Spotlight

How to add Facebook, Twitter, and more search options to Spotlight

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

The awkwardly named SLightEnhancerSearch, is a recently released jailbreak tweak that adds a ton of new search options to the stock Spotlight search on iOS. When it was first released, I ran into many issues with the tweak, namely, the search options not showing up on the Spotlight page when enabled.

The tweak was updated today, and the developer seems to have stamped out all of the bugs that plagued the initial release. SLightEnhancerSearch, as silly as its name may be, is a quality jailbreak tweak that many will no doubt find useful...

This tweak lets you lock your device by swiping to the Spotlight page

Jeff Benjamin ∙ June 3, 2012

SpotLock is a new jailbreak tweak that allows you to lock your iPhone simply by swiping over to the place where Spotlight search normally resides. Granted, this tweak will totally eliminate the ability to use Spotlight search, but I believe the popular consensus is that many of you don't use Spotlight to begin with.

Of course, a quick press of the sleep button at the top of your iPhone is the quickest way to secure your iPhone from a software perspective, but SpotLock is an interesting way to break the monotony and switch things up a bit...

SpotDict: Search iOS’ built in dictionary from Spotlight

Jeff Benjamin ∙ May 5, 2012

Spotlight search is very useful when you actually need to use it, but how many times do you find yourself needing to do so?

If you're anything like me, you can probably count on one hand how many times you've used Spotlight over the past few months.

Perhaps this recently released jailbreak tweak will coerce you into using Spotlight a bit more often? It's called SpotDict, and it allows you to look up words in iOS' built in dictionary directly from the Spotlight search page...

How to replace Spotlight search with a web interface

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 26, 2012

I'm absolutely sure that I'm in the minority on my thoughts about iOS' Spotlight feature. I actually find it useful and helpful for launching apps, finding emails, contacts, etc.

Many of you, however, loathe Apple's inclusion of Spotlight; deeming it absolutely worthless, useless, and a waste of time and energy.

For those who fall into the latter category, then maybe this jailbreak tweak will make you happy. It's called WebSpot, and it allows you to completely replace Spotlight with a customizable web interface...

SpotTweet: Will eventually allow you to tweet from Spotlight search. Hopefully.

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 15, 2012

SpotTweet is a promising tweak that has one small problem, it doesn't actually work at the moment (at least it hasn't for me).

SpotTweet is supposed to allow you to send tweets directly from the Spotlight search input box, and everything seems okay until you tap the send button.

Check inside for our analysis of the flawed, but ultimately cool concept...

CommandSpot: Launch Apps and Respring from Spotlight

Jeff Benjamin ∙ January 15, 2012

Want to launch apps, reboot, respring, or turn off your iDevice right from your Spotlight search? If so, then all you need is a jailbroken device with CommandSpot installed.

CommandSpot is a jailbreak tweak that allows you to execute specific commands to launch apps, Twitter, Facebook, and quite a few other things. It's not the most efficient way to perform these functions, but it can be done nonetheless.

Spotfb: Execute Spotlight Commands to Launch Facebook Sections

Jeff Benjamin ∙ December 18, 2011

Spotfb is a jailbreak tweak that allows you to launch different sections of the official Facebook app by means of predefined Spotlight commands.

All you need to do is swipe over to your Spotlight page, type the command, and tap return. It'll then launch the specific Facebook page that pertains to the command that you typed.

Honestly, we're not sure who would be willing to use such a tweak; it'd be much faster to just launch the app and venture to your desired section, wouldn't it?

SLShortcuts: Run Text Commands Directly From Spotlight

Jeff Benjamin ∙ September 25, 2011

When it comes to Spotlight on the iPhone, there are two camps. Ones who use it, and others that find it completely worthless.

If you're in the latter camp, perhaps SLShortcuts will change your mind? It's an upcoming jailbreak tweak, which allows you to run custom text commands directly from your Spotlight search...

Use ‘ToDoNotes’ to Quickly Reference Important Notes

Jeff Benjamin ∙ August 24, 2011

One of the most frustrating aspects about the stock Notes app, is that it can take too much effort to reference your notes in a quick manner.

Say, for instance, you're shopping at the grocery store, and you want to quickly reference the shopping list stored on your Notes app. Doing so can prove to be more time consuming that it needs to be.

Enter ToDoNotes, a recently created jailbreak tweak that gives you the ability to paste your most important notes right on your Spotlight page...

SpotEnhancer: Quickly Launch Apps with Spotlight Commands

Cody Lee ∙ July 13, 2011

For his final TweakWeek entry, Andrea Oliva gives us SpotEnhancer. This unique jailbreak utility puts a different spin on quick launching apps, by allowing users to open apps with Spotlight Search commands.

SpotEnhancer gives you several commands that can do anything from open a new text message, to launch a Google search. There are even commands for your favorite social networking apps...

‘WebLeaps’ Adds Custom Search Shortcuts to Spotlight and Safari

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated August 4, 2011

WebLeaps seems to be one of those tweaks that fell through the cracks. I'd honestly never heard of this tweak before Sebastien mentioned it to me, but I'm glad that he did.

That's because WebLeaps allows you to easily navigate some of the web's best sites by means of custom search shortcuts.

You can even create your own custom search shortcuts with a bit of plist editing know-how.

Check inside as I go one-on-one with WebLeaps. I even create my own custom iDB search shortcut...

RunningList: See a List of Your Open Apps on Your Spotlight Screen

Cody Lee ∙ June 25, 2011

Apple's implementation of multitasking in iOS 4 is undoubtedly one of the best in the business. Not necessarily in presentation, but in functionality. iOS' ability to maintain a high level of performance with dozens of apps open easily outperforms the competition.

The problem is, since you are able to have so many apps running without noticeable effects, sifting through your multitask bar can become a bit tedious. If you've been looking for an alternative way to browse your list of running applications, well, let me introduce you to RunningList...