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Alanna Levine

Q: search function in mail stopped working

I have a MacBookAir and use Yosemite 10.11.3.  When I type a name or a subject in the mail search area, there are no choices in a drop down menu like there used to be and it always says 0 results.

MacBook Air (11-inch Mid 2011), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Mar 25, 2016 6:28 AM

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Q: search function in mail stopped working

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  • by Alanna Levine,

    Alanna Levine Alanna Levine Mar 25, 2016 6:37 AM in response to Alanna Levine
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 25, 2016 6:37 AM in response to Alanna Levine

    I meant El Capitan not Yosemite-sorry!

  • by Glenn Leblanc,

    Glenn Leblanc Glenn Leblanc Mar 25, 2016 6:56 AM in response to Alanna Levine
    Level 6 (11,016 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 25, 2016 6:56 AM in response to Alanna Levine

    Check Spotlight and see if the messages will show up there. If Spotlight is not working, try rebuilding the spotlight index. You can do this by opening Spotlight preferences in System Preferences and adding the startup volume to the privacy tab, then removing it. This will cause your spotlight to reindex. Or, you can follow steps here under step 2:

    http://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-fix-five-known-issues-affecting-os-x- el-capitan/

     

    If that doesn't work, try re indexing Mail by following step 2 here:

    http://www.computerworld.com/article/2476217/mac-os-x/mac-os-x-how-to-fix-apple- mail-by-rebuilding-and-reindexing-the-mailbox.html

    Note: In El Capitan, the correct path will be in the V3 folder ( ~/Library/Mail/V3/MailData ), not V2 as it was in Mavericks.

  • by Alanna Levine,

    Alanna Levine Alanna Levine Mar 25, 2016 7:12 AM in response to Glenn Leblanc
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 25, 2016 7:12 AM in response to Glenn Leblanc

    I did the first thing you suggested and it didn't help.  I can try to do the second suggestion.  I notice that when I start to type in the search box, there is a faint grey line crossing out the "search all mailboxes" across the top left of the page.  Does that mean anything?

  • by Glenn Leblanc,

    Glenn Leblanc Glenn Leblanc Mar 25, 2016 8:08 AM in response to Alanna Levine
    Level 6 (11,016 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 25, 2016 8:08 AM in response to Alanna Levine

    Never saw that before. You can try selecting specific mailboxes and see if it makes a difference. Try reindexing and see. It won't hurt anything, but don't delete any files before testing in case something goes wrong.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 25, 2016 1:22 PM in response to Alanna Levine
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Mar 25, 2016 1:22 PM in response to Alanna Levine

    Is Spotlight working?

  • by Alanna Levine,

    Alanna Levine Alanna Levine Mar 25, 2016 1:36 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 25, 2016 1:36 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Spotlight works, but in the search bubble in mail I can see a faint grey line over the magnifying glass and then it appears over all of the mailbox names across the top of the mail window including all mailboxes.  It's very strange...

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 25, 2016 2:17 PM in response to Alanna Levine
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Mar 25, 2016 2:17 PM in response to Alanna Levine

    Please post a screenshot that shows what you mean. Be careful not to include any private information.

    Start a reply to this message. Drag the image file into the editing window to upload it. You can also include text in the reply.

  • by Alanna Levine,

    Alanna Levine Alanna Levine Mar 25, 2016 2:35 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 25, 2016 2:35 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Screen Shot 2016-03-25 at 5.32.59 PM.pngScreen Shot 2016-03-25 at 5.33.53 PM.png

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 25, 2016 3:50 PM in response to Alanna Levine
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Mar 25, 2016 3:50 PM in response to Alanna Levine

    Do you also see that artifact in other applications that have a search feature, such as Calendar and Contacts?

  • by Alanna Levine,

    Alanna Levine Alanna Levine Mar 25, 2016 3:53 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 25, 2016 3:53 PM in response to Linc Davis

    It seems that calendar is affected too, but contacts is working properly.

  • by Linc Davis,Solvedanswer

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 25, 2016 4:38 PM in response to Alanna Levine
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Mar 25, 2016 4:38 PM in response to Alanna Levine

    Please read this whole message before doing anything.

    This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

    Step 1

    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

    Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

    While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

    Test while logged in as Guest by launching Calendar. Same artifact?

    After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

    *Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

    Step 2

    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

    Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.

    Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem.

    Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

    Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.

    The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

    Test while in safe mode. Searching won't work, so you can't test that. Same artifact?

    After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

  • by Alanna Levine,

    Alanna Levine Alanna Levine Mar 25, 2016 4:40 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 25, 2016 4:40 PM in response to Linc Davis

    So, it turned out I was in safe boot mode all day (and didn't realize it).  Once I restarted it in regular mode, the search functions were enabled again.  Of note, I have a guest account already set up, and it was affected as well on step 1.

    Many thanks for your help. Much appreciated!