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Forum Discussion
Folder shared with a user opens in the web instead of Windows Explorer
Hi,
I am having an issue with a folder that is being shared to a user.
When shared, the user receives a notification in their Dropbox application to let them know it has been shared with them.
However, when following the notification to the file, it opens in the web, instead of the local file explorer.
I understand that this is likely because the file has not been synced onto the computer and is accessible in the web through the share.
This is causing a hassle as the user typically works from the files available to them on their local computer.
Pausing/Resuming sync, restarting Dropbox and restarting the computer do not bring the folder off the web.
At the moment, the only work around I have found is to sign the user out and in again to force Dropbox to re-index the folders.
I would also like to refrain from downloading the folder and having them work off it until the sync comes through, as to avoid any conflicts that may occur if another person edits the files in the gap between the sync.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
- Nancy
Dropbox Staff
Hi DeoTech3! Welcome aboard our Community.
At the moment, it’s only possible to join a shared folder by going to www.dropbox.com, and adding it to Dropbox via the Shared tab first.
Do you mean that this user is adding this folder to their Dropbox account via the Shared tab, and it still doesn’t sync locally to their desktop app after that?
If yes, what’s the average size of the folders you’re sharing with them? The reason I’m asking is because syncing may take more time depending on how large a folder/file is.
As per the folder editing, it's always advised to have only one person edit the same files at a time, so as to avoid conflicted copies. You can also check this Help Center article on what you can do to prevent that.
Let me know more details, and we’ll have a look.
Hi Nancy,
It's less the user adding the folder to their account, and more an admin giving the user permissions to the folder by sharing the folder with the user.
So far, I've had the user wait up to 4 hours and it still hadn't come through, so I had to do the re-index fix.
As for the average folder size, they range anywhere between 10MB to 500MB.
The most recent one that I let sit for 4 hours was 12.8MB.
Thanks,
Dale
