cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Announcements
Want to learn some quick and useful tips to make your day easier? Check out how Calvin uses Replay to get feedback from other teams at Dropbox here.

Apps and Installations

Have a question about a Dropbox app or installation? Reach out to the Dropbox Community and get solutions, help, and advice from members.

cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Re: Cannot open files from Spotlight: "couldn't communicate with a helper application"

Spotlight Search Doesn't Link to Files in Dropbox in macOS 13 Ventura

dsnidey
Helpful | Level 6
Go to solution

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??

398 Replies 398

lorebett
Helpful | Level 5
Go to solution

It does help to rebuild the index, but only for the first few minutes; after a few minutes (maybe after the index has been completely rebuilt?) the problem shows up exactly the same, again.

 

To summarize, this does not fix the issues.

 

Please, keep in mind that this makes Spotlight with Dropbox completely unusable...

minpi
Experienced | Level 11
Go to solution
Do a clean install. Dropbox still offers the old version. Do not upgrade after that😊 I did it 3 times hoping it will help but it didn‘t

Walter
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

Hi all, thank you for your reports so far.

 

For anyone who's still affected by this, would it be OK if we reached out via email to have a further look internally?

 

If you have already contacted our support team though, please share your ticket ID with us so that we can look it up in our system instead. 


Walter
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join

minpi
Experienced | Level 11
Go to solution

Nancy
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

Thanks for sharing your ticket number, @minpi!

 

I’ve left an internal note to our team, so that they may get back to you as soon as possible.


Nancy
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


Heart Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
:pushpin: Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
:arrows_counterclockwise: Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!

Trademarked
Helpful | Level 6
Go to solution

Hi, I recently did the new OSX upgrade, running Ventura, and reindexed spotlight to locate the moved files.  It does see them in the search, but when I click on a folder (which has a dropbox logo now) it doesn't open.  Nothing happens.  However, if I click a file, that opens.  I use the spotlight to locate folders dozens of times a day because I have no idea of the individual file names, so naturally, this is quite frustrating.  Does anyone else have (or had) this issue?

Thanks

MikeCTZA
Explorer | Level 3
Go to solution

Been having the same issue since Ventura/latest Dropbox.

Have found a bit of a workaround for my needs which seems to work OK for me, for now anyway.

I use spotlight to find the file, I then get it shown but can't open it when I select it .... BUT it then does appear in recents so I just have a tab open to Finder's recents and then I can open the document with whatever should open the file from there.

Not perfect but at least I can still keep my way of working kinda the same.

ensoniq70
Helpful | Level 6
Go to solution

Hello Walter,

it is definitely ok if you want to reach me via email.

Bye Richard 

minpi
Experienced | Level 11
Go to solution

Downgrade - clean install (it installs an older version first) solves all the problems😊 

ensoniq70
Helpful | Level 6
Go to solution

That's possible but this is not practical way for me. I have to work with the content everyday, every hour and have no time to fix bad development.

Then I should not use the Dropbox and try out other tools first.

Need more support?