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meganh32's avatar
meganh32
Helpful | Level 5
2 years ago

How to view previews of online-only files on desktop (like how you can in the mobile app)? - macOS

I'm trying to figure out how to see previews, specifically of .jpeg online files, on my mac desktop. I use Dropbox almost exclusively for photo management and it's frustrating not even being able to ...
desktop
Mac
Preview
lpaerin's avatar
lpaerin
Helpful | Level 5
2 years ago

This has been the case for me for the last 2.5 years on both windows and mac desktop/laptop. On windows i could right click and select view offline, then SOMETIMES i could see thumbnail images. But only sometimes. On this brand new Mac Mini running the latest Ventura os I don't even get that option in the right click menu. This is bananas. I simply cannot do my work. 

 

And what happened DB in this conversation?? They were all over this thread back in May but they stopped responding. Not cool DB. 

lpaerin's avatar
lpaerin
Helpful | Level 5
2 years ago

HELLO DROPBOX?

WHY ARE WE ARE PAYING YOU TO MAKE OUR JOBS HARDER?

STOP IGNORING US.

FIX IT.

  • Sam DBX's avatar
    Sam DBX
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    2 years ago

    Hi everyone,

     

    Sam from Community here.

    Just to let you know that we've brought your reports to our team, and they are working on a solution.

    We'll keep you updated here.

    Thanks for your patience.

    Sam

    • No_Icons_No_Dragon's avatar
      No_Icons_No_Dragon
      Helpful | Level 6
      2 years ago

      Thank you, Sam. I want to emphasize how frustrating and limiting it has become for creative professionals to use Dropbox since we no longer have the ability to preview icons. In fact, working with the system in its current state is nearly impossible. As you've seen in this thread, Dropbox is at risk of losing a significant number of users if this issue isn't resolved promptly. I, along with others, am actively exploring alternatives.

      Please keep us informed about any progress, even if it's not favorable news. We require frequent updates. We need to continue our work, but if this problem can't be resolved swiftly, we'll be left with no other option but to seek alternatives.

      • Kirepan's avatar
        Kirepan
        Helpful | Level 6
        2 years ago

        This is what Dropbox support said to me: 

         

        The issue you reported is something our development team is currently aware of and investigating further. The issue appears to be related to an interaction between the Sync feature and OS file explorer behavior as we attempt to sync previews of the files. We do appreciate your feedback and context on how this affects your particular use-case as we are always working on ways to improve the Dropbox application and its features.
         
        We do not have a current timeline I can provide on improvements to this behavior. I would recommend ensuring that you are consistently updating to the latest Dropbox version available to take advantage of any performance improvements as they are made available.

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