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Forum Discussion
After upgrading to Windows 11, I can't search for files within my Dropbox folder
Device
(Dell XPS 9320)
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
(Windows 11)
Dropbox App Version (if using the app)
v234.4.5591
Dropbox Plan
(Plus)
Since upgrading to Windows 11 two days ago, Windows Search (Explorer search) no longer finds files stored in my Dropbox folder.
On Windows 10, I used to add the Dropbox directory to Indexing Options, and search worked perfectly — I could quickly find and open files among hundreds of thousands stored in Dropbox.
Now, on Windows 11:
The Dropbox folder does not appear in Indexing Options (the D: drive is listed, but not the Dropbox folder located at D:/Dropbox).
The Dropbox folder seems a virtual reparse point, which Windows Search ignores.
Expected behavior:
Windows Search should be able to index and find Dropbox files (at least those available offline) when Smart Sync is enabled.
Actual behavior:
Dropbox’s Smart Sync implementation seems to prevent Windows Search from indexing the Dropbox folder on Windows 11
17 Replies
Same issue here.
The Dropbox folder in D:\users\dave is not available to choose in the "Change Selected Locations" window. Same as in jvr1's screenshot above.
File properties for the Dropbox folder thinks it can be indexed.
Note: Typing a search term in the search box of Explorer does work for filenames. If you want to search contents of the non-indexed folder use "content:[searchterm]" in the search box as a workaround.
- Jay
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi DaveInSWPA, thanks for the info, in order to look into this matter in more detail, I'd recommend contacting the support team directly for them to investigate further.
Did any of you actually get a solution? I just spent a week going back and forth with Dropbox support that ended with them telling me the problem is with "some other app or service on my computer" which they couldn't/wouldn't identify and therefore it's not their problem.
- Walter
Hey FordPrefect - thanks for joining the discussion here.
I was able to locate your existing ticket in our system and passed your comments on to the expert who's looking into your case.
They'll be getting back to you shortly, but please let us know if you have anything to add in the meantime.
Thanks for trying Walter, but the expert just punted again. Said it's a Windows problem and suggested I open a ticket with Microsoft who, unsurprisingly, told me this was a matter to take up with "the vendor of the third-party software".
Again, if anyone on the thread ever gets an actual solution could you please post?
FordPrefect jvr1 Hi. I found a workaround to make Windows Search index the content of the Dropbox directory by specifying to index the entire D: volume. Of course then Windows Search will also index the other directories in D: ...but it will index also the files within Dropbox also if the Dropbox directory does not appear in the Windows Indexing Options.
Thanks very much for the reply! A very good idea - I'll give it a try.
Thanks again.
