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Ab210's avatar
Ab210
Explorer | Level 4
2 years ago

Why are there unviewable .mat files in Photos?

Does anyone know why mat files are shown in photo gallery if they cannot be actually opened?

7 Replies

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  • Calvin2DBX's avatar
    Calvin2DBX
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    2 years ago

    Hi Ab210,

     

    Thanks for getting in touch!

     

    The .mat extension isn't one I can see in the app preview on mobile preview, or via web preview, so let's dig into this!

     

    How did they arrive in Dropbox?

     

    For example, are they going into the Camera Uploads folder automatically, or did you upload items using a computer app or the manual upload option?

     

    Keep me posted!

  • Ab210's avatar
    Ab210
    Explorer | Level 4
    2 years ago

    The files were simply added in one of the folders synced on my laptop. They are still in those folders but I find them also in the photo gallery even tough they can't be viewed at all. Look: 

    Furthermore, there is even no way to exclude specific folders from photo gallery. I would exclude work folder if I could. 

     

  • Calvin2DBX's avatar
    Calvin2DBX
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    2 years ago

    Hi Ab210,

     

    Thanks for the clarification!

     

    I had a quick look online, and it seems the .MAT file type could associated with a Microsoft product, MS Access.

     

    Another possibility could be MathWorks MATLAB.

     

    You should be able to view the items within the software that created them on your computer.

     

     

    The Photos tab shouldn't really be showing things that aren't photos, though.

     

    Which web browser are you using?

     

    Try clearing the cache, or try in a different web browser altogether, or a private/incognito tab and let me know what you find!

  • Ab210's avatar
    Ab210
    Explorer | Level 4
    2 years ago
    Thank you Calvin.

    It happens on Edge, Chrome and Android Dropbox app.

    I confirm that the files are MATLAB Files. They are not corrupted and can be easily opened in MATLAB but they should not appear in the photo gallery, as you said.
  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    2 years ago

    Hey Ab210, sorry for the tardy response; are you still having issues with this?

     

    If so, let us know here and we'll reach out via email to investigate further. 

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    2 years ago

    Thanks for letting me know Ab210 

     

    I've just reached out via email, so please have a look at your inbox and we'll take it from there.

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