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Displays preference pane no longer searchable


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I did a clean install of Mavericks last week and up until today everything was going smoothly, but now it seems that Alfred is unable to search for the Displays preference pane. All other preference panes are searchable, but typing 'displays' does not cause the Displays preference pane to be returned in the search results. I've tried reloading Alfred's cache, restarting my computer, and removing and re-adding the PreferencePanes folder from Alfred's search scope. Any help would be appreciated :-)

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I did a clean install of Mavericks last week and up until today everything was going smoothly, but now it seems that Alfred is unable to search for the Displays preference pane. All other preference panes are searchable, but typing 'displays' does not cause the Displays preference pane to be returned in the search results. I've tried reloading Alfred's cache, restarting my computer, and removing and re-adding the PreferencePanes folder from Alfred's search scope. Any help would be appreciated :-)

 

Have you tried reindexing? Or instead of removing/readding the folder to Alfred's search scope, try adding then removing it from Spotlights Privacy section. This should trigger a reindex of that folder.

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Or instead of removing/readding the folder to Alfred's search scope, try adding then removing it from Spotlights Privacy section.

 

Just gave that a go. No luck. After adding and removing things are back as they were before.

 

EDIT: As a side note, the Displays preference pane shows up in Spotlight's search results, just not in Alfred's.

Edited by Subject22
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I am having this same problem — I am using a brand new MBP w/Mavericks, and migrated from an older Mountain Lion Machine. I was able to use Alfred to search for the Display preferences, but then it just stopped. 

I did use SpyderPro4 software to calibrate my monitor, but I am not sure if that coincided with the Display preferences not working. I used the same stuff on my old mac, and all was good.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm having the same problem with mouse preferences, after installing mavericks. It appears when I type "m", but once I type more letters (e.g., "m-o-u"), it disappears 

 

When did you install Mavericks? I ask because if you just did it, you would need to let the initial index complete before search results start coming in predictably. If you didn't install today, there could be something wonky with the current metadata and you may want to reindex and then clear the app cache. These options are available under the Advanced tab in Alfred's preferences

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When did you install Mavericks? I ask because if you just did it, you would need to let the initial index complete before search results start coming in predictably. If you didn't install today, there could be something wonky with the current metadata and you may want to reindex and then clear the app cache. These options are available under the Advanced tab in Alfred's preferences

 

OK, I went through the process and it seems to work now...

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  • 2 weeks later...

A while back I posted a thread asking for help with an issue I have where Alfred spontaneously stops displaying certain preference panes in search results. Given that it's been a month since I authored that and the issue persists I thought it would be appropriate to post a bug report. At the time I wrote that post Alfred was not showing the Displays preference pane, while other preference panes were returned as expected. Alfred currently returns Displays, but not Sound or Desktop & Screensaver. Here is a summary of the troubleshooting steps I have taken:

  • Reloading Alfred's cache
  • Restarting Alfred
  • Restarting my machine
  • Removing and re-adding the PreferencePanes folder to Alfred's search scope
  • Removing and re-adding the PreferencePanes folder to Spotlight's Privacy section
  • Doing a clean install

At all times all preference panes are correctly shown in Spotlight's search results. As implied above, the preference panes which are missing from Alfred's search results vary with no discernible pattern. It may also be useful to know that a friend of mine has the same issue (he is also on Mavericks).

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A while back I posted a thread asking for help with an issue I have where Alfred spontaneously stops displaying certain preference panes in search results. Given that it's been a month since I authored that and the issue persists I thought it would be appropriate to post a bug report. At the time I wrote that post Alfred was not showing the Displays preference pane, while other preference panes were returned as expected. Alfred currently returns Displays, but not Sound or Desktop & Screensaver. Here is a summary of the troubleshooting steps I have taken:

  • Reloading Alfred's cache
  • Restarting Alfred
  • Restarting my machine
  • Removing and re-adding the PreferencePanes folder to Alfred's search scope
  • Removing and re-adding the PreferencePanes folder to Spotlight's Privacy section
  • Doing a clean install

At all times all preference panes are correctly shown in Spotlight's search results. As implied above, the preference panes which are missing from Alfred's search results vary with no discernible pattern. It may also be useful to know that a friend of mine has the same issue (he is also on Mavericks).

