Double click issues

[oobnuker]

Hey. I created an account just to be able to respond. I have exactly the same problem and wanted to share my experiences. Not a solution, though. Unfortunately.

For me it began when I was still using Monterey. I even opened an issue with Apple support back then and got to a point where they logged on to my Mac and I demonstrated the issue. Some time later the lady got back to me and told me it was a known issue and Apple are already working on it. That was in April 2022.

I first noticed it when working with network shares. It really does not matter which protocol is used: SMB, AFP or even another Mac with file sharing activated both pose the same problem. I did some extensive testing back then because this issue was quickly getting annoying. It is not an issue of the type of mouse used. It is (or very much seems to be) a bug in finder. I know this because a restart of finder (option key + keeping finder icon clicked + choosing restart) resolves the issue. Until the next time a folder is renamed.

My test course is this:

1. Copy (Apple + C) a random file. Let's say a random jpeg.
2. Create an empty folder. Let's say "Test".
3. Paste the file into the folder.
4. Rename the folder. Let's say to "Test2".
5. Double click the file. Under Monterey, nothing would happen. The double click would just be ignored. Under Ventura I am getting the message "XYZ could not be found." I am translating this as my Mac is not set to English. The wording of the message may differ slightly.

By performing these steps I can reproduce the problem 100%.

I never even noticed this on my local SSD, presumably because I keep all my files on a NAS and rarely work with local files. Or maybe this problem was introduced to the local file system since Ventura. To which I only updated last week. In a recent forum post in a German forum (from January 2023) the OP there mentioned that this happened to him under Ventura on the local file system (SSD). So I got curious and did some testing. And I can reproduce the problem there as well.

However, compared to network shares I have noticed that the error message doesn't happen when I double click the file between steps 3 and 4. Then, after performing step 4, the file can still be opened. Again, that doesn't help on network shares. The files in the folder can no longer be double clicked after renaming the folder. No matter what.

It is worth mentioning that the files remain accessible all the time. So it is always possible to e.g. drag & drop the files to preview and they will open just fine. Same with copying the files. It is just the double click that is broken.

I too created an account just to respond to this...

I am working with a client that has several Macs of various vintage. Recently, he has noticed that when moving files, he get's the "File not Found" error when trying to open a recently moved file. The files are stored on an OWC Thunderbay on a 2012 Mac Mini Server. The server was originally running Sierra. I upgraded to Mojave - no change. I then upgraded to Catalina - no change and a huge headache when smbd was removed from "Full HD Access" took my a while to figure out, breaking all the shares, but I digress.

Troubleshooting Efforts and observations:

On Monterey Macs, I get the same behavior, double clicking on a file that I have moved (drag and drop), I get no response. No error. Nothing. IF I WAIT ONE MINUTE, I can double click on the file and it opens fine.

On Ventura Mac, drag and drop file, double click it and get the "file not found" error. No amount of waiting seems to help. If I copy and paste the file, I can open it.

I then created a share on a Windows PC to rule out Mac Mini Server and OWC device. SAME behavior. No change. So it appears to definitely be a client side Mac OS problem.

This is a huge problem for my client because he is constantly moving files from one location to another and needs to access them immediately. Copy/Paste/Delete is two additional steps that are magnified by dozens or hundreds of iterations throughout the day.

 

[MacGizmo]

To further confirm this is a macOS Finder problem: The issue doesn't occur while using Forklift (or Path Finder) as a Finder replacement - for me anyway.

 

[Brian33]

On Monterey Macs, I get the same behavior, double clicking on a file that I have moved (drag and drop), I get no response. No error. Nothing. IF I WAIT ONE MINUTE, I can double click on the file and it opens fine.

After reading your post, I was surprised to see the same behavior from my Monterey 12.6.3 client to my High Sierra file server! I agree that it seems like a client-side Finder bug. So many bugs.......

 

[StoneJack]

I've had this issue for a while now but it seems to have suddenly got worse with the latest update - if I rename a folder, the enclosing files, wether they are Indesign, pdfs, whatever won't open via double clicking. I have to either open via Finder and file > open or by dragging the file on to the respective app in the dock. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

trash finder preferences, see if it helps

 

[katbel]

I was having the exact issue that was driving me crazy just after upgrading to Monterey 10 days ago~.
After reading around I found that accessibility settings needs to be like this~

and now I can double click and open any file: just tried to repeat exactly the test course suggested

My test course is this:

1. Copy (Apple + C) a random file. Let's say a random jpeg.
2. Create an empty folder. Let's say "Test".
3. Paste the file into the folder.
4. Rename the folder. Let's say to "Test2".
5. Double click the file. Under Monterey, nothing would happen. The double click would just be ignored. Under Ventura I am getting the message "XYZ could not be found." I am translating this as my Mac is not set to English. The wording of the message may differ slightly.

