Over the years and since iCloud was invented, I have used 3 computers. Two of which belonged to other organizations I worked for. However, I backed everything up to iCloud. Now, I want to find documents I know I have, or slide shows I know I have, from 7 years ago, and I can find no way to search for them in iCloud. I cannot search my computer because they were made on another computer. Anyone know how I can search iCloud under these circumstances?
I am wasting so much time scrolling through SO MANY files and documents to try to find older files made on a computer I used to have.
—–
Cevon Lane
So since you are looking for files, I assume you mean you are looking for files in iCloud Drive, correct? iCloud is the name that applies to a large set of services, iCloud Drive is where you store files.
Do note that iCloud Drive is NOT a backup. See https://macmost.com/icloud-is-not-a-substitute-for-a-time-machine-backup-with-your-mac.html
If you have a file in iCloud Drive, then you will see it in iCloud Drive on any of your Macs. There is no such thing as a file being on iCloud Drive but now showing up on your computers. Everything is listed. A file may not be fully downloaded if you are using the "Optimize" function, but it will be listed there and you can find it in a search.
So just search in your iCloud Drive folder and everything you have in iCloud Drive will be there. It doesn't matter which computer you created it on, they all show the same files. You add a file using one computer and it shows up in all of them.
So if you don't see a file there, then it is probably because it was never placed in iCloud Drive. It is probably in a non-iCloud Drive folder on that other Mac. Either that or it was in iCloud Drive but was deleted at some point.
See https://macmost.com/understanding-icloud-drive-and-the-optimize-mac-storage-option.html for more info on how iCloud Drive works.