 

To accept this as a bug report, I'm going to need a bit more specific details as these are simply files returned by OS X's metadata server and shouldn't be any different to any other files on your system.

 

Could you drag the ones which aren't being found into the tool below:

 

http://cachefly.alfredapp.com/tools/AlfredMetadataTool_v1.0.zip

 

Also, as this is only being experienced by one or two people, are there any other tools you have installed on your Mac which could be interfering... such as system cleaning utilities etc.

 

Cheers,

Andrew

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Inconveniently enough they're all showing at the moment (as I said, it's intermittent), apart from Java, which is weird at the best of times. Nonetheless, here's the output. I'll keep that tool handy and the next time I encounter the issue I'll post again. Thanks!

 

/Library/PreferencePanes/JavaControlPanel.prefPane
 
Internal File Metadata
======================
 
 Display Name: JavaControlPanel.prefPane
    Alt Names: 
    File Type: com.apple.systempreference.prefpane
     Comments: 
     Keywords: 
    Last Used: 2013-10-08 13:26:58 +0000
 
Raw mdls File Metadata
======================
 
kMDItemFSContentChangeDate = 2013-10-08 13:26:58 +0000
kMDItemFSCreationDate      = 2013-10-08 13:26:58 +0000
kMDItemFSCreatorCode       = ""
kMDItemFSFinderFlags       = 0
kMDItemFSHasCustomIcon     = 0
kMDItemFSInvisible         = 0
kMDItemFSIsExtensionHidden = 0
kMDItemFSIsStationery      = 0
kMDItemFSLabel             = 0
kMDItemFSName              = "JavaControlPanel.prefPane"
kMDItemFSNodeCount         = 1
kMDItemFSOwnerGroupID      = 0
kMDItemFSOwnerUserID       = 0
kMDItemFSSize              = 1
kMDItemFSTypeCode          = ""
Edited by Subject22
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Inconveniently enough they're all showing at the moment (as I said, it's intermittent), apart from Java, which is weird at the best of times. Nonetheless, here's the output. I'll keep that tool handy and the next time I encounter the issue I'll post again. Thanks!

 

/Library/PreferencePanes/JavaControlPanel.prefPane
 
Internal File Metadata
======================
 
 Display Name: JavaControlPanel.prefPane
    Alt Names: 
    File Type: com.apple.systempreference.prefpane
     Comments: 
     Keywords: 
    Last Used: 2013-10-08 13:26:58 +0000
 
Raw mdls File Metadata
======================
 
kMDItemFSContentChangeDate = 2013-10-08 13:26:58 +0000
kMDItemFSCreationDate      = 2013-10-08 13:26:58 +0000
kMDItemFSCreatorCode       = ""
kMDItemFSFinderFlags       = 0
kMDItemFSHasCustomIcon     = 0
kMDItemFSInvisible         = 0
kMDItemFSIsExtensionHidden = 0
kMDItemFSIsStationery      = 0
kMDItemFSLabel             = 0
kMDItemFSName              = "JavaControlPanel.prefPane"
kMDItemFSNodeCount         = 1
kMDItemFSOwnerGroupID      = 0
kMDItemFSOwnerUserID       = 0
kMDItemFSSize              = 1
kMDItemFSTypeCode          = ""

 

 

This is actually missing its searchable metadata. If you pop another prefpane one into the Alfred metadata tool, you'll see what the metadata should look like.

 

If you temporarily rename this prefpane and then name it back again, this usually kicks OS X into reindexing an individual file.

 

If the metadata is missing, then OS X won't return this to Alfred as a search result.

