My local files won't open. I can see them in the Dropbox folder, but can't preview them.

Hey GPaul​, let's see what we can find about this together! 

Based on the screenshot it looks like these files are stored as online-only inside your Dropbox folder. That means that they are stored in the cloud and won’t take up storage space on your computer. I'm wondering if this might be causing some issues. 

Can you follow these steps in order to change the status of the files to available offline, and then try to open them again? 

If that doesn't work, please clarify which app version you currently have installed, along with the app's syncing status. You can find both by hovering your mouse over the little Dropbox icon in your taskbar next to your WiFi.

Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!

Welcome to the community GPaul​ 

To start out lets check two things

1. Lets check your sync status: Hover over the Dropbox icon in the system tray, ensure it reports “Up to date”
2. Check the sync icon overlay for “online-only” (cloud icon) versus “available offline” (green tick) in Windows File Explorer and report what it says.

You can check what the sync icons mean here

Megan-

When I hover the cursor it says 236.4.5918 and also 'Up to Date'

I'm truly sorry, but I tried to follow the link to try + tell the 'online' or not, but I don't understand how to find this ? I don't understand this statement at all

 "Check the sync icon overlay for “online-only” (cloud icon) versus “available offline” (green tick) in Windows File Explorer and report what it says."

Is it possible to change something en masse and move everything to a FLASH DRIVE I have attached to my personal PC ?

Thanks for the additional information GPaul - much appreciated.

Are you seeing any syncing icons on your files in the Dropbox folder? Also, can you send us a screenshot of the exact error you're getting when trying to open them?

Walter- 

Again-I apologize-but I don't think I know what a syncing ICON might look like.

Thanks for continuing to try + help me access my files.

I feel like they've been kidnapped-very frustrating-I see them in File Explorer very plainly yet can't get to any of them. 

Can you try copying or moving a sample file from the ones giving you this error out of your Dropbox and try to open it from there GPaul?

You can also try with the Dropbox desktop app completely closed to see if you get the same results.

As for the syncing icons, you can have a look here. 

Walter-

Atttached below is what happens when I try + copy-the error occurs when I go to do the paste.

Walter,

Here is the SYNC info from under PREFERENCES

When I FIRST had this problem-it told me to SWITCH FROM ONLINE-ONLY 

TO AVAILABLE OFFLINE soo I tried to do that to no avail

Thanks again + PLEASE HELP ME I NEED THOSE FILES TRAPPED IN LIMBO SOMEWHERE

Hi from me as well, GPaul​!

The window you're looking at is to change the default sync preferences of your files, so updating that will only apply to future files and not the current syncing status of your existing ones.

If you open your File Explorer once again and go to your Dropbox files there, do they still have a grey cloud icon next to them? If they do, it means that they’re still online-only, which is why Megan suggested making them available offline instead. 

What I'd like you to do in that case is to right-click on one of them and select the option “Make available offline”; the syncing icon of the file should switch to a green checkmark instead. Can you open the file after that?

Nancy-

Thanks-but I do NOT see any grey cloud icon anywhere, and when I right click I do NOT see any option to 'make available offline'. I also clicked 'see more options' and STILL nothing like 'make available offline'. Attached is what I see under DropBox in File Explorer.