Spotlight and Contacts Not Working

[jabalczar]

On Lion I could CMD - Space (bringing up Spotlight) and type in the first three letters of a contact's name and Spotlight would bring that contact up; hit return and that person's contact card would open.

For some reason Spotlight doesn't show my contacts on ML. Any suggestions? I have 'Contacts' checked on the Spotlight preferences.

Thanks.

 

[spiv0601]

My problem and fis

I upgraded and spotlight wasn't working. Based on this form I selected "system preferences" from the apple menu then "spotlight", then "privacy". My MacHD was in the box below which prevented spotlight from searching any of it. Simple fix and kind of silly. Don't know how it got there.

 

[rpontremoli]

Metadata

I'm having the same issue and it doesn't have anything to do with the privacy tab.
It seems that the Address Book metadata is corrupted. There's has a simple fix explained here:
http://support.alfredapp.com/kb:rebuild-address-book

The problem is that, at least in my case, the metadata corrupts over and over again. I'm afraid this may be an issue for iCloud users on 10.8 But I still cannot find anybody posting a solution to this.

 

[charlieegan3]

I upgraded and spotlight wasn't working. Based on this form I selected "system preferences" from the apple menu then "spotlight", then "privacy". My MacHD was in the box below which prevented spotlight from searching any of it. Simple fix and kind of silly. Don't know how it got there.

This is a good answer, try this and let us know if the contacts are in there.

 

[rpontremoli]

This is a good answer, try this and let us know if the contacts are in there.

At least in my case, I tried this before posting. And no, the privacy box is empty.

 

[Tron1982]

I just wanted to let you know that you aren't alone. Spotlight is not including contacts of any variety in its searches in 10.8 despite its being included in the preferences. As other users have said, it doesn't appear to have anything to do with privacy settings. Wish I could provide further guidance.

 

[esisoon]

I found the solution!

Hi guys,

So I recently upgraded to Mountain Lion and Spotlight wasn't finding any of my Contacts (previously called Address Book).

So I did some searches and found this to have solved the issue from a third-party Spotlight program. This solved my issue, not only for that 3rd party app but also for Spotlight:
http://support.alfredapp.com/kb:rebuild-address-book

Thought it may help.

Thanks!

 

[Oilbert]

Force Spotlight to index HD

At least in my case, I tried this before posting. And no, the privacy box is empty.

Just put the HD in the privacy box and then remove it again - it forces Spotlight to index it. See:http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2409?locale=en_US
I just did it and my spotlight is now indexing away.

 

[tmgarvey]

Thanks, oilbert!!

I couldn't figure out why all of a sudden I was getting only web results. And the Mac HD was not listed in the privacy tab, but following your suggestion has everything copacetic again.

Love these forums!

 

[tkylmane]

Rebuilding Address Book metadata

Thanks rpontremoli, this did it for me, too. Unfortunately the Alfred support page had been deleted, but google cache still remembered the instructions. For future reference, here they are:

It's easy to completely reset the Address Book.app metadata by following these steps:
1. Back up your Address Book: File > Export > Address Book Archive (or Contacts archive in Mountain Lion)
2. Quit Address Book.app or Contacts.app
3. Delete the following folder in your home folder:
~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook/Metadata/

If you use iCloud, delete the following folder in your home folder:
~/Library/Application Support/Address Book/Sources/RANDOMNUMBERS/Metadata/
Then, ensuring you have backed up your contacts, go to the iCloud System Preferences Pane and uncheck the box for Contacts. When shown options, choose Delete from Mac. Once deleted, recheck the box and your Contacts will re-sync.

4. Restart Address Book.app and wait a few moments, this folder will be recreated and repopulated
5. Wait a minute or so for OS X to reindex this folder​

I'm having the same issue and it doesn't have anything to do with the privacy tab.
It seems that the Address Book metadata is corrupted. There's has a simple fix explained here:
http://support.alfredapp.com/kb:rebuild-address-book

The problem is that, at least in my case, the metadata corrupts over and over again. I'm afraid this may be an issue for iCloud users on 10.8 But I still cannot find anybody posting a solution to this.