Double click opens any file -copied and or moved- after changing the name of the folder
I hope it will work for you as well

P.s. iMac 2017 +apple magic mouse 2- old and in need to be recharged often but still working

 

[oobnuker]

I was having the exact issue that was driving me crazy just after upgrading to Monterey 10 days ago~.
After reading around I found that accessibility settings needs to be like this~
View attachment 2166773

and now I can double click and open any file: just tried to repeat exactly the test course suggested




Double click opens any file -copied and or moved- after changing the name of the folder
I hope it will work for you as well

P.s. iMac 2017 +apple magic mouse 2- old and in need to be recharged often but still working

If I right click on the file and choose open it will not open on older Macs and will give same error on Ventura of file not found. So it's not a double click issue. Thanks though.

 

[Long Tran]

I've had this issue for a while now but it seems to have suddenly got worse with the latest update - if I rename a folder, the enclosing files, wether they are Indesign, pdfs, whatever won't open via double clicking. I have to either open via Finder and file > open or by dragging the file on to the respective app in the dock. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

Have you solved your problem yet? I have the same issue. I started to notice it when update from Monterey 12.4 to 12.6.3, and now with Ventura

 

[Smellmet]

Have you solved your problem yet? I have the same issue. I started to notice it when update from Monterey 12.4 to 12.6.3, and now with Ventura

I haven't no, looks like we'll have to wait for an update.

 

[Long Tran]

It seems not all Ventura user have this problem. Is that right?

 

[Peter Kämpf]

Here is another Ventura user with the same problem. However, even moving the file's icon over the app's icon in the dock won't open it. Only the "Open" command from within the app does. When double-clicking I see the animation as if the file would open and the Finder even switches over to the correct app, but the file is not opened. All concerned files are stored locally, and the only common thing is that all concerned apps are Apple apps (Preview, Numbers etc.)

 

[Jayson A]

I was having the exact issue that was driving me crazy just after upgrading to Monterey 10 days ago~.
After reading around I found that accessibility settings needs to be like this~
View attachment 2166773

and now I can double click and open any file: just tried to repeat exactly the test course suggested




Double click opens any file -copied and or moved- after changing the name of the folder
I hope it will work for you as well

P.s. iMac 2017 +apple magic mouse 2- old and in need to be recharged often but still working

This didn't work for me

 

[furtonb]

I've also just created an account here to provide solutions to what I found.
My issue is the same:
1. Double clicking on a file – the designated application opens, but the file doesn't.
2. Right click -> Open / Open With... – the designated application opens, but the file doesn't.
3. Drag&dropping the file to the application icon in the dock – the designated application opens, but the file doesn't.
4. Using the Open dialog within the application – the file opens.
5. Previewing files by hitting "Space" works all the time, with all the files.

This has nothing to do with the System settings -> Double click speed whatsoever, this is a hilarious regression that takes you back to the 2000s where all the files had_to_be_named_without_spaces_and_special_characters.

This regression is supposedly going to be fixed in Ventura 13.4 released sometime in June, around the WWDC.

This is the fix documented on Apple's website:

macOS Ventura 13.4 Release Notes | Apple Developer Documentation

Update your apps to use new features, and test your apps against API changes.

developer.apple.com

• Fixed a regression in macOS Ventura 13.3 where a security check causes bookmark resolution to fail when the path contains Unicode characters stored with composed normalization. As an example, this prevented files in Finder from opening when double-clicked. (107550080)

Once I remove the space/special characters (in my native language we have öüóőúéáűí in many-many words), the file opens.

Before someone comes and says: you shouldn't use these naming conventions! I work as a freelancer and in most cases the client supplies the files to work with. In this case ~35GB worth of data with spaces and special characters.

Can I bill the hours to Apple that it takes me to rename everything?
Of course not, it just works...

I would be happy if they would release the fix ASAP, because it is driving me crazy, it is also humiliating when you are sitting in a client meeting and you need to click 5 times and open more Finder windows to drag&drop files inbetween to finally open it.

