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Old project team files outside of my control
Hello, I am having some sync issues and unable to update Dropbox until resolved. I see red x's by three old file folders for team projects for which I was provided access, but do not control. These...
After a long chat with Apple support, I was finally able to delete the folder causing this problem. I was using Time Machine to back up my Mac. Time Machine was set to backup my Dropbox files (I have no idea why I set it up that way). When I set Time Machine to not back up my Dropbox files, ran a backup so it was no longer there, I was able to delete the locked files from an outside sharer.
âI donât have paid for Apple Support. I did a chat through Facebook Messenger without them charging me. Iâm relieved to have this over!
I've tried every suggestion above and Dropbox seems to think it's an Apple problem that they designed an app that won't update on my mac. So, my takeaway from this is that I can't update the Dropbox app on my Mac, so I just have to live with the old app and the constant error messages? I expected more from Dropbox! Megan Is that the answer?
I have the same exact problem: I deleted the shared/restricted folder online, but it won't delete on my computer. Now I can't upgrade Dropbox because it perpetually trying to sync this folder and not being able to. I would hope that Dropbox would find a solution rather than sending Mac users to Terminal to learn and type code.
- Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey NMR1, sorry to see you're having this issue.
Are you currently in a team account or an individual one?
And how did you delete the files online, can you describe the steps you followed, please?
Lastly, what's the sync status of the Dropbox app at the moment?
You can hover over the Dropbox icon to see this info.
Does not seem to be a solution.
- Hannah
Hey bcbroadband, after reading through your issue, it looks like the folders might be locked by a non-Dropbox application instead.
If a file is read-only or is locked by a non-Dropbox application, you canât sync it to Dropbox.
You can check the folder info, to see if the folder is locked and you can take a look at this page, to see how you can unlock it.
The core issue is that I have read only access to these files within folders. They are locked but by someone else. How can I tell Dropbox on my MAC that I do not want this access anymore? These files are five years old or more.
- Jay
Hi bcbroadband, are you able to move the folder out of the Dropbox folder entirely?
Hi Hannah,
To answer your questions:
I am currently an individual user.
I went online and simply selected the folder and chose the option to delete it. The folder then disappeared from the screen as if it was gone. But when I went to my laptop I found it was still there.
The sync status of the Dropbox app was "syncing". But this morning it said that there were issues with files and there was a prompt to View Issues. I clicked on View Issues. It then opened a window "Sync issues" and at the top it said "Personal" and underneath the word "12 issues" then it listed each of 11 files and the folder. Each one said "Couldn't download. In the file info, unselect the Locked checkbox."
I went to each of the info of each of the files and the folder and all of them had the checked "Locked" text grayed out, so I couldn't uncheck the box. Which means I am stuck. The folder is owned by a collaborator from years ago who has since moved on and I have no way of contacting him.
Any advice?
After a long chat with Apple support, I was finally able to delete the folder causing this problem. I was using Time Machine to back up my Mac. Time Machine was set to backup my Dropbox files (I have no idea why I set it up that way). When I set Time Machine to not back up my Dropbox files, ran a backup so it was no longer there, I was able to delete the locked files from an outside sharer.
âI donât have paid for Apple Support. I did a chat through Facebook Messenger without them charging me. Iâm relieved to have this over!Thanks. That might be my problem!
