2025 sparked some incredible conversations across our community 👩💻. Discover the highlights and see what’s ahead in 2026.
Forum Discussion
hmd1957
1 year agoExplorer | Level 3
How can I get conflicted copies of shared file when only 1 person is accessing?
My son and I use a shared Dropbox folder to share some Excel files. In the past we sometimes had conflicted copies because we both accessed the same file at the same time. But the last week w...
Jay
Dropbox Community Moderator
1 year agoThere isn't much information we can provide on our end, since the app itself detects that there is a conflicted file for some reason.
Are there any differences between the two files when you view them?
hmd1957
1 year agoExplorer | Level 3
Yes, the 2 files are different.
- Hannah1 year ago
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi again, hmd1957!
There are quite a few reasons why conflicted copies might be created, like an antivirus, backup software or third party applications that monitor files, off-line editing or connection issues, etc.
The correct pattern needs to be:
- Let files sync
- Start application
- Save files
- Quit application
- Repeat on different computers.
Otherwise, a workaround could be to move the file you want to edit each time to a second folder designated for "In Use" files, so both of you know when the other is editing the file.
Hopefully this will help!
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!