 

Cheers,

Andrew

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I tried renaming it/naming it back, but no luck (I reloaded Alfred's cache and checked for it in Spotlight too). Nothing. But still, it's strange that different panes are searchable at different times, and it's even weirder that usually (though not in the case of the Java preference pane at the moment) panes that aren't searchable in Alfred show up in Spotlight.

 

EDIT: Perhaps it's worth mentioning that I've noticed that sometimes preference panes (including built in ones) don't have a proper icon displayed with them in Alfred, instead they show the default preference pane icon (the light switch).

Edited by Subject22
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I tried renaming it/naming it back, but no luck (I reloaded Alfred's cache and checked for it in Spotlight too). Nothing. But still, it's strange that different panes are searchable at different times, and it's even weirder that usually (though not in the case of the Java preference pane at the moment) panes that aren't searchable in Alfred show up in Spotlight.

 

EDIT: Perhaps it's worth mentioning that I've noticed that sometimes preference panes (including built in ones) don't have a proper icon displayed with them in Alfred, instead they show the default preference pane icon (the light switch).

 

Spotlight may do caching for preference panes, but there is definitely something funny going on outside of Alfred's control. I still haven't seen this happen, and it hasn't been reported outside of this thread... it's definitely metadata related though, so outside of Alfred's control. If I see this becoming a wider spread problem (or if there is a bug in OS X which Apple don't fix), then I'll add a ticket to manually include these in Alfred's results.

 

Also, when you see one not showing an icon in Alfred, take a look at that particular one in Finder as it likely won't see the icon either.

 

Cheers,

Andrew

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Spotlight may do caching for preference panes, but there is definitely something funny going on outside of Alfred's control. I still haven't seen this happen, and it hasn't been reported outside of this thread... it's definitely metadata related though, so outside of Alfred's control. If I see this becoming a wider spread problem (or if there is a bug in OS X which Apple don't fix), then I'll add a ticket to manually include these in Alfred's results.

 

OK, thanks!

 

Also, when you see one not showing an icon in Alfred, take a look at that particular one in Finder as it likely won't see the icon either.

I've done that in the past and found that the icon often is visible in Finder. I'll document it the next time I encounter it.

 

Thanks again for your input :-)

Edited by Subject22
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I've done that in the past and found that the icon often is visible in Finder. I'll document it the next time I encounter it.

 

The Notifications preference pane icon is visible in Finder and Spotlight, but not in Alfred.

 

Screen%20Shot%202013-12-10%20at%201.02.5

 

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Notifications.prefPane
 
Internal File Metadata
======================
 
 Display Name: Notifications
    Alt Names: 
    File Type: com.apple.systempreference.prefpane
     Comments: 
     Keywords: 
    Last Used: 2013-12-10 00:03:08 +0000
 
Raw mdls File Metadata
======================
 
com_apple_system_prefs_keywords = "center notification notifications banner banners alert alerts badge badges sounds lock screen dnd do not disturb Notification Center settings"
kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier       = "com.apple.preference.notifications"
kMDItemContentCreationDate      = 2013-09-08 04:39:15 +0000
kMDItemContentModificationDate  = 2013-09-08 04:39:15 +0000
kMDItemContentType              = "com.apple.systempreference.prefpane"
kMDItemContentTypeTree          = (
    "com.apple.systempreference.prefpane",
    "com.apple.package",
    "public.directory",
    "public.item",
    "com.apple.bundle"
)
kMDItemDateAdded                = 2013-10-25 03:01:06 +0000
kMDItemDisplayName              = "Notifications"
kMDItemFSContentChangeDate      = 2013-09-08 04:39:15 +0000
kMDItemFSCreationDate           = 2013-09-08 04:39:15 +0000
kMDItemFSCreatorCode            = ""
kMDItemFSFinderFlags            = 0
kMDItemFSHasCustomIcon          = (null)
kMDItemFSInvisible              = 0
kMDItemFSIsExtensionHidden      = 0
kMDItemFSIsStationery           = (null)
kMDItemFSLabel                  = 0
kMDItemFSName                   = "Notifications.prefPane"
kMDItemFSNodeCount              = 1
kMDItemFSOwnerGroupID           = 0
kMDItemFSOwnerUserID            = 0
kMDItemFSSize                   = 2099531
kMDItemFSTypeCode               = ""
kMDItemKind                     = "Mac OS X Preference Pane"
kMDItemLastUsedDate             = 2013-12-10 00:03:08 +0000
kMDItemLogicalSize              = 2099531
kMDItemPhysicalSize             = 3002368
kMDItemUseCount                 = 25
kMDItemUsedDates                = (
    "2013-11-02 11:00:00 +0000",
    "2013-11-12 11:00:00 +0000",
    "2013-11-21 11:00:00 +0000",
    "2013-11-22 11:00:00 +0000",
    "2013-11-23 11:00:00 +0000",
    "2013-12-08 11:00:00 +0000",
    "2013-12-09 11:00:00 +0000"
)
Edited by Subject22
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The Notifications preference pane icon is visible in Finder and Spotlight, but not in Alfred.

