Can't Search Mac for Folders Located in the Google Drive Folder

Your finder or Spotlight should search again now!

It is well known and has been widely commented the problem that Apple finder has in communicating with Google Drive for desktop (DFD). You would search for anything in DFD using the finder or spotlight and nothing would come up...until now. DFD version 60.0 fixed that, just go to preferences and check the "Enable Spotlight to search streaming files" checkbox, voila! and automatically spotlight starts indexing the DFD. So it wasn’t your finder, it was DFD.

Also note that this solution is for streaming files, not mirror files, which reside on your computer and not in the DFD cloud.

NOTE: My only intention is to help with my modest effort to those who might have the same problem.

I found the solution! Open your Google Drive Preferences and click on the gear icon in the top right corner, on that page is a setting for "Spotlight Integration" check the box to enable it. You'll have to restart your Google Drive and it took a minute or two for the search to start working but it did. This fixed the problem for me.

Yes - I found the same solution and it worked for me as well. You have to click the Google Drive icon, then click the settings gear, then select preferences, then select another settings gear in the upper right (once the preferences screen is open), then under spotlight integration you need to check the box that says "enable spotlight to search streaming files".

Did you drag and drop the Google Drive folder into the System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy panel and then [ - ] remove it so Spotlight would index it (if it can at all)? Google may be at fault too.

I found a solution. The reason why we are not able to search is that "streaming" is now the default option and spotlight cannot screen streaming files unless we tick the option on Google drive preferences. To do it, you have to click on the dropbox icon on the top you will see the settings wheel, over it and click "preferences" now you see another setting wheels again click on it.

You will see a list of options and one that says: "Enable Spotlight to search streaming files"

Never noticed this before (maybe it's newish?) but the Google Drive app does have its own search functionality. Click the Gdrive icon in the top menu bar, and then the magnifying glass icon.

Hey, I had the same issue. I enabled "spotlight integration" on google drive (app) preferences > settings

I found an end run. Paid 29 “pounds” for an app called “Alfred”. Google Alfred app mac. Version 4.62 fixes Monterey OS google drive problem . It’s a separate gadget to search your google drive. Spotlight works on your own machine & iCloud.

Stupid solution but I didn’t want to waste a day de-installing Monterey. Going forward, I won’t install new MacOS until it has a couple years of fixes.

yup. Same here.

I have solved it by using the GoogleDrive folder which is located in the Network / local host folder (green box) and NOT using the folder that Google creates (red box). Its slower than a regular search in Finder but it works

It's an incompatibility between Mac OS and Google Drive, and neither Apple or Google seem to care. You can use Google Drive's built-in search instead of the finder. Not an ideal solution but it sorta works.

On another thread, the user found out that Goolag recently changed from mirroring to syncing everything. To index nonexistent files, Goolag would have to provide a method to make the metadata from the online files available to Spotlight.

Did someone try to reinstall and sync again? For me its still working super fast the search results inside google drive folders.

If everyone on this thread sends a report to Google, maybe there's a chance of a fix happening.

From your menu bar, click the Google Drive Icon, then the gear icon, then send feedback.

I am simply baffled by how this has happened. Moving from Back Up & Sync, which worked perfectly for me and really did not changing, I even didn't notice that the folder I was putting everything in as an important back up, did NOT sync. When I installed the new Google Drive software, it didn't remove or merge the old files in Back Up & Sync. I have been going for months without back ups now.

I also have the spotlight and regular search in the finder problem. How? How can this be an issue that has not been resolved over the past months? Especially since Google forced everyone to move to this.

I have provided feedback like suggested in this thread. There is also a Google thread on this, please everyone, fill in both for this unbelievable error!

This does not work for me. I don't see any movement on the part of Apple or Google.

I will try Alfred.

Then de-install Monterey and return to previous MacOS that worked.