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Forum Discussion
Blob URLs
Hello
I am often downloading PDF files from the web, e. g. bank account statements and so on.
When these documents are generated on the go (url starts with blob://), I cannot save them to Dropbox.
To be precise: I am running the iOS Dropbox app (latest version) and Safari on iOS 14.5.1 (iPhone 7). As far as I know I had the same problem on Chrome and iOS 14.4.
The work-around is to use Apple's Files.app to save the file to Dropbox... it works but it's weird.
When saving directly the file to Dropbox using the "Share" menu, I get an error message from Dropbox (Impossible to save the file, check your Internet connection) or - worse - it creates an empty file instead of saving the actual file.
Did anyone else experience this problem? Is it a know Dropbox issue on iOS?
10 Replies
- Megan
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey fridebidehu, let's see what we can do here.
Do you have issues at the downloading process on your end?
Also, feel free to let me know the steps you follow in order to save the file to Dropbox and which platform you use on your end.
A screenshot of the message you get is more than welcome.
Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there. Sorry but this reply was not very relevant. Are you a bot Megan ? 😉
Here are the screenshots as requested. No need to mention that the Internet connection is working perfectly fine.
Sharing in SafariError message in Dropbox
- MeganGreat job on the screenshots fridebidehu, thanks!
Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling Dropbox to see how it works on your end?
Before you do, make sure to clear the cache as well:
- Navigate to the “Account” tab
- Tap the gear icon in the upper-left corner of the screen
- Scroll to the bottom of the screen
- Select “Clear Cache” under "Privacy"
- I did uninstall, reinstall, and clear cache. It still doesn't work.
It is a problem with WebKitBlobResource, ie. dialog between Safari and Dropbox on iOS. - JayHi fridebidehu, could you clarify how the documents are created on the go using the blob URLs?
Are you able to upload normally downloaded webpages/files to Dropbox using the mobile app? - I can't actually clarify. I open a pdf from a website in Safari, I can see the PDF and when I want to save it in Dropbox, I can see that the URL begins with blob: then saving in Dropbox.app (using iOS "share" menu) doesn't work, but saving to Dropbox through iOS's Files.app works like a charm.
I can also save other files (regular URLs) to Dropbox from the iOS "share" menu without problem. - JayCan you try downloading the PDF directly to your device from the site, and then saving it to Dropbox via the app itself?
- Yes I can do that. It works. But it doesn't solve my problem.
Here's something I found out: When saving directly from Safari to Dropbox, Dropbox.app uploads the webpage encapsulating the PDF instead of saving the actual PDF file. I cannot show the code to you since it is highly sensitive data. - JaySince it seems to be the method in which Safari is downloading or exporting the page, there isn't much I can suggest since it doesn't appear to be related to Dropbox.
You can try contacting Apple for further assistance on this matter as they are the developers of Safari. - That is getting interesting. I did the same operation with Google Drive and Microsoft Onedrive and they work just fine !
So it is definitely a problem with Dropbox.
