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Is there a way to choose whether .zip files are previewing on the Dropbox website?
I'm a long time Dropbox user and today I went to check if some older links were still active that I had sent to a cleint. Most of the files are send out are zipped for various reasons.
It ...
Thanks for the update. I know this may seem like a good idea in principle but in a professional enviroment, it really dumbs down the Dropbox expereince.
Regardless of the industry, we zip files for a reason. It might be for integrity of the data, it might be so cleints can grab a bunch of files in one-click, or other reasons.
But, I can think of nothing good that has come from this new behavior. I unfortunately have years of work and tons of data tied up in my Dropbox account and while I can explore the idea of using another service and threaten to leave Dropbox, it would be a tough thing to do since I really like the rest of the Dropbox expereince quite a bit.
I would much prefer if Dropbox found a way to revert to the old behavior and if there is really a demand to see within zip files for some users, this should be something that can be turned on by the user or found in a menu.
Right now, it's too easy for the average file recipient to just start clicking away and wonder why they can't download the main zip file.
I'm glad to see that other digital professionals commment and complain about this issue with zipped file uploads. I work as a remote graphic designer and when I post zipped files for clients and printers I do this with the intention of having them download the entire zipped file to their desktop so they can have a TRUE copy of the deliverable without changing directories and all files included. With this new Dropbox zipped folder files preview, clients and printers have told me they're confused on what files to download â and that even some indivudal files won't open. Which is the ENTIRE reason why I was trained to zipp files in the first place so everything would be kept as-is and avoid transfer corruption issues.
I'm putting my vote in to also have this new feature changed or at least have a setting added that can GIVES THE DROPBOX USER THE OPTION TO "ONLY" HAVE ZIPPED FILES DOWNLOADED AND NOT PREVIEWED.
I am using the file link workaround (changing the "dl=0" to "dl=1") when I send out links but this is ONLY a bandaid solution for sure. I hope by making this comment and everyone's complaiants, some response happens soon from Dropbox or I will need to switch to a new upload/download platform that considers digital professionals as a priority to their user group.
Hi sthomas, Thanks for chiming in and I'm glad I'm not alone here. I am noticing that some of my zipped files are only allowing for download and some allow users to see inside them. I'm not sure if it's because some are older and some are newer, I haven't had time to look closer.
Either way. As you mentioned, in the professional world, there are valid reasons why we zip files and do not want people to be able to navigate inside them. It only confuses them as to why they can see inside but not download the internal files of a zip file.
It's not just to save space, it's to preserve ingetrity of the contents and allowing recipients to see inside the zip file can be a serious issue and in my opinion is completely useless otherwise.
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