 

Screen%20Shot%202013-12-10%20at%201.02.5

 

/System/Library/PreferencePanes/Notifications.prefPane
 
Internal File Metadata
======================
 
 Display Name: Notifications
    Alt Names: 
    File Type: com.apple.systempreference.prefpane
     Comments: 
     Keywords: 
    Last Used: 2013-12-10 00:03:08 +0000
 
Raw mdls File Metadata
======================
 
com_apple_system_prefs_keywords = "center notification notifications banner banners alert alerts badge badges sounds lock screen dnd do not disturb Notification Center settings"
kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier       = "com.apple.preference.notifications"
kMDItemContentCreationDate      = 2013-09-08 04:39:15 +0000
kMDItemContentModificationDate  = 2013-09-08 04:39:15 +0000
kMDItemContentType              = "com.apple.systempreference.prefpane"
kMDItemContentTypeTree          = (
    "com.apple.systempreference.prefpane",
    "com.apple.package",
    "public.directory",
    "public.item",
    "com.apple.bundle"
)
kMDItemDateAdded                = 2013-10-25 03:01:06 +0000
kMDItemDisplayName              = "Notifications"
kMDItemFSContentChangeDate      = 2013-09-08 04:39:15 +0000
kMDItemFSCreationDate           = 2013-09-08 04:39:15 +0000
kMDItemFSCreatorCode            = ""
kMDItemFSFinderFlags            = 0
kMDItemFSHasCustomIcon          = (null)
kMDItemFSInvisible              = 0
kMDItemFSIsExtensionHidden      = 0
kMDItemFSIsStationery           = (null)
kMDItemFSLabel                  = 0
kMDItemFSName                   = "Notifications.prefPane"
kMDItemFSNodeCount              = 1
kMDItemFSOwnerGroupID           = 0
kMDItemFSOwnerUserID            = 0
kMDItemFSSize                   = 2099531
kMDItemFSTypeCode               = ""
kMDItemKind                     = "Mac OS X Preference Pane"
kMDItemLastUsedDate             = 2013-12-10 00:03:08 +0000
kMDItemLogicalSize              = 2099531
kMDItemPhysicalSize             = 3002368
kMDItemUseCount                 = 25
kMDItemUsedDates                = (
    "2013-11-02 11:00:00 +0000",
    "2013-11-12 11:00:00 +0000",
    "2013-11-21 11:00:00 +0000",
    "2013-11-22 11:00:00 +0000",
    "2013-11-23 11:00:00 +0000",
    "2013-12-08 11:00:00 +0000",
    "2013-12-09 11:00:00 +0000"
)

 

 

I see this too...

 

Use 'Get Info' in Finder for Notifications, and you'll see that e.g. the Mouse preference pane shows just the mouse same as Alfred, and the Notifications preferences pane shows the generic preferences icon, again same as Alfred... so this looks like OS X's Notifications is missing the relevant large size normal icon which is fed to Alfred (and Finder).