 

[Jayson A]

I've also just created an account here to provide solutions to what I found.
My issue is the same:
1. Double clicking on a file – the designated application opens, but the file doesn't.
2. Right click -> Open / Open With... – the designated application opens, but the file doesn't.
3. Drag&dropping the file to the application icon in the dock – the designated application opens, but the file doesn't.
4. Using the Open dialog within the application – the file opens.
5. Previewing files by hitting "Space" works all the time, with all the files.

This has nothing to do with the System settings -> Double click speed whatsoever, this is a hilarious regression that takes you back to the 2000s where all the files had_to_be_named_without_spaces_and_special_characters.

This regression is supposedly going to be fixed in Ventura 13.4 released sometime in June, around the WWDC.

This is the fix documented on Apple's website:

macOS Ventura 13.4 Release Notes | Apple Developer Documentation

Update your apps to use new features, and test your apps against API changes.

developer.apple.com

• Fixed a regression in macOS Ventura 13.3 where a security check causes bookmark resolution to fail when the path contains Unicode characters stored with composed normalization. As an example, this prevented files in Finder from opening when double-clicked. (107550080)

Once I remove the space/special characters (in my native language we have öüóőúéáűí in many-many words), the file opens.

Before someone comes and says: you shouldn't use these naming conventions! I work as a freelancer and in most cases the client supplies the files to work with. In this case ~35GB worth of data with spaces and special characters.

Can I bill the hours to Apple that it takes me to rename everything?
Of course not, it just works...

I would be happy if they would release the fix ASAP, because it is driving me crazy, it is also humiliating when you are sitting in a client meeting and you need to click 5 times and open more Finder windows to drag&drop files inbetween to finally open it.

This has nothing to do with special characters for me. All I have to do is rename the folder that the file resides in and then it won't open.

 

[PeruMac]

This has nothing to do with special characters for me. All I have to do is rename the folder that the file resides in and then it won't open.

Hi Jayson. What if you rename a single file inside the folder that have the problem? Similar situation for me .......

 

[svenmany]

I've also just created an account here to provide solutions to what I found.
My issue is the same:
1. Double clicking on a file – the designated application opens, but the file doesn't.
2. Right click -> Open / Open With... – the designated application opens, but the file doesn't.
3. Drag&dropping the file to the application icon in the dock – the designated application opens, but the file doesn't.
4. Using the Open dialog within the application – the file opens.
5. Previewing files by hitting "Space" works all the time, with all the files.

This has nothing to do with the System settings -> Double click speed whatsoever, this is a hilarious regression that takes you back to the 2000s where all the files had_to_be_named_without_spaces_and_special_characters.

This regression is supposedly going to be fixed in Ventura 13.4 released sometime in June, around the WWDC.

This is the fix documented on Apple's website:

macOS Ventura 13.4 Release Notes | Apple Developer Documentation

Update your apps to use new features, and test your apps against API changes.

developer.apple.com

• Fixed a regression in macOS Ventura 13.3 where a security check causes bookmark resolution to fail when the path contains Unicode characters stored with composed normalization. As an example, this prevented files in Finder from opening when double-clicked. (107550080)

Once I remove the space/special characters (in my native language we have öüóőúéáűí in many-many words), the file opens.

Before someone comes and says: you shouldn't use these naming conventions! I work as a freelancer and in most cases the client supplies the files to work with. In this case ~35GB worth of data with spaces and special characters.

Can I bill the hours to Apple that it takes me to rename everything?
Of course not, it just works...

I would be happy if they would release the fix ASAP, because it is driving me crazy, it is also humiliating when you are sitting in a client meeting and you need to click 5 times and open more Finder windows to drag&drop files inbetween to finally open it.

I believe the issue you are describing is a completely different one than what the OP describes. The renaming bug (at least for me) results in this popup:

I've reviewed the logs around the event. Excepting the fact that I'm very inexperienced, related to the event, I don't see much other than

