Need to see if your shared folder is taking up space on your dropbox 👨💻? Find out how to check here.
Forum Discussion
sharonatordoff
7 years agoNew member | Level 2
Can not overwrite file in DropBox
We use DropBox and used to be able to overwrite old versions. That is no longer possible. I am on a Mac 10.13. Did the "replace" option go away?
The key, I believe, is that you have to work in the linked Dropbox file. You can't download, work on it and replace the file. You have to work in the file from DropBox and it saves as you go.
When you want to edit the file click on "open with" on right hand side. This keeps the file linked and it is auto saved.
21 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
- Walter6 years ago
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi cmoody8; thanks for the report.
Can you please go through the steps you take to do this to see if I can reproduce it on my side?
While at it, have you tried another browser other than the one you originally used to do this?
Let me know what you find when you get the chance and we'll take it from there.
- cmoody86 years agoExplorer | Level 4
Thanks for your reply Walter.
I've been trying to figure this out more today since my post and remain confused. So, I don't use a browser. I'm in Mac OS 10.15.3 using Dropbox integrated.
I routinely create files in Photoshop and save as jpg; sometimes straight to a shared folder overwritting a previous version. Sometimes I drag and drop in the Finder to replace previous versions. I've been doing this without incident for years.
Recently, instead of replacing the older file, a second file is generated with "copy" on the end of the file name; or "2" on the end of the file name. But, it doesn't happen every time. So, I'm pretty confused now about what is triggering it. It seemed to be recent changes to Dropbox based upon some other posts I read, but I'm not so sure anymore? Any light you can shed would be great.
- Walter6 years ago
Dropbox Community Moderator
Thanks for the additional details cmoody8; it's most appreciated.
It looks like the way you're saving the file in question is what's causing the duplicate files, but just to be sure about it, would you like me to reach out to your Dropbox associated email address so we can have a further look internally?
Let me know here whenever you get the chance and we'll take it from there.
- cmoody86 years agoExplorer | Level 4
Yes, Please. I'd like to solve this.
- Walter6 years ago
Dropbox Community Moderator
Thanks for your cooperation on this one cmoody8.
I've just followed up with an email so we can investigate this with all of my tools at our disposal.
Whenever you find some spare time, please take a look at your inbox and we'll pick this up from where we've left off here.
- Airportmuc6 years agoHelpful | Level 6
I have exactly the same thing going on for a while and Dropbox support keeps saying that it isn't their softwares/services fault. It's the same thing with the windows client. You can not overwrite a file that is uploading ANYMORE but I used to do that for six years now. Luckily there's enough people that can approve that this behaviour is new. I guess it's happening since the new Dropbox client software was rolled out.
- cyntafe6 years agoNew member | Level 2
I am having the same problem. I need to be able to drag and drop files and have them automatically replaced instead of adding "copy" at the end, creating duplicates. I work on my computer, then upload various formats to dropbox, and do not plan to use dropbox as my only source for working. This has caused a major issue with my workflow. Please change back to the way it was.
Another note: since this version, whenever I am uploading files, it bogs my computer down. I've never experienced this before either. And the interface looks very similar to the web version, and I've always preferred the desktop version. Now they look the same, and I am not happy with that change either.
- tgiordano6 years agoNew member | Level 2
@walter - I am having a similar problem trying to download a .csv from firefox from a web portal and save it on top of existing file in my dropbox folder on disc. If I do this the download fails in firefox. If I save with a different name it works. If I save it to a non dropbox directory it works whether I am overwritting or not. If I open the download file and save as csv replacing the file in dropbox it works.
I cleared my firefox cache and it didnt work. Chrome doesnt allow a file save to, other than download folder. So I am hoping you can offer some suggestions. Please advise. tks Tony
- Daphne6 years ago
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey there tgiordano, apologies for the delayed reply here!
It sounds like you're having a little bit of a different issue here. Could you let me know if you're getting the same error when saving to the Dropbox folder and the desktop app isn't running on your computer?
You can close the app by:
- Clicking the Dropbox icon in your system tray/menu bar.
- Click the profile pic/initials icon in the top right of the window.
- Choose "Quit Dropbox".
Also, do you usually get the error regardless of whether the file in the Dropbox folder that you want to overwrite is syncing or up to date? Or is this only when the file is syncing?
Keep me posted!
- Ben_Collaborate6 years agoNew member | Level 2
This isn't a solution. I've been having the same issue recently. If I try and overwrite a .jpg or .png file when Photoshop gives me the option to when I save out of a .psd it seems that DropBox just goes ahead and creates a copy and adds ...copy at the end of the file name, which makes replacing files a pain. Plz Fx. Thnx!
About Create, upload, and share
Find help to solve issues with creating, uploading, and sharing files and folders in Dropbox. Get support and advice from the Dropbox Community.
The Dropbox Community team is active from Monday to Friday. We try to respond to you as soon as we can, usually within 2 hours.
If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X, Facebook or Instagram.
For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.
If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!