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Forum Discussion
Spotlight Search Doesn't Link to Files in Dropbox in macOS 13 Ventura
After upgrading to macOS Ventura, I was prompted to upgrade to "Dropbox for macOS 12". I proceeded with that, it moved my Dropbox folder to ~/Library/CloudStorage and confirmed all was successful. No...
- That’s the same problem I had. I solved it by doing a complete clean install of dropbox. You may not need to do all of this, but to be safe, in Dropbox settings Selective Sync uncheck all of your folders and wait for them to be removed from your Mac. Once that’s done, unlink your Mac from Dropbox preferences. You should see the Dropbox getting started screen. Quit Dropbox and move the app to the Trash. Remove all dropbox files from ~/Library being careful to look at the path name. Only remove things that are within a Dropbox parent folder. Look in library application support, and library preferences. Empty the Trash. Restart your Mac. Reinstall Dropbox from dropbox.com. Once reinstalled, to make things faster sync only one small folder and wait for the prompt that new Dropbox for macOS 12 is available. You should see the message within a few minutes of reinstalling Dropbox. Allow it to upgrade and migrate your files to the new location. Once that’s done you can then sync all your folders. Let your Mac index itself and the problem should be solved.
Hi, I'm running 160.4.4703. After a clean install and allowing all files to download locally and finish syncing it now seems to be working for the most part. There are some folders that still show in spotlight search results with a Dropbox icon rather than a folder icon, even though their parent folders are set to be available offline. All icons show everything is up to date. Any ideas? Yes quitting dropbox solves the problem but that is not a viable solution...
Same problem here.
I can see Dropbox files in the Spotlight search, but when clicking on them nothing happens.
Dropbox version is v 160.4.4703
- Megan
Dropbox Staff
Hey dsnidey, could you send me some screenshots, in order to have visual of what you just described?
Also, dquaglione, does this happen with all of your Dropbox files, or files that are available online-only? If you could also send me a couple of screenshots, that'd be amazing.
As you can see, when I, for instance, search for "iqi and spinoff", I see the folder in the spotlight search, but if I click on it nothing happens, even though the folder is available offline (second photo). All of the files and folders in my Dropbox are available offline.
Davide
- That’s the same problem I had. I solved it by doing a complete clean install of dropbox. You may not need to do all of this, but to be safe, in Dropbox settings Selective Sync uncheck all of your folders and wait for them to be removed from your Mac. Once that’s done, unlink your Mac from Dropbox preferences. You should see the Dropbox getting started screen. Quit Dropbox and move the app to the Trash. Remove all dropbox files from ~/Library being careful to look at the path name. Only remove things that are within a Dropbox parent folder. Look in library application support, and library preferences. Empty the Trash. Restart your Mac. Reinstall Dropbox from dropbox.com. Once reinstalled, to make things faster sync only one small folder and wait for the prompt that new Dropbox for macOS 12 is available. You should see the message within a few minutes of reinstalling Dropbox. Allow it to upgrade and migrate your files to the new location. Once that’s done you can then sync all your folders. Let your Mac index itself and the problem should be solved.
Finally a solution (one solution)
Dropbox peopole will ask you to re-index dropbox folder or delete and reinstall - this is a suggestion that will waste lots of your time and when it fails they vanish....
Discussed with Apple at length - they had no idea either - BUT they did ask me to select all possible items to index by spotlight AND then just re-index the mac HD. This works - this solves the dropbox indexing. Note I have not yet moved dropbox to the cloud location as per the new Mac OS option - I moved it back to the where earlier db folders were (which did not at all solve the indexing issue)
I my case the error occured setting up the new M2 during migration/set-up - my spotlight indexing did not have all options ticked. Items like "calculator" or "app" were not selected to be indexed - just all the files. You might ask 'so what' I don't want to search for those things on my dropbox folder.... i.e. not obvious this is relevant to searching files within a dropbox folder....but if you select everything for indexing within dropbox folder researchers are restored (spotlight always indexed the files - but would not let a within folder search produce results).
After selecting all spotlight search categories - then moving your HD in and then out (+ then -) of the "don't index option" (Siri & Spotlight) - and wait a few hours to re-index, you will have full dropbox search options restored.
Notably, why this works is unclear - perhaps spotlight needs to index the dropbox app, as well as the folder, to search within it (that makes no sense but....).
It remains to be said Dropbox service is a complete joke - they are not only not interested in solving mac problems but they give bad advice that will waste days of your time and do it with a degree of arrogance beyond belief. How diffcult would it be for them to buy 1 mac, and test out the spotlight options so they could provide real advice?
