Use Spotlight to find your stuff
Spotlight is a great thing. Use it to launch Applications, find your documents and a lot more.
Spotlight is a powerful quick search facility build in to OS X that many people overlook. You may have stumbled across it before and wondered what the hell it is. Maybe you already know and use it. If you don't then here's how.
The Spotlight search is situated at the top right of your screen next to your clock. It's symbolised by a magnifying glass. Like the image to the right.
If you click this it will bring up a search box. Type whatever you like in here and it will instantly bring up results and group them into categories. The really clever bit is that it not only searches for the titles of your files but it searches content as well. So for example lets say you have just finished a lengthy letter to the mother in law about her dog Bruno and stupidly saved it as an generic document1. You've also forgotten where you saved it.
Spotlight is here to come to your rescue. Click the magnifying glass and the type Bruno it should find the document for you quickly. If you click the file it will open it.
It's also great for launching Applications. You do the same, search for the Application then click it to open it. Spotlight has a shortcut also and it's Command (Apple) & Space bar. Try it now.... You'll wonder how you survived....until now.