Spotlight won't search for folders if pdf search also selected. - Page 2

steveadd · 04-19-2012, 11:01 PM

will do all this and get back to you. thanks so much.

NaOH · 04-19-2012, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NaOH


	First, do you have any third-party Spotlight plugins installed? These would be in ~/Library/Spotlight. If so, move these to the Desktop, run the earlier Terminal command (just in case), and restart your Mac.

I should add to that statement: If you do have third-party plugins and you find the above steps resolve the issue, then you may want to then add them back one at a time, restarting after each file is returned, to see which plugin is causing the issue. It's possible there is a newer version that doesn't cause issues or (less ideally) development has been stopped and you'll want to discontinue using that plugin.

steveadd · 04-19-2012, 11:17 PM

there is no Spotlight folder in my Library folder in my User. Is that ok?

There is an empty Spotlight folder in the Library folder of my HD.

NaOH · 04-19-2012, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steveadd


	there is no Spotlight folder in my Library folder in my User. Is that ok?

That's fine, just means you don't have any third-party Spotlight plugins.

Quote:

Originally Posted by steveadd


	There is an empty Spotlight folder in the Library folder of my HD.

You mean in Macintosh HD/Library/Spotlight? If so, that's also fine.

I can't imagine this is the case since Spotlight is giving you some results, but Macintosh HD/System/Library/Spotlight should have a number of items. My system shows 20 different ones, and you should have a comparable amount.

Assuming that's all the well and good, move on to the next step I described earlier for removing Spotlight-related preference files.

steveadd · 04-19-2012, 11:30 PM

Yes user/Library/ has no Spotlight folder.

Macintosh HD/Library/Spotlight has an empty Spotlight folder

NaOH · 04-19-2012, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steveadd


	Yes user/Library/ has no Spotlight folder.

Fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by steveadd


	Macintosh HD/Library/Spotlight has an empty Spotlight folder

Fine.

Macintosh HD/System/Library/Spotlight should have a bunch. If you want confirmation about what you have in there, open that folder, click Edit > Select All (or Command-A), then you can use Edit > Paste (Command-V) here to show what you have. This is what's on my system. You're probably about the same if you're running 10.7.

Application.mdimporter
Archives.mdimporter
Audio.mdimporter
Automator.mdimporter
Bookmarks.mdimporter
Chat.mdimporter
CoreMedia.mdimporter
Font.mdimporter
iCal.mdimporter
Image.mdimporter
iPhoto.mdimporter
iPhoto8.mdimporter
Mail.mdimporter
MIDI.mdimporter
PDF.mdimporter
PS.mdimporter
QuartzComposer.mdimporter
RichText.mdimporter
SystemPrefs.mdimporter
vCard.mdimporter

steveadd · 04-19-2012, 11:42 PM

oops. Just found them on my desktop. I remember now taking them out to see if it would fix the problem. I've put them back in. Here's the list:

Application.mdimporter
Archives.mdimporter
Audio.mdimporter
Automator.mdimporter
Bookmarks.mdimporter
Chat.mdimporter
CoreMedia.mdimporter
Font.mdimporter
GBSpotlightImporter.mdimporter
iCal.mdimporter
Image.mdimporter
iPhoto.mdimporter
iPhoto8.mdimporter
iWork.mdimporter
LogicPro.mdimporter
Mail.mdimporter
Microsoft Office.mdimporter
MIDI.mdimporter
PDF.mdimporter
PS.mdimporter
QuartzComposer.mdimporter
RichText.mdimporter
SystemPrefs.mdimporter
vCard.mdimporter

NaOH · 04-19-2012, 11:50 PM

The only oddity I see there is the Microsoft Office and the iWork plugins. On my system those show up in Macintosh HD/Library/Spotlight. Seems odd to me that the Logic Pro one is there, too, but that's not based on having ever installed Logic Pro, just that plugins not part of the OS are never installed there. You can move them and test, but I'd be surprised if it makes any difference. If you're wondering about the one other you have that I don't, GBSpotlightImporter is for Garage Band, and I've removed that from my Mac.

Assuming that moving the three importers to Macintosh HD/Library/Spotlight doesn't make any difference (definitely tack on a restart after moving them), then I would move on to replacing the preferences files like I described earlier.

steveadd · 04-20-2012, 04:20 AM

Currently rebuilding the Index.

