Need to see if your shared folder is taking up space on your dropbox 👨💻? Find out how to check here.
Forum Discussion
I can't delete a locked shared folder on my Mac device, which I've been removed by the owner
Hi, I have a shared folder in my mac dropbox that is locked by the person who shared it with me. Some time ago I asked him to remove me from the shared list which he did however I am unable to delete...
Jay
Dropbox Community Moderator
Dropbox Community ModeratorThanks for the info. Could you try fixing the permissions of the files in your Dropbox folder by following these steps:
1. Stop the Dropbox desktop application (if needed)
- Click on the Dropbox icon.
- Choose Quit/Stop/Exit
2. Open your Terminal app (Located at /Applications/Utilities/Terminal)
3. Copy and paste the following lines into the Terminal, one at a time, and press RETURN after each one. PLEASE make sure you copy and paste these commands (don't type them by hand), as getting them wrong could cause some harm. You'll be prompted for your computer user's password (not your Dropbox password) after entering the first command. Keep in mind that the password field in the terminal will remain blank as you type your password. After you type it, just press ENTER. You'll know that these instructions complete normally once the initial line of text (called prompt) comes up again:
sudo chflags -R nouchg ~/Dropbox ~/.dropbox
sudo chown "$USER" "$HOME"
sudo chown -R "$USER" ~/Dropbox ~/.dropbox
sudo chmod -RN ~/.dropbox ~/Dropbox
chmod -R u+rw ~/Dropbox ~/.dropbox
Please note that once the prompt displays, the instruction completed the requested task, and is ready for the next command. If the command returns an error, or does not respond after an hour, you may want to try restarting your computer and try these steps again.
If you have any questions before you do this, or if you see an error after running one of these commands, please let me know.
4. Restart Dropbox from Applications
Keep me updated with any progress.
Hello, I am having this identical issue. Shared dropbox folder is locked and removing myself from sharing, uninstalling the app, re-logging in, and everything else mentioned in this thread haven't worked. I just tried this code in the terminal and am getting an error after entering my password:
"[my username] is not in the sudoers file.
This incident has been reported to the administrator."
There might be a block from my organization from entering these codes? But when I brought my computer to our IT department they couldnt seem to help with this problem. Do you have any other workarounds to this problem? Thanks for the help!
- Nancy
Sorry to hear the same thing’s happening to you, Kimberly5111.
Do you mind sending a screenshot of how this folder appears within your Dropbox folder, and what you see exactly when trying to delete it?
Also, out of curiosity, are you able to delete the files that are stored within?
Hi Nancy,
I removed myself from the shared folder a while ago and it does not show up in my browser version. However my desktop app shows it (the 2023_ folder in the screenshot). I have this "can't sync Dropbox account" pop-up that will not go away no matter how many times i restart my computer. its been on my screen for 2 weeks and gets in the way of working/zoom meetings/etc. You'll see in the screenshot that the icon at the top of the screen forever shows its updating and I can't click on anything. Lastly, I can't uninstall or update the app because it is open and will not close. Thanks for the help!
- Jay
Hi Kimberly5111, as you mentioned you sent this device to your IT team, is it possible that they installed (or reinstalled) the Dropbox desktop application with administrator privileges?
Update - I was able to use the code in the terminal and it worked. The pop up is cleared up and I was able to update the app. The locked folder is gone! Thanks for the help.
- Megan
Fantastic news Kimberly5111!
If you need something else, please let me know and I will be more than happy to help every step of the way.
