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Forum Discussion
Downloading and opening Scrivener files backed up to DropBox
I write almost exclusively in Scrivener and have been using DropBox to back up my files for years. Knowing it was in synch, I assumed this was fine when I dropped off my laptop at the Mac store to have it repaired. Today I signed onto DB to download my backup so I could work on it while the other computer was away, but the files don't open. Instead I get this error:
"The project at "[x]" seems to be of an older format, but no binder.scrivproj file could be found inside it. It may be missing or corrupt, possibly because of a problem with the device on which it is stored, or because of a synchronisation problem.
Try ctrl-clicking on the project in the Finder and selecting "Show Package Contents", then look for a file entitled 'binder.scrivproj'. Ensure it has not been renamed by a backup routine. If it does not exist, try restoring from a backup."
I've also tried downloading the Data files, but when I try to open them it says they're empty. I know the Scrivener version on both computers is up to date so that's not the issue.
Any thoughts? It will be a moot point if I get my laptop back and everything went fine, but they asked me twice if I'd backed up and made me sign a waiver about the hard drive accidentally being wiped and now I'm panicking...
- Jay
Dropbox Staff
Hi mylafantastik, thanks for joining the Community!
I use Scrivener so I understand how it backs up to Dropbox.
It sounds like it was corrupted in some way, maybe the files were already deleted from the Mac in repair?
Are you able to recover an old version of the file from the Dropbox site, or if it was deleted, try this page?
Keep me updated with any progress!Thanks for your insight, but the file shouldn't have been deleted (I never delete anything and almost never log in to DropBox) unless someone went in and deleted it after I dropped the computer off. It only shipped out for repairs this morning. It seems like all of the .scriv files I try to download give me the same error message. Old .docs from years ago are downloading and opening fine.
I see on my DB dashboard that I have recent data files that synched with long alphanumeric names that I thought would be for the .scriv files I've been using lately, but when I try to open them there's nothing.
- JayDo you see any recent events which could indicate if the files were moved elsewhere for some reason?
All Dropbox replies always sound like bots, by which I mean, they often can't assess what the real issue is I am facing. I spent over a year on the most expensive version of Dropbox and had so many issues. Every reply I received from Dropbox forum, blew off the fact that i had already tried everything their published articles indicated to do. It really helped to discover that the simple answer to why so many things on Dropbox didn't work for me is that they do not provide support for ALL the different versions of Mac OS, which is understandable for many reasons starting with the fact that Dropbox is very corporate-centric which means the world of Windows operating systems is their realm. Mac users, just be aware of this. 🙂