I could not find either of these files to delete:

~/Library/Preferences/.byhost.spotlight.mdquery
~/Library/Preferences/.byhost.spotlight.XXXXXXXXXX.spo

steveadd · 04-20-2012, 05:08 AM

Done all the above and the problem persists but could not locate these files:

~/Library/Preferences/.byhost.spotlight.mdquery
~/Library/Preferences/.byhost.spotlight.XXXXXXXXXX.spo

steveadd · 04-20-2012, 05:10 AM

checked and these files are still not there following the rebuild and restart.

~/Library/Preferences/.byhost.spotlight.mdquery
~/Library/Preferences/.byhost.spotlight.XXXXXXXXXX.spo

hidden files are revealed

benwiggy · 04-20-2012, 05:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steveadd


	oops. Just found them on my desktop. I remember now taking them out to see if it would fix the problem. I've put them back in.

Some of those are from /System/Library/Spotlight, and some from /Library/Spotlight.

In /Library/Spotlight, I have:
iMovie.mdimporter
iWeb.mdimporter
iWork.mdimporter
LogicPro.mdimporter
Microsoft Entourage.mdimporter
Microsoft Office.mdimporter

The rest in /System/Library/Spotlight. (I don't have the Garageband one - may have deleted it, but think it was in /Library.)

If you removed those files from /System/Library/Spotlight, then make sure they have the correct ownership and permissions when you put them back.

Bear in mind that stuff inside /System is all Apple's and is part of the OS installation, so is unlikely to be the cause of any problem that starts suddenly.

steveadd · 04-23-2012, 08:48 PM

I've done all the above. No change. I'm repairing disk permissions via Onyx and will rebuild the Spotlight index. Thanks for your help. will report back.

steveadd · 04-24-2012, 12:46 AM

Still no change. Should I reinstall the system?

NaOH · 04-24-2012, 11:50 PM

Rather than jumping into an OS re-install, I would first take an easier step and download and run the latest Combo Updater for whichever version of the OS you're running.

steveadd · 04-26-2012, 01:51 AM

I have downloaded the Combo updater for 10.7 and installed it.

Restarted then rebuilt the Spotlight index via terminal command. Restarted.

No change to the problem with searches. If I have just about anything else selected in the search criteria, folders won't show. Only folders selected and they do.

NaOH · 04-26-2012, 11:13 AM

Could you please provide an example of a search you're entering in the Spotlight menu?

steveadd · 04-26-2012, 09:02 PM

Sure. I just searched for "Current" in Spotlight. I had eleven categories chosen in Spotlight Prefs. In this order: Folders, Applications, Documents, PDFs, Presentations, Messages and Chats, Contacts, Events to dos, Movies, Spreadsheets, Images.

Only contact vcf cards showed up followed by Look up (dictionary) and web searches.

If I do the same in Alfred I get folders and a couple of documents. In Squirrel heaps of folders and docs etc.

NaOH · 04-26-2012, 10:06 PM

Definitely odd. Alfred and Spotlight use the same metadata index, so I'm wondering if there's some connection there. I don't use Alfred but you may want to quit it and any background processes it may include. Quitting it should be straightforward. If it has background processes—I don't know if it does—you'd be able to quit them by launching Activity Monitor from within /Applications/Utilities, setting the pop-up menu to All Processes, then looking for Alfred-related listings to quit.

steveadd · 04-26-2012, 10:24 PM

I'm pretty sure I loaded Alfred and Easyfind after Spotlight stopped working.

Just in case I deleted them both using App Cleaner, restarted and then checked in Activities monitor that they weren't running.

Still no change. this is strange.

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04-19-2012, 11:01 PM	#21
steveadd Prospect Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 26	will do all this and get back to you. thanks so much.

04-19-2012, 11:17 PM	#23
steveadd Prospect Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 26	there is no Spotlight folder in my Library folder in my User. Is that ok? There is an empty Spotlight folder in the Library folder of my HD.

