Search not working on Outlook 16.79 on Mac Sonoma

Where can I find "Preferences" in your rebuild recommendation "Rebuild the search index: Sometimes the search index can become corrupted, which can cause issues with search. To rebuild the search index, go to Outlook > Preferences > Search > Indexing > Rebuild***.***"

I have Outlook version 16.8 and subscribe to Microsoft 365. I see "settings" but not "preferences", and "settings" does not contain a spotlight search.

Ok. Got it.

That's another reason why I won't switch to the "New Outlook" for a while.

A wise move. The New Outlook is, if you look at countless threads both here and elsewhere on the net, pretty broken and should never have been released as it is. I've gone back to the legacy. The bottom line is The New Outlook was not ready to be released when it was and little seems to have been done to fix it since.

Thanks to a post by "deepblue666" I solved it.

Original Post URL: Outlook search not works in Monter… | Apple Developer Forums

I am reporting the procedure as it was posted on the Apple Developer Forums below

In my case (Ventura/Outlook 2016) the following fix did solve the issue:

Step 1) sudo mdutil -a -i off

sudo mdutil -a -i on

Step 2) Re-Index your HDD

1. Open System settings and select Siri and Spotlight.
2. Scroll down and click the Spotlight Privacy.
3. Click on Go - Computer.
4. Drag the Macintosh HD to the Privacy tab and wait for some time.
5. From the Privacy window, select the HD and then click the minus (-) button near the bottom left of the window.

Step 3) Enable && Disable "New Outlook" Feature

Step 4) Have fun with the search feature

Seems to be a new "New Outlook" feature :)

By the way, I tried a lot fixes including

mdimport -r "/Applications/Microsoft Outlook.app/Contents/Library/Spotlight/Microsoft Outlook Spotlight Importer.mdimporter" -d1 "/Users/my_user/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles"

no effect :)

I hope this works for you as well let me know.

None of this works. When is this going to be fixed ?

I did option one, no change.
I did option two, no change.
I can't figure how to do option three. On a Mac, I cannot find the path
Outlook > Preferences > Search
When I am in Outlook and go to the ribbon at the top, I do not see Preferences or Search anywhere, not even after checking all the dropdown options. This is where a live chat or a call would save boo coos of time. Please respond.