2023-05-06 08:28:15.339825-0700 0x4d36 Activity 0x16255 507 0 appleeventsd: New XPC Connection
2023-05-06 08:28:15.339918-0700 0x4d36 Activity 0x16256 507 0 appleeventsd: Handle XPC Event
2023-05-06 08:28:15.340046-0700 0x580d Error 0x16256 340 2 launchservicesd: [com.apple.launchservices:cas] CopyProcessByPid(1791,NO) failed because session 100017 didn't match expected 100069
2023-05-06 08:28:15.340048-0700 0x580d Error 0x16256 340 2 launchservicesd: [com.apple.launchservices:cas] CopyProcessByPid(1791,NO) failed because session 100017 didn't match expected 100015
2023-05-06 08:28:15.340050-0700 0x580d Error 0x16256 340 2 launchservicesd: [com.apple.launchservices:cas] CopyProcessByPid(1791,NO) failed because session 100017 didn't match expected 100032
2023-05-06 08:28:15.340051-0700 0x580d Error 0x16256 340 2 launchservicesd: [com.apple.launchservices:cas] CopyProcessByPid(1791,NO) failed because session 100017 didn't match expected 100060
2023-05-06 08:28:15.340578-0700 0x581b Error 0x1c282 683 2 CoreServicesUIAgent: [com.apple.launchservices:uiagent] handle LS launch error: {\n Action = odoc;\n AppPath = "/Applications/OmniOutliner.app";\n Documents = (\n "log.txt"\n );\n ErrorCode = "-43";\n FullPaths = (\n "/Users/xxx/Desktop/x/log.txt"\n );\n}

There's nothing about a security issue. We'll see if the patch you linked to fixes this issue of this thread. We can hope that when they decided to test opening files for the first time, they noticed this error as well and didn't bother mentioning it since it was so embarrassing.

 

[Jaw3000]

I am having the exact same file "Can't be found" issue after renaming or moving almost any file on internal or external APFS SSD storage, across multiple Intel and M1/M2 Macs, so it's not an issue with the individual computer or something needing to be reset. I never noticed it until the latest 13.3 update, but it is almost all the time, and is making it extremely difficult to use my computers.

In addition, I'm also experiencing the following file system/Finder issues (all happen on multiple Macs the same way):

• After renaming a file or folder, I am often seeing 30sec-1min long delays before the Finder shows the action visually (used to be instantaneous), and I'm not able to take a second action during this time (such as renaming or opening the file).
• Long delays in "moving items to trash" or creating a "new folder with selection." Can take anywhere from 30sec to 2min, when it has always been instant. Sometimes is is still instant.
• Minutes long Finder hangs in the middle of copies to/from external drives (all APFS formatted SSDs or ExFat).
• Random disconnects of external drives during copies, causing the copies to fail. (Drive is fine. Not the drives fault. Happens on multiple drives. Can copy non-stop on the ExFat drive in Windows with zero hangs or drive disconnects).

If I had to guess, I would say there is some underlying file system/APFS change or bug that is causing all of this. It's almost as if the Finder is waiting on the filesystem to complete some action that should be instantaneous (involved with moving or renaming the files), and its hanging, so the Finder is hanging and popping up "can't find file" errors and excessive delays with the move/copy actions. I would think this would be a critical error for Apple, and something they would fix very quickly. They would have done so in the past, however now I'm not so sure. I've seen awful errors like this linger for years and never be fixed lately, requiring me to completely change my workflow in order to get around them, when it shouldn't even be an issue (and never was before). I don't understand why this seems to not be hitting everyone, because it's hitting me on all of my three Macs. Perhaps many Mac users don't use files anymore for this to be an issue for them.

Update: The new MacOS 13.4 update did not fix the problems. Still happening, all of them, despite the previous comment about an issue being fixed in the release notes. I'm constantly getting the "FILENAME can’t be moved right now because it’s being used by another task, such as moving or copying an item or emptying the Trash. Try again when the current task is complete." error after renaming/moving a file, when attempting to do another action on it after the first shows as completed in the Finder, such as renaming/moving/opening said file. There is no other action on it pending in the Finder to wait for.

Also getting excessively long 30sec-1min "Preparing to move...." file messages if I try to drag and drop a file somewhere else. Never used to see this message.

 

[PeruMac]

13.4 solves my problem on moving file inside a shared folder does't open with double click (opens only from the application open menu).
It's not on spaces or strange characters in the name.
It don't works also with files named as simple as possible.
Thanks

 

[svenmany]

I am having the exact same file "Can't be found" issue after renaming or moving almost any file on internal or external APFS SSD storage, across multiple Intel and M1/M2 Macs, so it's not an issue with the individual computer or something needing to be reset. I never noticed it until the latest 13.3 update, but it is almost all the time, and is making it extremely difficult to use my computers.

In addition, I'm also experiencing the following file system/Finder issues (all happen on multiple Macs the same way):

• After renaming a file or folder, I am often seeing 30sec-1min long delays before the Finder shows the action visually (used to be instantaneous), and I'm not able to take a second action during this time (such as renaming or opening the file).
• Long delays in "moving items to trash" or creating a "new folder with selection." Can take anywhere from 30sec to 2min, when it has always been instant. Sometimes is is still instant.
• Minutes long Finder hangs in the middle of copies to/from external drives (all APFS formatted SSDs or ExFat).
• Random disconnects of external drives during copies, causing the copies to fail. (Drive is fine. Not the drives fault. Happens on multiple drives. Can copy non-stop on the ExFat drive in Windows with zero hangs or drive disconnects).

