Lesson 16: Use Metadata, Spotlight, and Siri Flashcards

• Describe how macOS stores and uses file metadata. • Use metadata such as tags and comments to organize your files. • Use Spotlight and Siri to search for local and Internet resources.

1
Q

What’s file system metadata?

What are some examples?

A

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.

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2
Q

What are some of the common file flags used by macOS Big Sur?

A

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

See: man chflags

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3
Q

What are file system tags?

Where can you find tags in the user interface?

A

File system tags are a type of metadata that allows you to quickly assign keywords, or “tags,” to any item.

A user can customize the tag names and colors and can create multiple tags for a single file.

You can find file system tags in the Finder sidebar, Spotlight search, and any Open or Save document dialogs.

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4
Q

How does the Spotlight search service use metadata?

A

The Spotlight search service creates index databases of file system metadata so that it can perform normally time-intensive searches almost instantly.

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5
Q

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

A

Spotlight metadata index databases are stored at the root of every volume in a /.Spotlight-V100 folder. For your startup volume, the folder is /private/var/db/Spotlight-V100.

However, a legacy FileVault user’s database is stored in the user’s encrypted home folder.

Also, the Mail app maintains its own database in each user’s home folder at ~/Library/Mail/V8/MailData/Envelope Index.

Spotlight plug-ins can be located in any of the Library folders in a folder named Spotlight.

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6
Q

What are some privacy and security concerns with Spotlight?

A

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

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7
Q

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

A

If you experience issues 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.

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8
Q

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

A

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

See: Ask Siri, Dictation & Privacy

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