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Adobe not downloading online only files from projects
Hi All,
after updating to MacOS 12.3 I have not been able to open project files (Premiere/After Effects) without errors of not finding files that are in dropbox as 'online only'. Prior to the Mac update all files would auto download to be on my machine locally. I know there's an issue with full support for OS 12.3... any updates or solutions folks have found?
thanks
Hi there,
In order for this fix to be applied, you need to opt into Dropbox for macOS on File Provider. The latest version of Dropbox for macOS utilizes Apple’s updated File Provider API and fixes issues related to opening online-only files in third-party applications for users on macOS 12.5 or higher. You can read more about opting into Dropbox for macOS File Provider here. Please note that not all users are eligible at this time.
This is being rolled out to Dropbox Teams at the moment, but the team admin must choose to opt-in for the entire team when they are told it has been made available. If you are experiencing this issue, and are a member of a Dropbox team, then we recommend to align with your team admin and ensure that they opt-in as soon as they can, so that this issue is fixed for you. You can find out more here.Regards,
Emmet
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That isn’t a solution anyway. The file provider option isn’t in my settings, nor is it present for many others as far as I know. We’re supposed to "contact our sales rep." Who is that?
This might provide helpful background info/context:
https://tidbits.com/2023/03/10/apples-file-provider-forces-mac-cloud-storage-changes/
- Nancy
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi everyone, I hope you’re all doing well, and thanks for your continued patience.
I also wanted to share this Help Center article with you, which contains more details on the Dropbox support for macOS on File Provider.
When are we getting this update? This is insane. Nothing works like it used to!
Okay seriously is this update just not happening?
This has gone on far too long, and then some. All the while we've been paying the same price, wasting so much time on a daily basis having to manually click to sync files - something that DID work properly when I first became a Dropbox customer.
If it's not coming I'd prefer to just know and begin the process of switching to something else. We're coming up on a year of this thread existing, for most of which time Dropbox has given timelines for implementation that never did happen.
I think it's fair to say we've been more than patient with Dropbox here and I'm quite shocked at this coming from such a big company, seriously what is going on???? Hello????
- Megan
Hey j2762mm, sorry to hear about that, and I see where you're coming from!
We definitely listen to your needs because it allows us to fully appreciate how Dropbox fits into and influences your daily routine.
I wanted to ask if you're using macOS on File Provider, where your Dropbox folder must be located in ~/Library/CloudStorage.
Let me know more, thanks!
To my knowledge, no. In fact, in the settings I can now see a message saying I'm not eligible for File Provider at this time.
Hello? Dropbox? Anybody there? TWO YEARS for a major feature that was broken and has taken way way longer than promised to fix it. So it's not coming? Can you just give some clarity here so we can decide what to do? I didn't want to switch but this is absurd.
Let’s transition this thread to discussing the best alternatives to Dropbox. What are we thinking? Google Drive, Box, iCloud? I’d love to know the best ones out there so I can start the migration.
This thread covers a broad range of issues but I wanted to add a solution for a very specific bug in After Effects that is compounded by the withdrawal of auto sync pre-File Provider API.
This does not fix auto-download, so if manually downloading all of your project files is infeasible, this won't be much help.
But if you find After Effects projects fail to import media, even after manually downloading the project and all its media files, and you are unable or not ready to move to the File Provider version, these steps may help address what is a caching issue with After Effects.
For transparency I'm crossposting these steps from the Adobe forums and Reddit:
In short, the fix is to trash the folder ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/Media Cache Files.
Standard disclaimer: this does send you into a normally-hidden folder that macOS uses to keep it and other apps working, so follow these steps at your own risk. Though It should be a low risk if you only go into exactly the folder mentioned here. Still, it is wise to keep backups before following online advice to delete files. These steps should not require an Administrator password.
Switch to macOS Finder (click its Dock icon, command-tab to it, etc)
Choose Go menu > Go to Folder…
This should display a floating text entry box. Type or copy-paste the following text into it, then press return or enter:
~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CommonThis should present you with a folder window titled Common.
Locate the subfolder called Media Cache Files and move it to the Trash. (File menu > Move to Trash, Right click > Move to Trash, Command-delete, etc)
Ensure the problem media file has been made available offline. This is not just a potential issue when using Dropbox, but any cloud sync app that creates empty 'stub' files that stand in for your online-only files.
Try importing again - this should work now.
