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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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I have tried this but to no avail. I have also tried removing the Mac HD from the Spotlight search index and then letting it re-index, but Spotlight (which was already garbage and is now even worse) still does not launch any files it finds.
I can open files from within Finder's search results, but within these, it is not possible to see the context menu options, like Copy dropbox link. To get around this, I have to Show in Enclosing Folder, and then I am able to to get the context menu.
From the posts I've seen Spotlight and this move to the CloudStorage section of the HD seems to have been the issue. Has anyone found a solution?
I started a support ticket yesterday with a detailed explanation and also pointed the support team to this thread.
Today I got an email from support saying, "Thank you for alerting us to this problem. Dropbox engineers are aware of the problem and are working on a solution."
Sure hope it doesn't take long for them to fix. This bug is causing me to lose anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes each and every day with the insane productivity slowdowns it is causing me. I'm really close to canceling my Dropbox subscription of more than 10 years and finding another solution.
- Be sure it will take time. They are working on that since December…
I have the same issue. Tried a complete uninstall, deleted the folders, reinstalled. Same issue.
Spotlight will find the file but cannot open it.
Simple solution - reinstall and do not update - works perfectly😊
I noticed that now it is impossible to get rid of the dropbox folder. I uninstalled dropbox, deleted all the dropbox folders in the Library, rebooted.
If you browse to library>Cloud Storage you will see the dropbox folder there and you can't delete it. This is a special folder now in Mac. There must be a bug in the permission settins in it.
colinkj wrote:
I started a support ticket yesterday with a detailed explanation and also pointed the support team to this thread.
Today I got an email from support saying, "Thank you for alerting us to this problem. Dropbox engineers are aware of the problem and are working on a solution."
Sure hope it doesn't take long for them to fix. This bug is causing me to lose anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes each and every day with the insane productivity slowdowns it is causing me. I'm really close to canceling my Dropbox subscription of more than 10 years and finding another solution.
This is the very same email I received from the support several weeks ago.Obviously other people here who previously submitted similar support tickets have got the same email.
It is a copy/paste email...
Sorry if this has been mentioned before, I only read the first 10 (of 30) pages of comments.
For me, Spotlight wasn't finding Dropbox files (Ventura 3.2.1, Dropbox 169.4.5684). It turned out the filenames weren't being categorized as Documents (or Images, Presentations or whatever). I had to check Other on in Search Results on the Siri & Spotlight systems setting page to see them.
Now Dropbox presses me to update each day! Dear Dropbox Team, deactivate please this update request one day, which makes crazy so many users... Or tell us - we repaired our software and it is usable again! I am going to switch off all the notifications..
