Unable to open PDFs from Spotlight Search

imliz1 wrote:

I recently updated to macOS Ventura 13.2.1 and also recently updated my Dropbox account, which resulted in a file reindexing. I'm not sure what the source of the bug is, but now, when I search for pdfs in Spotlight, I can locate them but I cannot open them from Spotlight (by clicking the file or pressing return).

I also cannot open file information about the PDF using Cmd + I the way I used to before (I can still do this from Finder directly, but not from Spotlight).

Something is clearly broken because the PDFs do not come up anymore with the Preview icon, just the default Finder icon (see screenshot example). I double checked that Preview is still the default application used to open PDFs in my laptop.

Shutting down and restarting has not helped the issue.

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/f85c796c-fe9d-4293-954c-74dc35d5984c

and how about if you use the search in Finder option(?)

Use the arrow key(s) to highlight your selection, scroll to the bottom>Search in Finder and open it from there...

In an effort to resolve your issue —

I would be tempted to re-index Spotlight using the hard drive method: and compare your results

ref: Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support