If I had to guess, I would say there is some underlying file system/APFS change or bug that is causing all of this. It's almost as if the Finder is waiting on the filesystem to complete some action that should be instantaneous (involved with moving or renaming the files), and its hanging, so the Finder is hanging and popping up "can't find file" errors and excessive delays with the move/copy actions. I would think this would be a critical error for Apple, and something they would fix very quickly. They would have done so in the past, however now I'm not so sure. I've seen awful errors like this linger for years and never be fixed lately, requiring me to completely change my workflow in order to get around them, when it shouldn't even be an issue (and never was before). I don't understand why this seems to not be hitting everyone, because it's hitting me on all of my three Macs. Perhaps many Mac users don't use files anymore for this to be an issue for them.

Update: The new MacOS 13.4 update did not fix the problems. Still happening, all of them, despite the previous comment about an issue being fixed in the release notes. I'm constantly getting the "FILENAME can’t be moved right now because it’s being used by another task, such as moving or copying an item or emptying the Trash. Try again when the current task is complete." error after renaming/moving a file, when attempting to do another action on it after the first shows as completed in the Finder, such as renaming/moving/opening said file. There is no other action on it pending in the Finder to wait for.

Also getting excessively long 30sec-1min "Preparing to move...." file messages if I try to drag and drop a file somewhere else. Never used to see this message.

These are not the kinds of errors I was having. These is far more extreme. There has to be something in common between your three Macs that is causing this. Do you use the same brand of cable between all your Macs and your disks? In the past I've had tons of USB-related errors that would manifest in the ways your describing.

There's a chance you'd see something in the logs during the delays. Consider using Consolation to review the logs.

 

[Jaw3000]

These are not the kinds of errors I was having. These is far more extreme. There has to be something in common between your three Macs that is causing this. Do you use the same brand of cable between all your Macs and your disks? In the past I've had tons of USB-related errors that would manifest in the ways your describing.

There's a chance you'd see something in the logs during the delays. Consider using Consolation to review the logs.

This is still happening for me on 13.5. Happens on multiple machines and when no USB devices are connected. May just be copying a file from one folder to another on the internal drive.

 

[analog900]

Raising my hand to say this bug is affecting me too. Recently updated both my machines, an iMacPro (2019) from Catalina to Monterey (12.7) and a 16in MBP (i7, 2019; same OS upgrade). Only on the iMac I'm encountering the issue that double-clicking files that live on my fileserver (Debian, serving as a NAS via afp) won't open anymore. Seems random, like among 20 mp4 files in a folder, some will open upon double-click, others wont. The same files open just fine on the MBP. This entire thing only started happening after the OS upgrade. (iMac is connected via ethernet, laptop via wifi)
I agree with some of the assessments above, this appears to be a file system bug. After duplicating (cmd+D) files that refuse to open, some will now open (both the copy and the original), for others the copy opens after double-click, the original still refuses. For the files that refuse to open, the finder displays the opening (zooming rectangles) animation, so the command/trigger/event appears to trigger, but that's it.
I tried to diagnose using the Console, but since Monterey it's become difficult to use as it's being flooded by many messages.
I checked some of the files on the server for suspicious permissions, attributes but nothing that points towards a server-related issue (unlikely anyway as it's only started after client update). Also no special characters in any of my file names.
The entire thing has substantial negative impact on my productivity; I had kept delaying OS updates because I'm not a fan of the pervasive use of transparency and other UI changes in recent OS versions and now it appears underlying issues that break it for me.
Oh yes, one more thing, maybe related or not: Noticing only on the iMac the server volume icons on the desktop keep flashing about once a minute. I've seen discussion threads about this but no explanation or solution. Wondering if it's related...

EDIT: typos

 

[familychoice]

I was having the exact issue that was driving me crazy just after upgrading to Monterey 10 days ago~.
After reading around I found that accessibility settings needs to be like this~
View attachment 2166773

and now I can double click and open any file: just tried to repeat exactly the test course suggested

Ah thank you for this - I’ve been having a horrendous time with the Magic Mouse after upgrading to Monterey - double clicks not working 9 times out of 10, and couldn’t find the settings in the Mouse Options section.

Working much better now I’ve slowed the speed down.