16. Use Metadata, Spotlight, and Siri

Question 1

1. What’s file system metadata? What are some examples?

Answer 1

1. Metadata is information stored outside of a file or folder. It provides additional information about files and folders. Examples include file flags, extended file attributes, and permissions.

Question 2

2. What are some of the common file flags used by macOS High Sierra?

Answer 2

2. Common file flags include the locked flag, which locks files from changes, and the hidden flag, which hides the item in the Finder

Question 3

3. What are file system tags? Where can you find tags in the user interface?

Answer 3

3. File system tags are a type of metadata that allow you to quickly assign keywords, or “tags,” to any item. A user can customize the tag names and colors.

Question 4

4. How does the Spotlight search service use metadata?

Answer 4

4. The Spotlight search service creates index databases of file system metadata so that it can perform normally time-intensive searches almost instantly. File system tags can be found in the Finder sidebar, Spotlight search, and any Open or Save document dialogs.

Question 5

5. Where does Spotlight store its metadata index databases and its plug-ins?

Answer 5

5. Spotlight metadata index databases are stored at the root of every volume in a /.Spotlight-V100 folder. However, a Legacy FileVault user’s database is stored in the user’s encrypted home folder. And the Mail app maintains its own database in each user’s home folder at ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/Envelope Index. Spotlight plug-ins can be located in any of the Library folders in a folder named Spotlight.

Question 6

6. What are some privacy and security concerns with Spotlight?

Answer 6

6. Although Spotlight indexes file and folder permissions, other users can search the contents of locally attached nonsystem volumes when ownership is ignored on those volumes.

Question 7

7. How do you resolve an issue where a Spotlight search doesn’t find the correct items?

Answer 7

7. If you experience problems with local file searching, you can force Spotlight to rebuild the index databases by deleting them and restarting your Mac or by managing the Spotlight preferences, as covered later in this lesson.

Question 8

8. How can you ensure that Siri doesn’t send audio recordings to Apple?

Answer 8

8. You can prevent Siri from sending audio to Apple by disabling Siri from Siri preferences.