Spotlight not finding items in Home

I have my home folder encrypted using Security in Sys Preferences. When I use Spotlight to find any item in my Home folder, it does not find. It finds only items that are not in Home folder. In that case I click on Show All option and click on Home in Where options (right bottom). Spotlight then finds the items. How to make this work always ? or is this a bug ? I am using MBP. Had no problem before moving from PB. I am wondering if this got something to do with Universal build ...

Issue the command
<pre>
sudo mdutil -s /
</pre>
and if you see a reply that looks like
<pre>
Status: Indexing Enabled
</pre>
Then it should be working.
You can turn on/off indexing of specific directories under / by editing, with root permission, the file
/.Spotlight/_rules.plist

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Why is spotlight not finding items I know are there?

I am using spotlight to find items on my Mac, on most searches it comes up empty even when I know the subject I am looking for is there.

Check Finder preferences, Advanced, to see that searches are for yoour "Mac" as opposed to "current folder" or "previous search scope".
You need to spell what you are looking for exactly.
Make sure the desired drives are not in the Privacy settings for Spotlight system preferences.
Also try using the Finder's Find (command-F). It also uses spotlight but allows more specific kinds of searches (e.g., search for just a filename as opposed to the normal spotlight search which seaches filenames and file contents).
You might find using a utility like Find any File more convenient and easier to use to qualify searches.

Spotlight not finding items on connected servers

when I connect to a server with various files within folders spotlight will not produce nay find results searching the server

Issue the command
<pre>
sudo mdutil -s /
</pre>
and if you see a reply that looks like
<pre>
Status: Indexing Enabled
</pre>
Then it should be working.
You can turn on/off indexing of specific directories under / by editing, with root permission, the file
/.Spotlight/_rules.plist

Can not find item

Went to upgrade my library. It said I had 429 songs to upgrade for $99.40. Went back a few minutes later and it said I had 429 songs to upgrade for $100.60. Try to upgrade and then received "Can not find item. Try again later" error message. This morning I checked and I have only 3 songs to upgrade. Hmmmm.

I'd wait a few days and see if the tracks then appear as upgradable. With millions of tracks to be upgraded, not all of them will be instantly available and there may be some errors (quite likely, I would say). Plus it's quite likely that the iTunes Store is getting hammered with all the people wanting to upgrade, so there may be intermittent glitches due to the heavy load. If the problem doesn't correct itself in a few days and you're certain that the same album it available as iTunes Plus, contact the iTunes Store Customer Service department using the form at the bottom of the Purchase Issues FAQ web page and explain the problem to them.
Regards.

Why is Spotlight not finding files in Applications Support

Why is Spotlight not finding files in Users/UserName/Library/Applications Support ?
What needs to be configured to do that?
Thanks.

CMD+F, click on Kind, select Other, and enable additional criteria. See http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/stopspotlightindex.html and http://homepage.mac.com/francines/articles/Leopard/leospot.html for starters.

YIKES! "Searching" & Spotlight not finding

OK, I'm scared. I copy the name of a file. I do a Cmd + F and paste the name of the file into the "Search for" field. Nothing. I have only one criteria, "Kind" "Any" I ask to search the directory it's in. No response. I remove and add the directory to the parameters continually. No response.
Spotlight not finding it either.
I try others. Same thing. Spotlight preferences are factory default and include "Music."
I have two files with the string I am looking for, one in a directory on my hard drive, not locked, I read and write to it daily. The other file is on a CD.
I ask to search both places. Spotlight finds the string on the CD but not on my hard drive. I started trying other files in other directories and I'm getting the same thing in the Finder Search. Spotlight not as bad, but still has problems.
This string is "stoddard." The file on the drive is actually located in two different directories and is labeled "1.01_stoddard.mp3" The one that it does find on the CD is "AUGUST 6 STODDARD.mp3"
Help me. This is scaring me. I've got tons of people I am converting to Mac. This is not going to go over well.
I've been looking and I just can't find any options or parameters I should be checking that would affect this. This is pretty simple stuff.
I tried looking for envelope.rtf which is in a completely different directory and Search did not find it though Spotlight did.
-Wm

