Spotlight not working - OS Sonoma 14.6.1

To: AlWeir

Thanks for the link. Haven't tried doing this yet...........but I keep thinking why am I having to constantly keep trouble shooting this **** Sonoma OS when, over the past 30 years using a multitude of Apple operating systems, I remember only one time having to trouble shoot a software problem. Since being plagued by OS Sonoma, it seems like every other week, some idiotic problem arises which requires my time trouble shooting another ridiculous software glitch. I still have a 2015 iMac running Mac OS El Capitan and it continues to run perfectly. All I want to do is just get back to my graphic design work and not have to deal with yet another problem with Sonoma.............

AlWeir wrote:

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support (CA)

To: AlWeir

Follow up 10/15/24: For the present Spotlight search appears to be working correctly. As strange as it seemed to have been, the procedure described in the Apple article Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support (CA) that you referred me to, seems to have corrected the problem (for now, anyway.........I'm never 100% sure until a month or so goes by but right now everything to be A-OK. I still say OS Sonoma is the quirkiest operating system I have ever used. Thanks my friend.

Thanks much Luis..........but could they have hidden this "little tidbit" any better??? (BTW - I found another way to reach this setting-equally as convoluted. Oh what a joy it is when I go back to my old iMac Mid 2017 and work with El Capitan. So simple, so easy.............so "common sense" like.

Hi Al,

Read the article and followed the exact instructions (which frankly make NO sense) The window states: "Prevent Spotlight from searching these locations". Prevent spotlight from searching these locations!!!! No, I don't want to PREVENT - I want to ENABLE to search these locations!!! Regardless how little sense this makes, I followed the instruction and entered a file where I store all my Graphic Art assets - called simply "Graphic Art assets" and then according to [ my ] interpretation of the instructions, I selected the folder that I just entered and pressed the - (minus) button. Makes NO sense to me but neither does anything else in Sonoma. So did this solve the Spotlight search problem? Basically NO. Meaning sometimes it works.............most of the times it doesn't! Maybe I'm the crazy one...........but Apple's instructions make NO sense to me. I do appreciate your valid attempt to help AlWeir but this is, without a doubt, the most goofiest OS I have ever had to use.

Luis Sequeira1 wrote:

I am glad it is working. To clarify a bit, the point of that process is force the creation of a new and correct index. It seems counterintuitive maybe, but by first preventing search there, the old saved (and incorrect) inddx is thrown away. Then we you reenable search (by pressing “-“), a new index is created.

Just a word to say Spotlight problem still persists. At my wits end. Only way to find certain files (images) is to go to Finder and re-type search criteria and even this does not produce results many times. Unless you can offer some other suggestions, I think it's time to call Apple support and try to reach a Senior Advisor.

Okay...........and how, pray tell, does one "get to" this panel that you are showing???

Left side panel-Systems Setting OS Sonoma: