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Alfred not finding anything at all


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So in the middle of working, Alfred decided to stop being able to find anything. No applications, no files, nothing. Instead, it just thinks I want to search for whatever I typed in on Google (probably just the default behavior). I decided to upgrade to the new version, in case it's just a weird bug and v1 isn't supported any more, but I'm having the same problem in v2.

 

No Applications: http://imgur.com/3yTEukp

 

No Files (using "open"): http://imgur.com/s6Aqko2 (baconeggs.gif is a file on my desktop)

 

Even though "open" seems to be recognized: http://imgur.com/qxhBsKi

 

Preferences/Default Results: http://imgur.com/fzbaAQ7

 

Preferences/File Search: http://imgur.com/HDnuPJt

 

Hopefully this is just a stupid preference problem that I'm missing, or maybe an indexing problem that needs attention? I don't know.

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So in the middle of working, Alfred decided to stop being able to find anything. No applications, no files, nothing. Instead, it just thinks I want to search for whatever I typed in on Google (probably just the default behavior). I decided to upgrade to the new version, in case it's just a weird bug and v1 isn't supported any more, but I'm having the same problem in v2.

 

No Applications: http://imgur.com/3yTEukp

 

No Files (using "open"): http://imgur.com/s6Aqko2 (baconeggs.gif is a file on my desktop)

 

Even though "open" seems to be recognized: http://imgur.com/qxhBsKi

 

Preferences/Default Results: http://imgur.com/fzbaAQ7

 

Preferences/File Search: http://imgur.com/HDnuPJt

 

Hopefully this is just a stupid preference problem that I'm missing, or maybe an indexing problem that needs attention? I don't know.

 

Sounds like your OS X metadata index has borked. First thing I'd suggest is repairing your disk permissions in Disk Utility.app. After this, do a deep reindex using this method:

 

http://skillzdesign.com/blog/clarifies/forcing-spotlight-reindexing-using-terminal/

 

Let me know how you get on :)

 

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[moving to help sub-forum]

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Sounds like your OS X metadata index has borked. First thing I'd suggest is repairing your disk permissions in Disk Utility.app. After this, do a deep reindex using this method:

 

http://skillzdesign.com/blog/clarifies/forcing-spotlight-reindexing-using-terminal/

 

Let me know how you get on :)

 

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[moving to help sub-forum]

 

Yep, it was the index. However I ran into a bit of a problem mdutil to reindex - my experience was more akin to this: http://stve.cx/2011/08/fix-spotlight-lion/

 

Sounds it might be particular to 10.7, but it's essentially blowing out the spotlight metadata directory, and it automatically rebuilds when you restart. Alfred is now finding files I didn't even know I had.  :D

 

Thanks very much!

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I recently purchased a new MacBook Pro, with Mavericks. I am using brew cask to install most of my applications, and it installs them into ~/Applications.  I added this to my Alfred configuration, and I have reset my index a few times, but Alfred just refuses to index anything in ~/Applications. 

 

I have tried repairing file permissions, re-indexing, deleting application cache, etc...  The only thing I haven't tried is a full uninstall and reinstall.

 

Has anyone else experienced problems with Alfred 2 and Mavericks?

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I recently purchased a new MacBook Pro, with Mavericks. I am using brew cask to install most of my applications, and it installs them into ~/Applications.  I added this to my Alfred configuration, and I have reset my index a few times, but Alfred just refuses to index anything in ~/Applications. 

 

I have tried repairing file permissions, re-indexing, deleting application cache, etc...  The only thing I haven't tried is a full uninstall and reinstall.

 

Has anyone else experienced problems with Alfred 2 and Mavericks?

 

Brew installs the binaries elsewhere and places symlinks in ~/Applications, which wouldn't show up in the default results. Try adding the actual installation path to the Alfred search scope and everything should be fine.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I did repair disk permissions in Disk Utility.app. After this, I did  a deep reindex using this method: http://skillzdesign....using-terminal/

 

Still no luck.  The Search finds it, but not Alfred.   Even stranger, Alfred works fine for one user my Mac, but not for other one.   

It just won't look in Applications or anywhere else.   I can send screen shots showing "notes" in Alfred giving http://notes.app while Search finds Notes (the app).

 

I also in Alfred Preferences  advanced, tried: Clear application cache,  Rebuild OS X Metadata, and clear Knowledge.

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I did repair disk permissions in Disk Utility.app. After this, I did  a deep reindex using this method: http://skillzdesign....using-terminal/

 

Still no luck.  The Search finds it, but not Alfred.   Even stranger, Alfred works fine for one user my Mac, but not for other one.   

It just won't look in Applications or anywhere else.   I can send screen shots showing "notes" in Alfred giving http://notes.app while Search finds Notes (the app).

 

I also in Alfred Preferences  advanced, tried: Clear application cache,  Rebuild OS X Metadata, and clear Knowledge.

 

Could you check that /Applications is listed in Alfred's Features > Default Results > Search Scope?

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A picture would be 1,000 words if I knew how to upload into this system.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=92170CBE1459077A!3712&authkey=!ALpRFM91HhNlsJM&ithint=folder%2c.png

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=92170CBE1459077A!3715&authkey=!AGgHGDZoM3bL-5A&v=3&ithint=photo%2c.jpg

I have I believe all defaults Applications is greyed but has checkmark (I can't uncheck it).  

It also has Contacts, Preferences, Bookmarks, and Folders checked.

 

Search scope shows:

/Applications

/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Applications

/Developer/Applications

/Library/PreferencePanes

/System/Library/CoreServices/Applications

/System/Library/PreferencesPanes

~/Library/Caches/Metadata

~/Library/Mobile Documents

~/Library/PreferencesPanes

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A picture would be 1,000 words if I knew how to upload into this system.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=92170CBE1459077A!3712&authkey=!ALpRFM91HhNlsJM&ithint=folder%2c.png

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=92170CBE1459077A!3715&authkey=!AGgHGDZoM3bL-5A&v=3&ithint=photo%2c.jpg

I have I believe all defaults Applications is greyed but has checkmark (I can't uncheck it).  

It also has Contacts, Preferences, Bookmarks, and Folders checked.

 

Search scope shows:

/Applications

/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Applications

/Developer/Applications

/Library/PreferencePanes

/System/Library/CoreServices/Applications

/System/Library/PreferencesPanes

~/Library/Caches/Metadata

~/Library/Mobile Documents

~/Library/PreferencesPanes

 

Pop an email to our info@alfredapp com address and I'll take a deeper look - those settings seem correct.

 

I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this for you :)

 

Cheers,

Andrew

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Andrew,

Really digging Alfred but he's not finding files for me.  Applications are good and I'm able to open the file using 'open' but it's not finding it.

For instance, I'm trying to find a file named 'haldouglas' and when I type it into Alfred and, after suggesting a couple contacts, it just gives me the 'search google, search amazon, search wikipedia' options.

But when I type in 'open haldouglas' it shows me the file to open.

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Andrew,

Really digging Alfred but he's not finding files for me.  Applications are good and I'm able to open the file using 'open' but it's not finding it.

For instance, I'm trying to find a file named 'haldouglas' and when I type it into Alfred and, after suggesting a couple contacts, it just gives me the 'search google, search amazon, search wikipedia' options.

But when I type in 'open haldouglas' it shows me the file to open.

 

Alfred is designed to only find a subset of items for the default results (defined in Alfred's Features > Default Results, then you use the 'open' keyword for the file search mode. Alternatively, you can prefix file searches with spacebar, e.g. Show Alfred and type:

 

[spacebar]haldouglas

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