Installed Applications not seen as installed by App Store - Rename needed to update

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Level 1

14 points

Installed Applications not seen as installed by App Store - Rename needed to update

Hello,

Installed applications in my Application folder all run as normal. They are listed and accessible. However, while the App Store marks them as "purchased", it is also indicating that they are not installed, by showing the cloud/download icon instead of the open button. Upon clicking the cloud icon, App Store tells me the application is already installed and needs to be removed or renamed. This is the case for all apps on my system. Needless to say that fixing this manually is a tedious job.

My question originates from Spotlight not finding mails in the Outlook app. Trying to solve that, I have used all tricks I know: rebuild profile, repair Outlook database, re-index system (via Terminal commands, MacPilot, Alfred), clean cache, rebuild metadata, check permissions, check privileges, disk first aid, etc.

Both Alfred and Spotlight will only show Apple's own apps. I assume this is related. I assume it is a Spotlight related issue. Not finding the apps and showing up as uninstalled occurred after the upgrade to Catalina.

System is running Catalina v10.15 (with update/fix), MacBook Pro 15" Retina.

MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on Oct 17, 2019 2:16 AM

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Answer 1

rose_10

Community Specialist

Oct 23, 2019 6:46 AM in response to dansmans

Hello dansmans,

Thanks for posting your question. As I understand it, you're seeing some unexpected behavior in the App Store.

As a start, try clicking the Store menu in the App Store and Sign Out, and then sign back in. Does the behavior persist?

Have you ever used a second Apple ID on this Mac, particularly to purchase/download these apps?

You've done some good troubleshooting so far. To narrow things down further, try booting your Mac into safe mode. This runs a diagnostic/repair, and then helps to rule out certain software causes by preventing some items from loading: Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac. Once you test, click Apple menu () > Restart to get back to normal.

Then, set up a temporary administrator account using these steps: How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac. You'll want to log in to the test user account, sign in with your Apple ID, install an app, and check to see if the same behavior occurs after. This will tell you if the issue is user-specific or system-wide.

Take care.

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Answer 2

dansmans Author

Level 1

14 points

Oct 23, 2019 12:10 PM in response to rose_10

Hello sarah_s1,

Thanks for the reply.

I did sign out and in again. That did not change the situation. The system is only used by myself and only one ID is used. I also ran in safe mode and did a verify/repair action. And I created new users (both standard and admin) to test. I have already established that it is a system-wide problem. What seemed to be an Outlook/Spotlight only problem in Mojave, turned to a full system issue in Catalina. I am comparing actions on a High Sierra system that is largely the same set-up.

Last week, I was contacted by a support engineer, with which I discussed some other weird instances that seem connected with this problem. We established that the non-Apple, third party apps are all missing metadata. My assumption is that the recent change with a separate system and a separate data portion to increase system stability and security has also broken some links/prefs/paths.

Re. Spotlight: We also established that only the iCloud-active apps (Reminders, Notes, Mail, Safari) seem to give back search results in Spotlight. None of the 3rd party apps seem to be indexed (not the apps, nor their content) and none of the non-iCloud apps (read: those that are not set to stream/save/backup to iCloud), such as Music, Photos and Books are indexed. In connection with the App Store not recognizing apps, this issue is probably connected.

The weird thing is that the App Store somehow does recognize that an app is present, but persists in saying it isn't installed. And today, I noticed that the App Store indicates it ran an update on an app, while still indicating the app is not installed. Somewhere between my system and my account is a problem that needs to be solved. Probably there is a database/preference mismatch. Maybe such database/preference is now stored in a secure area, while it should be addressable from the user area. But now I am just guessing...

Upon clicking the download/install button, it again says to rename or remove the app. It will then allow me to update the app, after which I can click the "open" button. Then, after I rename it back to its original name, the Open button does nothing. It seems as if it then loses its connection.

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Installed Applications not seen as installed by App Store - Rename needed to update

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