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Forum Discussion
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File Request - Please provide an option to NOT rename our uploaded files
We receive tons of file submissions from our business partners daily. However, a large part of the time I spend managing these submissions is spent renaming the files because they're automatically prefixed or suffixed with the Dropbox username of the user that uploaded the file. This causes a lot of unnecessary work and wasted time.
I am requesting that you allow us - the paying Dropbox users - the option to determine for ourselves if the Dropbox username is desired . . . or, if the original unaltered filenames are what we'd like to have to work with.
Thank you.
PS - If I've linked you to this message, it was because you had created or responded to a thread that included the terms File & Request. I know this may not apply to everyone, but if you think that this is a reasonable feature to add (at least, the option to not have the Dropbox user prefixed or suffixed onto the original file name), then please vote for and link other Dropbox members that you think might benefit from this feature, and promote this idea!
Staab, Drew G, Teamchil, benebelt1, dwcapture, buildonrock, Artisticfuries, mccarthian, SuperStock, Macn101, MeritDeveloper, VJG21, Birsay, tc16, Rich, ramiromalcala, Mark, Ed, PPT320, Greg-DB, Filip H, Jay Tom Tom, hallofgame2k22, w_l, Hannah, Nancy, marplatense, jcm48, dappelgren
Hi everyone,
We are very happy to let you all know that the ability to remove the Dropbox username from a file name when submitting a File Request is now available.
When creating the File Request, simply click on the trashcan icon next to the "Sender's name" field to remove this from the incoming files.
We know that a lot of you have been very keen to see this feature added and we hope it now makes using File Requests a little bit easier for you all.
Thank you for you patience getting to here and for choosing Dropbox!
Have a great day!
Graham
46 Replies
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Dropbox appends uploader's NAME to the file names automatically when when upload files from File Request function. Please provide us an option of not appending client's name to the File Request function. We often receive hundreds of uploaded files through "File Request" feature and we need to maintain the uploaded files original names.
Please review and modify the program.
Thanks,
Michael
- Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
This idea is going to need some additional support before we can share it with our team.
I've updated the status to encourage more users to back it up!
- Walter
So in the past, when someone uploaded a file using the File Request feature, your system would add the name they added during the upload process first, followed by their file's filename
So for instance if John Smith was uploading a file named IMG_0123.jpg, the filename your system would put on the uploaded file would be
John Smith IMG_0123.jpg
That was wonderful, as I could easily sort by who uploaded the photo and do some operations on them.
As of the last few weeks, though, your filenames are coming up exactly opposite that: IMG_0123 John Smith.jpg
What the hell?
EDIT: As I dig into this, I see that you've added a "naming conventions" item to your File Requests edit screen.So, appreciate the flexibility but HOW ABOUT YOU TELL US ABOUT IT BEFORE IT TAKES EFFECT?
I got a couple hundred files with basically useless filenames...or that I have to go through and rename due to your making a random chance without saying anything.
NEXT PROBLEM...I have dozens of file requests...is there ANY WAY to make a default for ALL of my requests? or do I need to go into each and every one of them to change them back to how they were previously?
I'd think that if you make a change like this, you'd let the status quo be in place before a change occurs.
EDIT AGAIN: Holy hell! I see now that when I change the naming convention, it changes the filenames that have already been uploaded. I'm a little unsure as to whether I love this...but there it is.
- Hannah
Hey twindux, thanks for taking the time to post to our Community.
Indeed, we've made some changes to file requests and you can now use naming conventions for them, with multiple options, depending on the file type.
I will however, pass your comments along to our team, so thank you for the feedback.
If you have any further questions, just let us know!
Please let us opt out of DropBox changing the file names. This a huge Direction to our workflow. As you know software recognizes file names and when someone upload something it gets changed and therefore we have to spend time to change all the files needlessly because DropBox added to them.
Others I'd like to include in this idea mention (I can only include 30 at a time)
Frank_S, gbolin, lfarrell, Janet, Jane, cascadeCommons, Galaxy Liz, Megan, CcummingsDT, Walter, jeremysr, micha13, shannonc, saxtophone, Daphne, Taxaway, Business813, Ian Avery, abrogers, JasonJ, owladmin, Robea, Smilus, Lusil, mbshell, Zensible, DCrews, robertoandrade, ppciesiolkiewicz, Tripti12
Interesting that they chose to close the other thread without any kind of meaningful response. Thanks for bumping. This is still an incredibly frustrating function to navigate around for anyone who relies on file naming as part of their file organization... which is literally everyone.
I had no idea this was happening. It does not happen to my team, but perhaps on larger teams? I agree that it should be an option.
