Search can't find files that i know are there

I have files that I can see in the finder, yet when I search for them using the search input in a finder window, I don't see any results. It doesn't matter if I restrict the search to a directory above the files, or to just files, they just don't show up.
Is there any way I can get OS X to redo it's index of files?

Try reindexing Spotlight > http://www.ehow.com/how_5341910_reindex-spotlight-find-files.html

Similar Messages

HT204266 I can't find apps that I know are available what am I doing wrong? I have typed it correctly

I can't find apps that I know are on the market what am I doing wrong?

What specific apps are you looking for?
Not all apps are available for all operating systems, and
apps that are available in some countries may not be
available in other countries.

Spotlight still can't find files that are right in front of me

Sigh. I'm noticing that Spotlight still cant find files correctly. Maybe I'm the stupid one here, but when I do a search on "This Mac" for a "File Name", and the "Kind" is set to "Folders", and I set the word "Wonder" as the search parameter, how come it results in no items, yet I'm LOOKING at a folder called "The Wonder Stuff" in my music library? All the Spotlight file types are checked "on" and nothing is being excluded or is set to private.
God, I long for the System 9 find. I really do. Almost every day.

Hi,
When you say "Spotlight," are you using the text-input box that displays when you click the magnifying glass at the upper right-corner of the menubar? Or are you pressing command-F in the Finder and using a Finder window?
When I type "Aimee" in the Spotlight text input box mentioned above, it returns/finds the "Aimee Mann" folder that is in my Music folder.
Have you checked out EasyFind? It might meet your needs.
Hope this helps!

Can't open songs because it can't find files that are where they should be

For about 90% of my Itunes library, when I try to play a song it says it can't be opened because the file can't be found. I can find the file and it's exactly where it should be and once I find it, it plays fine. These are not new songs, but one's I've had in the library a long time. It's pointing correctly to the Itunes music folder, but only seems to be able to find stuff that I fairly recently added. Can anyone help?

It is likely that something has been moved. iTunes does not do folder watching so if anything moves or is renamed iTunes will not find it.
If you open iTunes Music Library.xml with WordPad, you can see where iTunes thinks your music files are located.
Look for Lines starting <Location>, note the the space character is represented by %20 in the path.
You can look for specific files with Find.
This may help you to workout what has gone wrong. Whether or not this leads to an easy solution is less certain. If the files are not where iTunes thinks they should be, and moving them so that the path is correct is one possibility if it can easily be done. The other is to use Find and replace to correct the paths if there is an easy edit that can be done. Then recreate the library from the xml file as in this article.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451
The third possibility that is easy and certain to work is to start with a new library. But this loses all counts ratings and playlists.
Close iTunes, drag iTunes Library.itl and iTunes Music library.xml out of the iTunes folder to the desktop.
Open iTunes and an empty library is created. Use File>>Add folder to library... to add you iTunes Music folder.

Thumbnails wont display pages in a chapter that I know are there and have pasted in

Hello everyone.
I am an author and have previously published two books in the iBookstore using iBooks Author. The third one that I'm attempting to lay out is giving me major problems for some reason. I have a MacBook Air 13 inch Mid 2013 Processor 1.3 GHz Intel Core i5 running Mac OSX 10.9.5 and the latest iBooks Author 2.1.3. My screen window is as large as it can go on my screen, and everything seems to work fine when I select a chapter layout and just drop the text in, but then when I go back and start modifying some of the page layouts by changing say, from a two column text only page to a one column text and half page image, or any of the other options, it works okay for the first couple of times but then I see that the last couple of pages of text in that chapter have been 'pushed' off the end of both the thumbnail pane on the left hand side of the screen, and in the main window itself. I can't get to them because the scroll bars in both the main window and the thumbnail pane are at the ends of their travel and won't let me see any more of the pages that I know must be there, and were there before I started putting images in... I took a screengrab and on the very right hand side of the main window you can just see a portion of the next text page, but I can't scroll on to it or access it in any way, which has brought everything to a grinding halt. Is there a page limit within each chapter that I don't know about? (I currently have about ten pages in this chapter, but that might go up to about 13 if I was able to drop some more images in.) The images are all jpegs, maximum size of around 13 MB, average around 8MB. I noticed that the 'Media' file took a very long while to load images into from IPhoto, and I don't know whether that indicates a problem between iPhoto and iBooks Author or not? I still have my two original iBooks stored in the iBooks Author memory, and wonder if I have somehow exceeded an overall memory size in the app or not? Or is it something much more basic that I'm doing wrong? I've quit the programme several times and rebooted, to no effect. Any ideas or help would be appreciated please. PS I'm not a tech head, so terminal-speak doesn't mean anything to me by the way...!
Message was edited by: ireuy
Hold everything guys! I think I've solved the problem – by manually adding on extra text pages at the end of the thumbnail pane, it kind of 'catches up' with the rest of the text. I was expecting this to happen automatically, like when you paste in text the first time around, but clearly this doesn't happen and you've got to do it yourself... Note to Apple: a 'flow-on' updating feature for page layout changes would be good to incorporate next time around please.