04-19-2012, 11:30 PM	#25
steveadd Prospect Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 26	Yes user/Library/ has no Spotlight folder. Macintosh HD/Library/Spotlight has an empty Spotlight folder

04-19-2012, 11:42 PM	#27
steveadd Prospect Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 26	oops. Just found them on my desktop. I remember now taking them out to see if it would fix the problem. I've put them back in. Here's the list: Application.mdimporter Archives.mdimporter Audio.mdimporter Automator.mdimporter Bookmarks.mdimporter Chat.mdimporter CoreMedia.mdimporter Font.mdimporter GBSpotlightImporter.mdimporter iCal.mdimporter Image.mdimporter iPhoto.mdimporter iPhoto8.mdimporter iWork.mdimporter LogicPro.mdimporter Mail.mdimporter Microsoft Office.mdimporter MIDI.mdimporter PDF.mdimporter PS.mdimporter QuartzComposer.mdimporter RichText.mdimporter SystemPrefs.mdimporter vCard.mdimporter

04-19-2012, 11:50 PM	#28
NaOH Hall of Famer Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,642	The only oddity I see there is the Microsoft Office and the iWork plugins. On my system those show up in Macintosh HD/Library/Spotlight. Seems odd to me that the Logic Pro one is there, too, but that's not based on having ever installed Logic Pro, just that plugins not part of the OS are never installed there. You can move them and test, but I'd be surprised if it makes any difference. If you're wondering about the one other you have that I don't, GBSpotlightImporter is for Garage Band, and I've removed that from my Mac. Assuming that moving the three importers to Macintosh HD/Library/Spotlight doesn't make any difference (definitely tack on a restart after moving them), then I would move on to replacing the preferences files like I described earlier.

04-20-2012, 04:20 AM	#29
steveadd Prospect Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 26	Currently rebuilding the Index. I could not find either of these files to delete: ~/Library/Preferences/.byhost.spotlight.mdquery ~/Library/Preferences/.byhost.spotlight.XXXXXXXXXX.spo

04-20-2012, 05:08 AM	#30
steveadd Prospect Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 26	Done all the above and the problem persists but could not locate these files: ~/Library/Preferences/.byhost.spotlight.mdquery ~/Library/Preferences/.byhost.spotlight.XXXXXXXXXX.spo

04-20-2012, 05:10 AM	#31
steveadd Prospect Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 26	checked and these files are still not there following the rebuild and restart. ~/Library/Preferences/.byhost.spotlight.mdquery ~/Library/Preferences/.byhost.spotlight.XXXXXXXXXX.spo hidden files are revealed

04-23-2012, 08:48 PM	#33
steveadd Prospect Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 26	I've done all the above. No change. I'm repairing disk permissions via Onyx and will rebuild the Spotlight index. Thanks for your help. will report back.

04-24-2012, 12:46 AM	#34
steveadd Prospect Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 26	Still no change. Should I reinstall the system?

04-24-2012, 11:50 PM	#35
NaOH Hall of Famer Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,642	Rather than jumping into an OS re-install, I would first take an easier step and download and run the latest Combo Updater for whichever version of the OS you're running.

04-26-2012, 01:51 AM	#36
steveadd Prospect Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 26	I have downloaded the Combo updater for 10.7 and installed it. Restarted then rebuilt the Spotlight index via terminal command. Restarted. No change to the problem with searches. If I have just about anything else selected in the search criteria, folders won't show. Only folders selected and they do.

04-26-2012, 11:13 AM	#37
NaOH Hall of Famer Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,642	Could you please provide an example of a search you're entering in the Spotlight menu?

04-26-2012, 09:02 PM	#38
steveadd Prospect Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 26	Sure. I just searched for "Current" in Spotlight. I had eleven categories chosen in Spotlight Prefs. In this order: Folders, Applications, Documents, PDFs, Presentations, Messages and Chats, Contacts, Events to dos, Movies, Spreadsheets, Images. Only contact vcf cards showed up followed by Look up (dictionary) and web searches. If I do the same in Alfred I get folders and a couple of documents. In Squirrel heaps of folders and docs etc.

04-26-2012, 10:06 PM	#39
NaOH Hall of Famer Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3,642	Definitely odd. Alfred and Spotlight use the same metadata index, so I'm wondering if there's some connection there. I don't use Alfred but you may want to quit it and any background processes it may include. Quitting it should be straightforward. If it has background processes—I don't know if it does—you'd be able to quit them by launching Activity Monitor from within /Applications/Utilities, setting the pop-up menu to All Processes, then looking for Alfred-related listings to quit.

04-26-2012, 10:24 PM	#40
steveadd Prospect Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 26	I'm pretty sure I loaded Alfred and Easyfind after Spotlight stopped working. Just in case I deleted them both using App Cleaner, restarted and then checked in Activities monitor that they weren't running. Still no change. this is strange.