What should you do to prevent Spotlight from showing specific file types?

To prevent Spotlight from showing specific file types, adjusting preferences within the Spotlight settings is essential. Deselecting categories under Spotlight preferences allows you to control which types of content Spotlight indexes and displays. By unchecking specific categories, such as Documents or Folders, you can effectively restrict Spotlight from searching through and displaying those types of files in its results.

This approach is beneficial as it maintains the files on your Mac while simply preventing them from appearing in search results, thus preserving both your workspace and the integrity of your data management. Other options may either not apply directly to the functionality of Spotlight or could eliminate files entirely, which might not be desirable.