10 marks for recognising the Latin (sort of) that is the placeholder text in your template.
You are using a Word Processing template. WP templates have content flowing from page to page. As one page fills up, a new one is created. If some of that text is deleted or displaced the pages retract.
When you combine text, invisibles like word spaces, returns, tabs, page breaks etc with objects that have text wrap set, the mix can behave in an apparent odd fashion.
Start with showing where everything is:
Menu > View > Show Layout/Invisibles
Start with getting rid of any excess returns you may have used to "position" things. Next cut and paste objects like textboxes, shapes, charts and tables "Inline" ie in as part of the text. If necessary also turn off text wrap on objects or minimise it so that doesn't push text completely out of the way.
Insert Section breaks in the Text where you want fixed breaks in the layout these will provide separation between layout on different pages.
Basically you need to clean up your layout or think about doing it another way.
If there is a lot of layout, you will need to learn Pages methods for doing this in a WP template or do it in a Layout template where each page is individual and all objects are floating with no default text area.
Peter

Have two albums in iTunes that say can't find file location but they are on iPod nano and will play on nano but not in iTunes

I'm trying to play two albums using iTunes but they say the files can't be located and won't play. The albums are on my iPod Nano 3rd Gen. and will play there. Syncing my iPod and computer doesn't resolve the problem. How do I get the albums from the nano to the computer?

Hello, FayAnnR.
Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
Here is an article that I would recommend going through when iTunes indicates that a file can not be located.
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1408
If the media was purchased from iTunes, I would recommend deleting the missing media and either transfer purchased from your iPod or download them again via the third article below.
How to delete content you've downloaded from the iTunes Store
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5772
iTunes Store: Transfer purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1848
Download past purchases
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2519
Cheers,
Jason H.

Where can I find files that I have dowloaded from the internet

I have tried many times to open pdf or other type of files in attachments to email and from the internet. However I am never able to actually find (much less open) these files. Can anyone tell me where they are stored and how to access them? I will not be able to connect to my computer so I am wonderig if this can be done via Pre? Thanks for any help you can provide. Also wherever these are stored cwill they effect my available memory?
Post relates to: Pre p100eww (Sprint)

Launch iTunes. From the iTunes menu bar click Store > View My Account then click Purchase History.

Mac won't see some files/folders on external hard drive that i know are there, pc sees them fine..

I have a external drive full of music, my mac won't see all of it , its like some files are hidden... I have formatted the drive to exFAT and copied folders I knew were missing and they won't read that way either... I have as well renamed the folder to something different, but the Mac still will not see them, but my PC sees them fine... anyone??

Same problem here!!!

7.6 can only find files in the itunes folder - My Music files are all lost

Since upgrading to itunes 7.6 all my old files that were located in My Music are no longer found by itunes. However all files in My Music/itunes are found.
I have not changed the file names, what has happened?
As I have loads of files in the old My Music folder it is a problem to redirect every file individually.
I do have a backup of the computer but what do I restore as all the music files are where they have always been?

Again many thanks. I have tried to tidy up the folders as per your idiot guide- which term is appropriate for me
Under iTunes Media though I do not have folders for Books,iPod Games, Mobile Applications, Movies, TV Shows so I only have Auto Add to iTunes, Music, Downloads and Podcasts - My question here is is this OK.
Next - Library files that you mention are there but do not end .itdb
Next - in the main iTunes folder followingon from Artwork and Media folders there is some other iTunes database stuff like Library Extras, Library Genius, Library and Music Library(xml) all dated 10/02/12 plus MimiPlayer .dll dated 21/02/14 and Set Up Short Cut dated22/03/14
AND there is also a Programme Files folder with a sub folder holding file folders called CD Configuration,iTunes Resources, iTunes Help Resources, iTunes Mini Player Resources and Mozilla Plugins all dated 24/03/14 ( when I downloaded the new iTunes) and then a lot of application extension stuff from 2011
To recap I unistalled the old 32 bit iTunes and installed the new 11.1.5 (64 bit) version over the weekend SO is any of the old stuff listed above required.
Outcome right now is that as previously I can only call up the Downloaded music not Podcats or CD copies.
Regards
David Pugh

Fails to find files that exist, fails to search everywhere

Running OSX 10.4.3 on a Powerbook G4 1.5gHz and on a PowerMac G4/867.
I hope it is because I am doing something wrong, but so far I am very unimpressed with Spotlight, for the following reasons:
•It fails to find files that are known to exist. For example, I have an application named MacTracker. It is in my Applications folder. When I enter
tracker
in the search field,
(with location set as wide as "computer" or as narrow as "Applications", with or without a "name contains" restriction) Spotlight will not show MacTracker as existing, even though I can see it with my own eyes, in the Applications folder window in the background. Only if I search on
Mactracker
will Spotlight see the application. This seems ridiculous to me. Any search, especially a "name contains" search, ought to show MacTracker if I search on track, tracker, actra, mactrac, etc. But, no. I have to enter "MacTracker" if I want it found.
•I make use of OSX Mail only occasionally. For most of my e-mail, I use a Unix mail handler known as PINE. PINE stores incoming and outgoing mail as plain text files in /users/me/mail . However, Spotlight refuses to include that location in its searches. I have tried using the Spotlight preferences to add
/mail to the list of specific places to search; no luck, Spotlight appears completely blind to anything outside of the locations Apple arbitrarily decided I needed to be able to search in.
Can anyone offer any ideas on how to make Spotlight work for me, instead of against me?
Thanks in advance.
Mac OS X (10.4.3)