 

preferenceicons.png

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  • 2 months later...

I haven't encountered the issue I originally reported here for a good long while now, but another similar one has occurred a few times over the past few months. Occasionally certain applications do not appear in Alfred's search results. For example, Finder. The problem always goes away again after some time has passed (sometimes a few minutes, sometimes a few hours), though things such as reloading Alfred's cache do not seem to have an effect.

 

No%20Finder.png

Here's the output from the Alfred Metadata tool.

/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app

Internal File Metadata
======================

 Display Name: Finder
    Alt Names: Finder.app
    File Type: com.apple.application-bundle
     Comments: 
     Keywords: 
    Last Used: 

Raw mdls File Metadata
======================

kMDItemAlternateNames          = (
    "Finder.app"
)
kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier      = "com.apple.finder"
kMDItemContentCreationDate     = 2013-09-19 06:03:05 +0000
kMDItemContentModificationDate = 2013-12-18 07:26:38 +0000
kMDItemContentType             = "com.apple.application-bundle"
kMDItemContentTypeTree         = (
    "com.apple.application-bundle",
    "com.apple.application",
    "public.executable",
    "com.apple.localizable-name-bundle",
    "com.apple.bundle",
    "public.directory",
    "public.item",
    "com.apple.package"
)
kMDItemDateAdded               = 2013-10-25 02:57:26 +0000
kMDItemDisplayName             = "Finder"
kMDItemExecutableArchitectures = (
    "x86_64",
    i386
)
kMDItemFSContentChangeDate     = 2013-12-18 07:26:38 +0000
kMDItemFSCreationDate          = 2013-09-19 06:03:05 +0000
kMDItemFSCreatorCode           = ""
kMDItemFSFinderFlags           = 0
kMDItemFSHasCustomIcon         = (null)
kMDItemFSInvisible             = 0
kMDItemFSIsExtensionHidden     = 1
kMDItemFSIsStationery          = (null)
kMDItemFSLabel                 = 0
kMDItemFSName                  = "Finder.app"
kMDItemFSNodeCount             = 1
kMDItemFSOwnerGroupID          = 0
kMDItemFSOwnerUserID           = 0
kMDItemFSSize                  = 47203974
kMDItemFSTypeCode              = ""
kMDItemKind                    = "Application"
kMDItemLogicalSize             = 47203974
kMDItemPhysicalSize            = 54501376
kMDItemSupportFileType         = (
    MDSystemFile
)

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I haven't encountered the issue I originally reported here for a good long while now, but another similar one has occurred a few times over the past few months. Occasionally certain applications do not appear in Alfred's search results. For example, Finder. The problem always goes away again after some time has passed (sometimes a few minutes, sometimes a few hours), though things such as reloading Alfred's cache do not seem to have an effect.

 

 

Finder is a special case which is auto populated into Alfred's app cache so it shouldn't go missing even if the metadata index is broken. This suggests one of two things...

 

1. There is a permissions issue on your Mac meaning Alfred can't get to Finder or his app cache. Try repairing permissions in Disk Utility.app

 

2. You are possibly using some sort of auto-cleaner type app which keeps clearing caches and files when it shouldn't do, such as Alfred's file cache.

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I'm not using any sort of auto-cleaner, but I did try repairing my permissions. There wasn't anything there that seemed like it would affect Finder or Alfred, but you never know. The only other odd thing that came out of it was this message:

Warning: SUID file “System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAgent” has been modified and will not be repaired.

But again, that doesn't seem relevant to me, but it may tell you something for all I know.

 

Thanks for your help, it's very much appreciated :-)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Intriguingly Alfred now shows the Displays preference pane but not the Sound one. A friend of mine mentioned having similar issues.

 

EDIT: I figured I might as well post a bug report about this, since it's been a while.

 

I'm actually experiencing this behavior now, with the Sound preference pane as well.

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