Finder search on shared volumes: Works on 10.7, not on 10.8

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Finder search on shared volumes: Works on 10.7, not on 10.8

In our office, we have a Mac Mini acting as a local server running OS X 10.8.3 with an external hard drive connected. Each person in our office connects to the Mac Mini through an idividual user account, so that we can control each user's access to the folders on the external hard drive. Some users are on OS X Lion and others are on OS X Mountain Lion.

All of our Lion computers are able to connect to the Mac Mini and do a Finder search for any items in the shared volume. So a filename search for ".doc" on the "Shared" scope returns all Word documents on our Mac Mini server which they have permission to access.

That same feature is not working properly for users connecting through Mountain Lion. When a Mountain Lion user does the same search - filename containing ".doc" - no results are returned initially, however if they toggle the search scope back and forth (like from "Shared" to "This Mac") a few times, eventually some results show up on the Shared search.

But with this issue, we can't be confident that the results listed by any search are complete or not. Our business generates a lot of documents and audio files each day and the search function is a crucial part of our daily workflow.

The Mac Mini server has recently been upgraded from Lion to Mountain Lion 10.8.3, and Mountain Lion users have just upgraded from 10.8.2 to 10.8.3, however the issue is still the same: users connecting with Lion 10.7.5 can search shared volumes properly, but users connecting with Mountain Lion 10.8.3 cannot.

Is there a solution to this that doesn't require a downgrade to Lion?

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on Apr 12, 2013 10:53 AM

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Answer 1

LDavis75

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Apr 23, 2013 10:08 AM in response to Matthew Q

I'm having a similar issue with the Mountain Lion search/find function. I have many files spread over two internal hard drives. The way locate the file I need is by using the search/find function and typing in the file name. Most of the time the search/find function either results in 0 or too many results including every email I sent that contained the key search word. Have you been able to find a solution? Mountain Lion search/find function is either broken or unfriendly.

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Answer 2

Matthew Q Author

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Apr 23, 2013 11:15 AM in response to LDavis75

I've still not found a solution. Have you tried toggling the search scope back and forth, like from This Mac to "Current_Folder"? For some reason, if I repeat that process a few times I eventually see results, although I'm not sure if I'm seeing all of the results that I should. I'd be curious to hear if it works the same way for you.

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Answer 3

Eric Root

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684,057 points

Apr 23, 2013 12:48 PM in response to Matthew Q

It sounds like you are using Spotlight.

Spotlight Alternatives

EasyFind – Spotlight Replacement

Find Any File

Information.

Spotlight – 5 things You Never Knew

Spotlight Basics

Spotlight – Create Good Queries

Spotlight FAQ

Spotlight – Narrow Search Results

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Answer 4

Matthew Q Author

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May 2, 2013 10:22 AM in response to Matthew Q

I've tried EasyFind before, but it's not nearly as fast or convenient for us to use as the built in Spotlight search.

I've noticed something new. If I do a basic Spotlight search in a Finder window on Mountain Lion for something like "Matthew Invoice", I'll see plenty of results on our Shared volumes with both "Matthew" and "Invoice in the filename (after toggling the search scope back and forth a few times), but if I do the same search as a "Name Matches" search, I never see any results on the Shared volumes, no matter how many times I switch the search scope back and forth.

Doing the same filename search for "Matthew Invoice" in Lion returns plenty of results.

It seems clear to me that there is a bug in Mountain Lion's ability to access the spotlight index of shared volumes, so I don't know what else to try, other than downgrading to Lion.

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Answer 5

Eric Root

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May 2, 2013 10:36 AM in response to Matthew Q

Send Apple feedback. They won't answer, but at least will know there is a problem. If enough people send feedback, it may get the problem solved sooner.

Feedback

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Answer 6

Matthew Q Author

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May 2, 2013 11:22 AM in response to Matthew Q

Thanks for the tip, Eric. I've submitted a feedback to Apple. If any other users are having this issue, feel free to use the Feedback link provided in the previous post.

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Answer 7

Eric Root

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May 3, 2013 9:25 AM in response to Matthew Q

You are welcome. I hope someone else can help you solve this.

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Answer 8

rsanjuan

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Jul 29, 2013 7:23 PM in response to Matthew Q

I'm experiencing the same problem at work. I've submitted a feedback to Apple.

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Answer 9

nugroho4

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Jul 29, 2013 11:09 PM in response to rsanjuan

This Terminal command work for me.

Right now my spotlight start indexing my external HD

First check if with this command

mdutil -s -a

if the result is Indexing disabled on your Ext Volumes

write this command

sudo mdutil -a -i on

and enter your password ---

if the terminal said your ext drive is still Indexing and Searching Disable (mine was), go to the spotlight pref/ privacy. And delete the ext HD if there.

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