Recent saved files do not show up in Finder right away. They are on the list of recent files within the various apps (Pages, Excel). Mojave 10.14.3; iMac

Question

Recent saved files do not show up in Finder right away. They are on the list of recent files within the various apps (Pages, Excel). Mojave 10.14.3; iMac

I upgraded to Mojave and used it for a few weeks, no problems.

Last weekend I bought a new SSD, installed Mojave (fresh, not based on upgrades to previous version) and restored files from a backup. Everything is present and visible.

New Problem:

When I save a file in any app (Excel, Pages, Chrome)...

It does not show up in the Finder.
It does not show up as a thumbnail on Desktop.

I can see the file in the Recents of the app, and I can reopen it from there.
I can see the file if I search for it in the Search bar of Finder, and I can reopen it from there.
I can see it in Spotlight, and I can open it from there.
I can see it if I click 'add attachment' in an email.

I reindexed Spotlight yesterday, which did not solve the problem.

Right before I started writing this message I saved something in both of Pages and Excel. It is still not present and fits all of the symptoms above. I know eventually it will show up in Finder as files I saved yesterday did. (Sorry, I can't tell if it shows up after a specific action or just duration).

This is different behavior from what I've seen on other machines.

Help!

iMac with Retina 5K display, macOS 10.14

Posted on Mar 18, 2019 11:15 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 18, 2019 4:21 PM in response to TravelAgentDavid

Okay, what about deleting ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist and then rebooting so a new plist file is created?

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Answer 2

VikingOSX

Level 10

124,190 points

Mar 18, 2019 12:04 PM in response to TravelAgentDavid

Initial saves in Pages default to the Pages folder on iCloud Drive. Because Pages remembers where it last saved a document, subsequent saves will behave similarly until you change the save destination. Seems like they are vanishing.

If the following is the size of your slide-in Pages Save sheet, click the red-circled down-arrow to open the save panel to full size, and increase your save location alternatives (including Desktop).

With Mojave, there is a noticeable lag in the time it takes for a save/export to appear, and this seems most delayed to the Desktop.

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Answer 3

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,852 points

Mar 18, 2019 2:29 PM in response to TravelAgentDavid

Excel does not write the necessary metadata to have the file show in recents. Some Apple apps do not do so, also.

Opening the file from Finder should write the metadata to show it in recents

You can make your own search folder to show recently created items. Just start a Finder search with criteria of Kind is

Document (or whatever you want to see) then sort results by date created or Modified. Save the search folder and add it to the sidebar.

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Answer 4

Mar 18, 2019 4:10 PM in response to TravelAgentDavid

I sometimes notice this lag as well when either creating a brand new file, or even when downloading files to my Downloads folder. It can be a bit frustrating. Has relaunching the Finder not helped? Option right-click the Finder icon in your Dock to see the option to relaunch.

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Answer 5

Mar 18, 2019 12:19 PM in response to VikingOSX

Great suggestion, but ... I believe that would only apply to the Apple products.

This also happens in Excel and Chrome which do not save to iCloud first. :(

I double checked my iCloud folder which does not show the missing documents.

Here's a screen print -- note the 8th item on the left side is not on the right. This screen print should not be possible.

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Answer 6

Mar 18, 2019 2:00 PM in response to VikingOSX

It did not show up when I looked just a minute ago ... several hours after the first posting.

When I did a search, it did show up (just like it did when trying to do File Attach, etc.):

After I clicked back to Desktop, it's now visible.

Taking the screen shot above, I have it set to 'save as file to desktop'.

But the screen shot is exhibiting the same behavior ... you don't see it on the desktop, or in the Finder ... but you do see it when attempting to do a File Attach.

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Answer 7

Mar 18, 2019 4:02 PM in response to Barney-15E

Thanks, but I think that's a solution to a different problem.

The problem I'm trying to solve is why it doesn't show up in plain ol' Finder or as an icon on the desktop.

The point of the Search in my comments is to demonstrate to those attempting to diagnose the problem that the file is, indeed there. It is being saved and it's in the proper location. It's not being deleted or lost. It shows up when you are either explicitly looking for it (Search) or when you are looking at 'recents' within the application.

Also, this is every file -- whether Apple native (such as .Pages), Apple generated but not native (such as .PNG from Screenshot), and non-Apple (such as Excel).

More info:

Disk Utility First Aid did not report any problems -- when being run from a safe-boot (Command R).

Rebooting does temporarily fix the problem (previous files now show up new ones do appear), but that has solved it before too (and it returns).

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Answer 8

Mar 18, 2019 4:16 PM in response to WordWeaver777

That one I haven't tried... but I will when it recurs. I just hate doing that because I shouldn't have to.

More important, I'm about to upgrade 2 other computers to SSDs with fresh drives ... but only if I can diagnose that this is a truly isolated occurrence!

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Answer 9

VikingOSX

Level 10

124,190 points

Mar 18, 2019 1:43 PM in response to TravelAgentDavid

I see what you mean, but cannot explain why Finder won't show that Excel file. I wouldn't expect it, but does it appear in the Finder using icon view?

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Recent saved files do not show up in Finder right away. They are on the list of recent files within the various apps (Pages, Excel). Mojave 10.14.3; iMac

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