same problem here. the only answer i can find is....spotlight buh-lows. does anyone know if we can just revert to ye olden way of searching? simple things like: searching actually find the stuff you're searching for. and: list of items found arrangeable by date/alphabetically (just like any normal window in osx). also, is hitting apple-f essentially just bringing up spotlight in its own window, or does this search function differ at all? sorry to hijack the thread, but we suffer from the same problems. thank you!
pb12 Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Why can't the finder in Mountain Lion 10.8.2 find files that have successfully downloaded, or that other programs can find?

Why can't the finder in Mountain Lion 10.8.2 find files that have successfully downloaded, or that other programs can find?
This happens with maybe 1 out of 5 files. These are files that have either an ."aa" extention, or or are libraries that icloud can see, but finder can't.

Files beginning with a period are invisible and library files are system files. Spotlight cannot find either unless configured to do so (btw, this is not a Finder issue but a Spotlight issue.)
Get Spotlight to search system files (and more)
Enter the search term in the Finder window's search field.
Click the [+] button in the search bar to add a search option.
In the first drop down menu choose Other.
Choose “System Files” from the list that pops up (and check the box to place in drop down menu to avoid this step later,) click on the OK button.
Now back in the Finder choose Include from the second drop down menu.

I have files that say they are missing or offline. I have checked all my folders off of lightroom and they can not be found. I have used the ? mark settings to find and still not found. I can see the images on lightroom so they have to be in my system som

I have files that say they are missing or offline. I have checked all my folders off of lightroom and they can not be found. I have used the ? mark settings to find and still not found. I can see the images on lightroom so they have to be in my system some how. How can I retrieve these images? Is there a re boot for lightroom? Need help ASAP!

You have probably moved the files outside of Lightroom. The images you see in LR are previews that were made before you moved the files.
Do a search for the files/folders using your computers operating system. (Explorer/Finder)
Once you have found them, you can point LR to the right location.

I get itunes can't find file when I tried to play a TV show I had purchased that was supposed to be in the cloud. There are several of these, including an entire season. In the store it shows that I purchased these shows when I checked them.

I get itunes can't find file when I tried to play a TV show I had purchased. I then checked and had this problem with an entire TV season I had purchesed. The shows were supposed to be in the cloud. I went to the itunes store, went to the tv shows and they showed that I had purchesed them. They do not show up when I click on purchesed in the store.

Try this...
Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash
Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps you shouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.
When you get it all working make a backup!
tt2

HT1451 I am trying to restore my playlists that disappeared yesterday. I have followed these instructions but when I get to step 7, I can't find File Library Import playlist. What am I missing?

I am trying to restore my playlists that disappeared yesterday. I have followed the instrutions on the support page but when I get to step 7, I can't find File>Library>Import Playlists. What am I missing?

I suspect the menus have changeed slightly since that document was written...
Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash
Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps you shouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. Note that in iTunes 11 an "empty" library may show your past purchases with links to stream or download them.
In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
Alternatively, depending on exactly when and why the library went missing, there may be a more recent .tmp file in the main iTunes folder that can be copied & renamed as iTunes Library.itl to restore the library to an earlier state. Look for a recent .tmp file that is similar in size to the .itl files in the Previous iTunes Libraries folder. If it has happened repeatedly you may want the earliest such file generated since the last iTunes upgrade.
If applicable, see iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.
When you get it all working make a backup!
Should you be in the unfortunate position where you are no longer able to access your original library, or a backup of it, then see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
I've noticed more of these missing library posts of late and a common factor to most since I started asking is AVG Anti-Virus. It seems in some cases it might be at least part of the reason why the library file disappears. Try excluding the iTunes folder from any AV scanning process.
tt2

How can I find photos that are not assigned to any collection?

Hi !
I'm using LR 5.7.1 on a Mac.
When I've retouched raw pictures with PS CC (and do not need the PSD file any longer) I export the PSD (that is in my catalog) as JPG and let it add to my catalog automatically. After that I delete the PSD file. That works fine.
But .... the new JPG file is not assigned to any collection. That's no problem unless I forget to do it manually after that export (and import).
That brings me to my question.
How can I find photos that are not assigned to any collection?
I tried it with a smart collection after I found nothing suitable in library filter. The search criteria I tried are Source -> Collection with any of the conditions. One with an empty value field, then with just a space and so on.
Has anybody a good hint for me?
Thomas

You can also add numbers if you have collections that don't use alphabet characters.

Search can't find files that i know are there

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for