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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.
After the latest Dropbox update, I'm no longer able to open Dropbox files directly from Spotlight (macOS's file search function). I know this is due to a Dropbox issue because I can still open other files using Spotlight as long as they're saved locally, like on the Desktop.
What workarounds are there? Can I revert back to an old Dropbox version? This is a pretty significant QoL issue for my Dropbox usage
Megan
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHey dalw, I'd be more than happy to look into this!
Can you clarify the Dropbox version that you're using on your end?
Also, do you have any screenshots that could demonstrate what you described, in order for me to have a visual too?
Keep me posted!
Thanks - I'm using v163.4.5456.
See attached screenshot for what I'm talking about. Generally, I can able to open files by using cmd-SPACE to search and then the arrow keys and ENTER to select and open a file. I can still do this for files not saved in the Dropbox folder, but not for files in Dropbox.
You can actually see in the screenshot which files are in the Dropbox folder versus which ones are not: if it's in Dropbox, the document icon is the Finder icon -- if it's not saved in Dropbox, the file icon displays normally. I believe this indicates some sort of permission-ing issue at the heart of this.
- I have the exact same issue as dalw
Hi, I was on a latest Dropbox version. Sorry cannot specify which version it was, because I deinstalled it yesterday already. I didn't take some screenshots.
A Mac/Dropbox behaviour was quite ridiculous. I wasn't able to work any more in a normal usual way. In a Spotlight popover I saw all the date from Dropbox, but instead showing a preview icons, there was a thin Apple Finder picture. Clicking on it with or without Cmd just did nothing. Popover each time was going away..
I was in contact with AppleSupport. First - usual process with a first level. In SafeMode I was able to open files and I saw file preview, but I still wasn't able to open same files "on place" clicking with cmd. A new user didn't solve this problem as well - there were the same ridiculous icons of a thin Apple Finder.
Solution:
1. Backup all your Dropbox data
2. Uncheck all synced folders in Dropbox preferences
3. Deinstall Dropbox (Move in to a trach. I use CleanMyMac for that)
4. Delete all the Data from new Dropbox destination, which I am quite sure causes this issue: user/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox
5. Install Dropbox again
6. Sync your Data
7. Do not update! Dropbox will ask you about it straight after you do this clean install.
It worked very well for me. The only backside of it is, that Dropbox asking me in a very obsessive way now to update to a new version - after I did a clean Install from an official Dropbox website 1-2 hours ago. Dropbox tells it wont work with my macOS 13.1 but it does. Everything works again perfectly. My files are saved again to the user destination. So the only way to work is to ignore completely Dropbox warnings. It's a pity I cannot deactivate them. I think a main problem is a files destination, which a newer version of Dropbox tries to change - from user folder (where my Pictures, Music etc are saved) to user/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox. I do not remember that macs could be able to search with Spotlight their Libraries destinations. At least by default. I do not understand why Dropbox team tries to change a very well working system with a version which causes this massive issue.
Tried uninstalling and reinstalling and now Dropbox won't even start. Not sure how this version made it out of beta but it's literally unusable. Am I supposed to switch to Google Drive or what Megan
I am having the same problem. Tried all the suggestions on this thread multiple times, none of the suggestions work, or if they do work, the problem returns in a few minutes.
This appears to be a chronic problem with Dropbox, and there seems to be little interest on the part of Dropbox to fix the issue.
Thus I am looking at switching to a different platform.
Any suggestions from others on this thread for what other platforms actually work? What have you switched to?
