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What is going on with Dropbox on MacOS? Spotlight and Finder don't work!!
Dropbox randomly updated to some new version and said everything is moving to Library/CloudStorage or something like that,
now I can't open files directly in Spotlight OR find using folder search in Finder (although global search "This Mac" works).
Biggest issues:
1. Searching using spotlight and clicking on it DOES NOTHING!
2. If I am in a folder within Dropbox folder on my Mac, and I want to search for a file IN that folder using Finder, it doesn't find any file if I search using the search box in Finder, I have to click "This Mac" to find files but it finds files from EVERYWHERE when I only want to find files from within that specific Dropbox folder that I am currently in
How do I fix this? I need this functionality working ASAP !
Moderated edited to remove swearing
Hi Jay,
Finally after 7 months of basically not being able to use my laptop I found the solution in another thread.
I have managed to fix this. (For reference, I have tried re-indexing Spotlight using command line, and does not work).
- Open System Preferences and go to Spotlight's Privacy tab.
- Add the entire hard disk INTO the Privacy list.
- Maybe wait 30s.
- Remove the hard disk FROM the Privacy list.
@davidarden also posted the solution in another Dropbox thread: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Create-upload-and-share/Dropbox-is-not-searchable-in-Mac-OS-Monterey-12-0-1/m-p/626720/highlight/true#M58591
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yeah its weird, just don't click the "get started" upgrade option that pops up when you reinstall from scratch,
I'm now just discovering that:
1. I am not the only one who lost access to both a functional Finder and Spotlight after the MacOS update.
2. DropBox Help is handing out entirely wrong and ineffectual fixes that do not work.
3. DropBox is not acknowledging the problem.
I don't think the problems being experienced by many users can be categorized as an expected behavior, because the scope of the issues goes far beyond that matrix you linked to, from DB on potential upgrade issues.
Same thing. Post the MacOS upgrade, all my Excel files lost their Excel icons, and were replaced with Finder icons, and then Spotlight was no longer a means to open these files. You could tell that clicking on a file offered by Spotlight would trigger DropBox to start working (tiny clock appeared on DB icon) but then the open operation failed.
This is really amazing that DropBox not only unleashed this much damage, but is not acknowledging it yet.
I had to back up my entire laptop, erase the laptop entirely, reinstall MacOS. And the problem still did not get solved.
Your solution doesn't work. This is a failed solution being offered to everyone right now by DropBox help.
Adding then subtracting ( +/- ) the main DropBox folder from the Spotlight utility does nothing.
But here is something that does: using this method on the actual Macintosh HD.
I had to rebuild my entire MacBook Pro from scratch, and there's not a chance I will upgrade again or take that MacOS update.
DropBox: ten years ago, was my favorite software solution of ALL time. Ten years later: just a disaster at every turn.
Yeah, what you need to know is that Hannah is offering the official solution offered by DropBox and it does nothing, zero, has not fixed the problem for anyone. This is DB's biggest fiasco yet.l
- The best thing is to use Alfred. It took some tweaking, but I’m happy now
Dropbox *may* have fixed the problem. I posted this in another thread - Scroll down to the bottom - it's the last entry on this page:
- eheilner it still doesn’t work if you upgrade, as long as you don’t press upgrade then you’re fine (regardless of the Dropbox version)
Seems like Dropbox have two type of functionality in one software so they should give us the option Really disappointed with the newest version of Dropbox. Losing my time everyday because lost functionality of spotlight, can not find offline files, open excel files, word files are not even found.
I mean dropbox developers what the actual f.... ?I don't want to be your beta version tester, therefore paying for working product.
