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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. Now when using Spotlight to search (I often type something like 'drawings folder' to open a folder called Drawings) the results in Spotlight show the Dropbox app icon beside the name of the item I want (rather than a Finder icon for folder or file). Hitting Enter or clicking on the result switches to Finder and does nothing, or sometimes will open the Applications folder and show the Dropbox app. It's not linking me to the actual file in ~/Library/CloudStorage.
I have done the following and the problem is not solved:
- Restarted
- Ensured all files are available for offline access
- Rebuilt the spotlight index
- Unlinked Dropbox from this Mac, did a complete clean install of dropbox, performed the upgrade to v159.4.5870 and synced just one folder to begin
Nothing works. Any suggestions??
- 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.
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- Yes please!!
Hi Hannah,
I'm also experiencing the same issue. Would appreciate to be included as an interested party in the ticket. Might be worthwhile to know that also OneDrive seems to suffer from the same issue - maybe is having them both installed is the issue in itself.
Yes I did try @Megan's suggestion however that didn't work out. Looks like one needs to click and open each and every folder within the Dropbox folder; not simply Dropbox's folder.
Those folders which haven't been visited using Finder yet are shown by Spotlight as a folder with the dropbox icon and nothing happens when they are clicked.
I'm having the same issue. I use HoudahSpot and other search tools -- but they don't seem to "see" the Dropbox files now that they have been moved after the upgrade. I think that they build on what Spotlight is able to see, and apparently Spotlight can't "see" the files in Dropbox that are saved on my hard drive. I'm a premium user, but I understand that if you have a "business" account, then you can search for words and phrases inside of Dropbox files via the Web (using the Web interface). I don't know if that is true or not, but if so it might be a reason to upgrade to "business." Better yet, Dropbox could make it available to all users.
I have the same problem. I use search tools, like HoudaSpot, but it is based on Spotlight -- which doesn't seem to be able to see Dropbox files now that they have been moved under Ventura. I wouldn't mind searching online, but the online search tool doesn't allow me to search a particular directory. It searches my entire dropbox, which produces results that are unusable since there are so many "hits." Is there some way to do a more focused search via the Dropbox website? If so, I have not been able to find it.
