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Level 1

62 points

Favorites are missing from sidebar in Save/Open dialogues (El Capitan)

The Issue

The issue is that the sidebar of all SAVE / OPEN windows is missing the favorites list. Some people also report they are missing in the sidebar of Finder itself, but in my case that was not the issue.

In some cases rebooting seems to temporarily "fix" the issue, only for it to return a little later.

Some people have suggested deleting the Finder preferences plist file ( ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist). But people report this does not fix it, or that it's only fixed temporarily. Deleting this file also kills all favorites from Finder, which means one has to recreate the list.

I find it hard to believe such a serious UI bug has been occurring since 10.11.0, which was released over 1 year ago.

Does anyone have a legitimate solution to this issue?

Further Background Info

This issue seems to be relatively widely reported. There are numerous instances reported here on the Apple Forums, although I have seen not meaningful discussion about the issue and permanent solutions.

It is also relatively widely reported on other websites (blogs, etc.). Various solutions are suggested, but many people report these don't fix it, or only fix it very temporarily.

As far as I can tell, this issue has been occurring for people in all versions of El Capitan, from 10.11.0 through to 10.11.6 (the most current, as of this posting).

A small sample of the instances reported here on Apple Forums:

Links in finder dialog sidebar missing

Favorite folders missing when saving as in every software program

Re: Missing Favorites or Shortcuts in Sidebar

Some references to this issue on other sites:

https://www.reddit.com/r/osx/comments/3z660v/bugmissing_favorites_in_finder_and_ applications/

http://snewsi.com/id/15422981943

http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/208205/file-open-dialog-is-missing-side bar-items

This issue is relatively widely reported online. I've searched through the Bug Reporter and no results were returned, which seems hard to believe.

The Finder instance handles Open/Save dialogues is missing the Favorites.

Often the Sidebar is hidden. It can be restore to view, but then the Favourites are missing. People have been reporting this issue online since 10.11.0

Sometimes in Finder itself this also occurs.

Steps to Reproduce:

Use the Open/Save from within any application.

Side bar is missing all favorites. Only items seen are the DEVICES.

Expected Results:

There should be a list of FAVORITES in the sidebar of all Open/Save windows.

Actual Results:

Sidebar is missing the FAVORITES list.

Version:

10.11.6 (issue is reported to occur in all El Capitan versions)

Notes:

Report here: http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/208205/file-open-dialog-is-missing-side bar-items

Reported here: https://www.reddit.com/r/osx/comments/3z660v/bugmissing_favorites_in_finder_and_ applications/

Reported here:

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6), 256 SSD, 1TB HDD, 8GB RAM, Matt 17"

Posted on Aug 8, 2016 5:14 PM

Best reply

ArtessaDonnett

Level 1

13 points

Posted on Sep 26, 2017 8:55 PM

I am having the same issue. And regardless of what that person is saying, this is definitely a BUG. There thousands of people in different threads online having the same issue. Here's a thread http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/208205/file-open-dialog-is-missing-side bar-items

View in context

42 replies

Aug 11, 2016 3:25 PM in response to dialabrain

I did the update and things are back to normal. Hopefully, they will stick.

I should have also mentioned that this problem manifested itself as empty recent lists for open commands of most programs. For example, Scriveners recent list seems to come and go with the Favorites problem in the Finder Open/Save dialogue. It is back now, as if it had never gone away.

dialabrain

Level 10

122,609 points

Aug 11, 2016 3:30 PM in response to RVRoadieT

FWIW, the problem has cropped up a few times on here. I don't know if it's because of a bad install or some third-party software is corrupting the install.

At any rate, glad it's working again. If it happens again you can re-run the combo update. I'm not sure there is any easy way to find out which program may be at fault.

InspiredLife Author

Level 1

62 points

Aug 11, 2016 5:56 PM in response to RVRoadieT

Interesting. It's likely just an insignificant consequence, but I also happen to have Scrivener. If there were a few more people with this issue who also have Scrivener, then it'd be worth investigating that. It's a long shot, but would be cool to hear about. So far the issue has not return for me, although other issues persist, and are cropping up. But that's another matter...

[ If anyone else is reading this thread because you also have this issue since upgrading to El Capitan, and you also have Scrivener installed, please comment. ]

mailje

Level 1

4 points

Nov 11, 2016 4:33 AM in response to InspiredLife

I've found that I can drag missing sidebar links into place while in the Save/Open dialog window - have you tried that? I'm not sure they stick but it seems to work.

Nov 16, 2016 5:42 PM in response to InspiredLife

I had this problem, and I found that in finder preferences all my favourites had become unticked. I ticked them and they're back. Let's see if they stay.

JDW1

Level 1

65 points

Apr 16, 2017 2:41 AM in response to InspiredLife

I have the same problem. Favorites show in the Finder but not in open/save dialogs. I am running MacOS Sierra 10.12.4 on a 2015 15" MacBook Pro. It's an infuriating problem!

Jul 4, 2017 2:08 PM in response to rdaniel3383

I am having this problem to but I am not running Scrivener - so not sure if it's related.

JDW1

Level 1

65 points

Sep 26, 2017 9:09 PM in response to at-apples-mercy

It absolutely positively has NOTHING whatsoever to do with Scrivener insofar as I've never had that app on my iMac and yet I still had the problem.

myerzman

Level 1

4 points

Aug 25, 2017 7:14 AM in response to InspiredLife

I still have this issue on Sierra. Tried all the fixes listed here, and some from another thread. Favorites works generally, except during save/open. It's very frustrating.

InspiredLife Author

Level 1

62 points

Sep 26, 2017 8:50 PM in response to dialabrain

"I would try the 10.11.6 combo updater mentioned above first."

Made no difference. But thanks for the suggestion.

JDW1

Level 1

65 points

Sep 26, 2017 9:05 PM in response to InspiredLife

Hurry up an install High Sierra so you can test and let us know if it solves the problem!

😀

Dec 2, 2017 9:49 AM in response to InspiredLife

I was wondering if anybody has used Cocktail to look for corrupt plist files, or DiskWarrior and do a complete disk problem search and rebuild the disk directory.

Favorites are missing from sidebar in Save/Open dialogues (El Capitan)