight search.
Get Spotlight like Search on Windows
The spotlight search feature is called PowerToys Run in PowerToys tool. Here are the steps to enable it.
Step 1: Open PowerToys app on your PC. When you launch PowerToys, it will open PowerToys Settings.
Step 2: Look for the PowerToys Run in the Side Menu and click on it.
Step 3: Here turn on the toggle for Enable PowerToys Run.
Step 4: Just below you will find the Shortcut keys to launch the Spotlight Search. You can also change it if you want.
Here you can also change other settings like the number of results appear in Search, see thumbnail of the search results, theme, text size, and many other options.
How to Use macOS Spotlight Search on Windows
Now that you have enabled the Spotlight like Search on Windows, you can begin using it.
To bring the Spotlight Search, press Alt and Space together in any window or screen. This will open a big Search Bar over the opened window. If you changed the shortcut to launch the search bar, you need to use that shortcut combination.
The Search Bar will appear on top of any page. So whenever you want to search something from the data on PC or even from the Internet just use the Shortcut and you can search for it without quitting the app opened on your PC.
You can take advantage of PowerToys for some other cool features. But that’s all for today’s guide on Spotlight search. Do you like this feature? Let us know in the comment section.
Also Check:
