Why does Dropbox.com search function suck so bad?

[Chris F.29]

I hate to be so frank about this in the question but seriously... I don't sync all my files on my mac and rely on the db web interface to find things every now and then. It seems for years now I have not been able to get what I need out of the search function. I have come to the point where I am going to begin looking for another vendor to handle my cloud file storage with a focus on search... 

If anyone at dropbox with any kind of authority to act upon this comment wants to discuss in detail, I welcome the conversation openly. 

[ben p.11]

I'm also quite keen to see a bit of improvement on the search side. Searching for a file called "myfile0.zip" for instance, does not return any result with the keyword "file"... Yes it is this bad.

[Braam c.]

Quite frankly, I think it goes beyond "a bit of improvement". I am also increasingly reliant on the web client search functionality. It really is very disappointing to say the least. I have been with dropbox for years but the lack of such basic functionality leaves me dumbfounded and may tempt me into looking for alternatives. 

[Matthew T.27]

Agreed. The search function needs an urgent redesign. It completely misses results.

[roxbello]

I lost so much time and money thanks to this issue, I am very glad to see search seems to finally work (Thank you!)

BUT its very primitive. I would like to see search results with the option of viewing by file type, or by date created / date modified / date last opened etc — At very least by file type and date created. 

[Matthew H.44]

I agree it is not good enough when you have lots of files and paticularly old jobs.  There needs to be a way to sort by folders or to put files first or date modified.  I have put in a request to Dropbox a couple of times, once a year ago and once recently about this issue.  The response was thank you we will forward it to the development team.  So if everyone does it it might help raise it as an issue on their end.

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[tommoulton]

I am dropping out of dropbox. They have made it so complicated to just open and go to a file. Maybe the free one is better. you open it and there are all your files. They have to be losing business with this change. I tell people I deal with all the time to go to wetransfer. Dropbox Sucks!

[dannydolphin]

I literally typed the exact question today, February 2019 -- including the word "suck," and saw this original question pop-up from 2016... ironically nothing's changed!!!

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I don't understand how no one has fixed this yet, except for the fact that there must be some crazy legacy system on the back end that is too much of a heavy lift to dedicate resource to, or, the team would rather update their logo than core usability of their product. Talk about a frictionless experience...

While I use the app most of the time, in mobile or on different devices, and accessing different accounts, I always find search the most painful part of using Dropbox. Curious what % of overall users still access Dropbox.com/month or year still, and have the same experience. Surely a sensible PM or data analyst should have figured this out by now given the val prop is: store your files. Access your files. 

Would love for someone to explain.

[LeeCujes]

Haha! Same here! I also typed the exact question today (February 2019) -- including the word "suck," and saw this original question pop-up from 2016.

I'm going to say this - it used to be quite good! Now it is just hideous. You can't even click the column headings in the search results to sort!

And where is Advanced search? 

Why can't we easily search by file type?

Seriously bad, seriously annoying.

[Robert MI]

2020 update: 

The Dropbox search function STILL sucks. 

Slow AND useless.

Good job, guys!