Safari bookmarks not found

[shodid]

I'm running v2.0.2(178) on OSX 10.8.2

My Safari bookmarks do not show in my search results seemingly no matter what I do.

 

So far I have tried.

1. Features -> Default -> uncheck bookmarks, recheck bookmarks
2. Features -> Default -> uncheck bookmarks, quit Alfred, recheck bookmarks
3. Advanced -> Clear Application Cache
4. Advanced -> Clear Knowledge
5. Safari export bookmarks, delete all bookmarks, quit Safari, import bookmarks
6. Safari export bookmarks, delete all bookmarks, reboot, import bookmarks
7. Simply adding brand new bookmarks after install of Alfred v2

[Andrew]

I'm running v2.0.2(178) on OSX 10.8.2

My Safari bookmarks do not show in my search results seemingly no matter what I do.

 

So far I have tried.

1. Features -> Default -> uncheck bookmarks, recheck bookmarks
2. Features -> Default -> uncheck bookmarks, quit Alfred, recheck bookmarks
3. Advanced -> Clear Application Cache
4. Advanced -> Clear Knowledge
5. Safari export bookmarks, delete all bookmarks, quit Safari, import bookmarks
6. Safari export bookmarks, delete all bookmarks, reboot, import bookmarks
7. Simply adding brand new bookmarks after install of Alfred v2

 

Has ~/Library/Caches/Metadata/ accidentally been removed from Alfred's Features > Default Results > Search Scope (should be in there by default)?

[shodid]

It has not been removed. I just used the reset search scope button and nothing changed about the list box.

[Andrew]

It has not been removed. I just used the reset search scope button and nothing changed about the list box.

 

Try quitting Safari, then deleting the following folder in your home folder:

 

~/Library/Caches/Metadata/Safari/

 

Then restarting Safari and this folder will be re-created. Around a minute later, this will be indexed again and things should be fine

[shodid]

I deleted the folder and it recreated as directed. I waited a few minutes, I even quit and restarted Alfred and waited a few more. The bookmarks still do not show. I don't know what the colors mean, but I noticed the Metadata folder and the Safari folder had a highlighted background color when I did a listing on them before deleting. Now, the Metadata still has the highlight on it, the Safari folder does not any longer after the re-creation.

[jtmitchum]

I can confirm this issue. I upgraded from v1 to v2 today. No bookmarks in the results. i've followed the above steps with no improvement. There is some claim that exporting and reimporting bookmarks fixes it - but I find that to be a work around to a bug that needs fixin'.  

[Andrew]

I can confirm this issue. I upgraded from v1 to v2 today. No bookmarks in the results. i've followed the above steps with no improvement. There is some claim that exporting and reimporting bookmarks fixes it - but I find that to be a work around to a bug that needs fixin'.  

 

If OS X isn't returning bookmarks to Alfred in a metadata query, there unfortunately isn't anything I can fix in Alfred to address this!

 

Do you have Bookmarks ticked in Alfred's Default results?

[Andrew]

Try installing this workflow which specifically searches for safari bookmarks with keyword 'sb' and history with 'sh'

 

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/6749767/Alfred/Workflows/Search%20Safari.alfredworkflow

[jtmitchum]

If OS X isn't returning bookmarks to Alfred in a metadata query, there unfortunately isn't anything I can fix in Alfred to address this!

 

Do you have Bookmarks ticked in Alfred's Default results?

Andrew, 

 

You are right that the metadata folder is not getting updated. That makes my prior assessment a unfair. 

 

I do have bookmarks checked. 

 

If there isn't a way to get these bookmarks through the settings, it might be worth considering removing a checkbox that isn't really doing anything. 

 

I suppose it seems obvious that this works for some users but not others, but I imagine you'd want a consistent user experience in such an application. 

 

I'll use this workflow. I'd greatly prefer to just have my bookmarks show up as I type them. After all, the point of Alfred is to smooth out workflows and improve efficiency. Granted, we're talking about typing two extra letters to get the desired functionality - but if workflow efficiency is a major selling point of the application - eliminating as much extra steps as possible would seem reasonable. 

 

It's a good app Andrew. I'm only critical because I like it - if your software was junk - I wouldn't waste the time. 

 

Kindly, 

 

JT Mitchum

[Andrew]

Andrew, 

 

If there isn't a way to get these bookmarks through the settings, it might be worth considering removing a checkbox that isn't really doing anything. 

 

If the bookmarks is ticked in Alfred's default results, then bookmarks should show in your default results without this workflow. If there is something wrong with your metadata which is preventing OS X from returning results with the bookmarks ticked, Alfred won't know this as OS X just won't return bookmarks to him even though he is requesting them.

 

Ultimately, if your bookmark metadata is working correctly in OS X, bookmarks will work in Alfred faultlessly.

 

Usually, deleting the Metadata folder mentioned above is enough to kick OS X into re-initialising its Safari metadata to fix it completely, corruption and all, which is why I offer this as the solution to this issue.

[mdmurayama]

I can confirm this issue. I upgraded from v1 to v2 today. No bookmarks in the results. i've followed the above steps with no improvement. There is some claim that exporting and reimporting bookmarks fixes it - but I find that to be a work around to a bug that needs fixin'.  

I am the one who had the previous problem with Safari bookmarks and solved it by saving the bookmarks to a file, deleting the existing bookmarks, then reimporting them.  Previous to this, the bookmarks weren't even showing up in Spotlight.  Now they show up in both Spotlight and Alfred.  I can't explain why this worked but it did.

[funky chicken]

I'm having the same issue. This is a brand new Mac (a week old) that I am building from the ground up - so none of my files should be corrupted or filled with cruft. I am carefully adding one application at a time. I was following along with Don McAllister's screencast and found the Safari bookmarks (stored in iCloud) won't search. They do, however, come up in Spotlight.

[shodid]

So I ended up fixing my problem. Spotlight indexing was disabled. I found this after getting inconsistent search results in Apple mail also.

 

I verified indexing was off then turned it on using mdutil

 

This thread should be turned into an suggestion. On the advanced preferences tab, you do already have a 'Rebuild OS X Metadata' button but it did not help me because indexing was off.

 

Enhancement being that Alfred warns if indexing is turned off.

[jdfwarrior]

So I ended up fixing my problem. Spotlight indexing was disabled. I found this after getting inconsistent search results in Apple mail also.

 

I verified indexing was off then turned it on using mdutil

 

This thread should be turned into an suggestion. On the advanced preferences tab, you do already have a 'Rebuild OS X Metadata' button but it did not help me because indexing was off.

 

Enhancement being that Alfred warns if indexing is turned off.

 

Indexing of the primary OS drive isn't something that should have ever been disabled in the first place. It is on my default. If indexing was turned off completely, then Alfred and Spotlight both should never have returned any search results. The only way it should have been disabled would be if you manually disabled it.