My results are disturbing. My eMac G4 doesn't seem to have a problem with finding files. My G5 definitely does. And it has a few other funny glitches, like a couple of my Mail filters are wonky. I've set up hundreds of them and there are three that are just plain stuck and send the mail to unexpected places or don't filter at all.
Since the Spotlight glitch is intermittent, I don't think we can set up any benchmarks between us. Because Spotlight might not find envelope.rtf on my system, doesn't mean it won't find the filename on yours.
What you need to do is search for various files on your system and see if Spotlight finds them.
I doubt this is a string recognition problem, it's likely a search program error at the processor level. Probably something to do with the logic that makes the search appear speedy. Likely there's something in that programming that "falls out" when G5 is processing.
Apple is ****-bent on getting the G6 out there pronto. These anomalies may be why.
-Wm
Your results are strange.
If I try using your "1.01_stoddard.mp3" filename I
find the file with the Spotlight menu, the Spotlight
window and a smart folder.
If I delete the file, then search for it again
"1.01_stoddard.mp3" it is, of course not found, then
I create a new file and rename it to
"1.01_stoddard.mp3" Spotlight finds it immediately.
Do you want to try to debug this here in the
discussion?
multi
Mac OS X (10.4.3)
www.DiscoverYourMac.com
iMac G5 iSight 20" 2g RAM Mac OS X (10.4.3) eMac 700, iMac slot, original iMac, PowerMac.
iMac G5 iSight 20" 2g RAM Mac OS X (10.4.3) eMac 700, iMac slot, original iMac, PowerMac.
iMac G5 iSight 20" 2g RAM Mac OS X (10.4.3) eMac 700, iMac slot, original iMac, PowerMac.

Spotlight is suddenly not finding items

Hi there
Sorry if this has been asked on here before. If so just point me in the direction of the thread
Went to search a folder today and spotlight comes back with no results. When I know that about 20 items in the folder contain the elements I am searching for.
I even tried to search for any items that held the letter s and nothing comes back at all. I tried searching the file name, the contents everything but still no results.
So I tried a little experiment I searched the whole imac (inc external drives) turns out Spotlight cannot find anything beyond 03.32 on the 15th of April 2013.
Any help or suggestions appreciated.
OSX 10.8.3.

From the menu bar, select
 ▹ System Preferences ▹ Spotlight ▹ Privacy
The list of items excluded from Spotlight indexing is shown (it may be empty.) Click the plus (“+”) icon to add an item to the list. Select your volume (under DEVICES) and add it to the list. Then remove it from the list by selecting it and clicking the minus (“-“) icon.
Spotlight will rebuild the index. If you try to do a Spotlight search now from the magnifying-glass icon in the top right corner of the display, a pulsing dot will appear in the icon. When the dot disappears, the indexing is complete.

Spotlight not finding metadata of iPhoto '08

I used to be able to type a word in spotlight to find a photo which had that word in the Description of the photo (i.e. metadata). Or I could use the Title of a photo. But recently spotlight has changed and doesn't locate Titles or other metadata. It can find the photo files if I know the filename (eg P1053728.jpg) but that's not particularly useful.
Things I've changed recently: I've updated with every system update very promptly (within a day or so of release); I've also started using Filevault. I can't think of any other significant changes.
I've tried rebuilding the Spotlight index, but no change.
Any ideas?

There is a way to do a one time (or multiple over a 20 day period) writing of keywords, comments and titles to the original files. Follow the first 9 steps of Tutorial #1 and that will get you those items written to the actual original files.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
Note: There now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

Spotlight Not finding files Re indexing does not work

As the title says really, but there is more.
If I am logged in as one of two users, I can't find the file in the spotlight search, not quite...but if I log in as a new user, the file appears within a few characters being typed in the Spotlight of the new User.
The File title is Su Birth Cert.jpg
If I am logged in as that user, I have to type the filename and include the (.) full stop at the end just before the 'jpg' I don't need to type as far as jpg, Just the Full stop (.)
It is a jpg file, stored in a "Documents' sub folder with other ID info.
Images are checked in Spotlight Preferences...but it is an Image..in a Documents Sub folder.
I thought that may have been an issue...so i moved some documents over to the "pictures" home folder. Spotlight continued to find the Document in the Pictures folder.
I Duplicated the Birth Cert image..Spotlight still could not find it
I opened the Image in Preview and exported it as a PDF Spotlight can now find it iinstantly
I have re index multiple times, Re booted, Safe Booted, Recovery booted (where the Menu bar would not work, where the Menu bar wold not work) RESET PRAM
Dragged User Folders HDD to Spotlight Privacy, then deleted it so to Force Re indexing
used the command from other threads tp reset user folder permissions.
Disk Utility does not give the option to Repair Permissions on the User Folders HDD.....yes the user Folders are 'moved' via the Sys prefer /Users/ Advanced options, to a separate HDD.
Any one have any ideas?
Spotlight does just not seem to want to find some files.

Spotlight won’t work

Spotlight not finding folder names

I’m not sure when this happened - perhaps when I changed my home folder to a FileVault image. Now Spotlight will not find any folders. I have, no doubt, selected folders in the pref pane. I tried deleting the Spotlight perf file. This did cause me to have to reconfigure the preferences - I selected folders - still didn’t find any! I have reindexed Spotlight by dragging the drive in and out - no change. I ran all the Cocktail cache deletions, etc. - no effect. I give up!
Has anyone heard of this?

Back up all data before proceeding.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
/.Spotlight-V100
Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select
Services ▹ Open
from the contextual menu. A folder should open with a subfolder selected. Move the subfolder to the Trash. You may be prompted for your administrator login password. Restart the computer. If you try to search now from the magnifying-glass icon in the top right corner of the display, there should be an indication that indexing is in progress.
You can't see the folder in the Trash because it's invisible. The next time you empty the Trash, it should be deleted.

Spotlight not finding metadata keywords

I can get spotlight to find my images with keywords on the MacHD, but not on the external drive. I formatted it with the Disk Utility as MS-DOS so I can also use it with XP. It will bring up the photos filenames. Any idea why it's noting finding the keywords? Thanks

There is a way to do a one time (or multiple over a 20 day period) writing of keywords, comments and titles to the original files. Follow the first 9 steps of Tutorial #1 and that will get you those items written to the actual original files.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
Note: There now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

Spotlight not finding files in time machine

I Have this problem where spolight is not finding the files present on my back-up drive using time machine. The files are there, I can find them manually but when searching for the using spotlight, 0 results show up. Does anyone have any exeprience with this?

The correct search method is to do a Smart Folder search and then enter Time Machine with that as the active window. Of course this searches separately in every backup. You can't, for instance (at least so far as I know), do a global search to tell you which backup a particular file is present in (wouldn't be all that clear what you were finding anyway since similarly named files or folders in different backups might have different contents).
Is this what you were doing?

Spotlight not finding a simple textedit file

Hi, I've looked at spotlight prefs and also gone into a Find window in finder and checked the basics are selected and yet spotlight still fails to find a simple textedit folder within Documents.
I'm baffled
Simon

Hello Simon,
Will it then be replaced automatically after some time?
Yep.
floba
PS: If that doesn't work either, then I have even one more suggestion . "Open the Spotlight preference pane. Click on the Privacy tab, and then drag your hard drive to the list of locations you don’t want Spotlight to search. Wait a few seconds; then select the drive and click on the minus-sign (–) button. By adding the drive to this list, you force Spotlight to erase the index; when you remove it from the list, Spotlight notes that the drive is again available for indexing and starts chugging away at that task." (This tip was suggested at [macworld.com|http://www.macworld.com/article/132755/2008/04/spotlight1.html].)
Message was edited by: floba

Spotlight not finding files

I just recently used ARD to send a Unix command to tar up some files on a bunch of lab computers and stick them into an administrative directory. I'm trying to use Spotlight to pull these files over to my computer, but I can't find them.
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Spotlight not finding text in Powerpoint files

When searching for text in .ppt files, Spotlight seems to find some, but not all text content.
I can't see anything different about the text it is not finding.
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Spotlight not finding items in Home

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