Lesson 14: Use Metadata, Spotlight, and Siri Flashcards
What is file system metadata?
What are some examples of file system metadata?
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.
What are some of the common file flags used by macOS?
Common file flags include the locked flag, which locks files from changes, and the hidden flag, which hides the item in the Finder.
What are file system tags?
Where can you find system tags in macOS?
File system tags are a type of metadata that allows you to quickly assign keywords, or “tags,” to any item. You can customize the tag names and colors.
How does the Spotlight search service use metadata?
The Spotlight search service creates index databases of file system metadata so that it can perform normally time-intensive searches nearly instantly.
File system tags can be found in the Finder sidebar, Spotlight search, and any Open or Save document dialogs.
Where does Spotlight store its metadata index databases?
How about the Spotlight plug-ins?
Spotlight metadata index databases are stored at the root of every volume in a /.Spotlight-V100 folder.
However, Legacy FileVault users’ databases are stored in their encrypted home folder.
Also, the Mail application 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.
What are some privacy and security concerns with the Spotlight service?
Though Spotlight indexes file and folder permissions, it allows other users to search the contents of locally attached nonsystem volumes when ownership is ignored on those volumes.
How do you resolve an issue where a Spotlight search doesn’t appear to be finding the correct items?
Forcing a rebuild of the Spotlight index databases is a common technique for resolving search issues.
You can force a rebuild by adding an item to the Spotlight preferences Privacy list and then removing it.
This deletes the current index database and forces the system to build a new one.
How can you ensure that Siri does not send any audio recordings to Apple?
To prevent Siri from sending audio to Apple, you must turn Siri off in Siri preferences.
