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Problems created by new Dropbox app
I was able to resolve some of the issues in my last post, but I still have three significant problems, which I describe below.
I was out of the office for two weeks, and when I returned, Dropbox updated to a new version. I use Dropbox on macOS, and now it appears that all of my files have been moved to ~/Cloudstorage/Dropbox. My goal is to make sure that all of my files are both stored locally and synced to the cloud.
1) Are all the files that used to be in my old Dropbox folder on my machine now in the new location in my machine? Is there any way to verify this? Would I see an icon indicating that a file was only in the cloud and not on my local machine? Is there any way to see a list of files that are only in the cloud and not on my local machine?
2) I need to be able to have all NEW files be stored on my local machine by default. Please advise how to do this.
3) Is there a way to download all files that are stored in the cloud but not stored locally?
3) Can anyone confirm of the local files are indexed by Spotlight and backed up by Time Machine?
Hey Asjadsfjur, thanks for reaching out to our Community.
If all the files in your Dropbox folder before the update, were synced and available in your account online, they will also be available in the new location of the Dropbox folder.
You can see more info about the sync icons on your files here.
After the update, all new files added by other computers, will sync as online-only by default.
This and other info about the expected changes that come with Dropbox for macOS (which will answer your questions), can be found here.
Let me know if you have any questions.
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"Is there any reason that I couldn't create a new folder at the very top level of Dropbox, move everything else i have in dropbox to that folder, and then set that folder to always keep offline copies"
I've been wondering the same thing. I just verified that all my folders are currently marked as available offline, so it that idea works, it would take care of my desktop/laptop issues (and hopefully not cause any issues with the mobile devices).
- I'm not sure I follow your suggestion. Are you saying do this in the DropBox folder on your local SSD? The problem is that our local SSD's are too small to hold all the files that our external drives currently hold.
Sadly, this isn't a proposed solution to the external drive issue, this is proposed solution to the problem of Dropbox not keeping local copies of all files by default. The problem with Dropbox not supporting external discs is an entirely different issue.
Yes, external drives is definitely a different issue and it makes no sense. Hope things get escalated and resolved or you can find an adequate solution.
I ran this solution by Dropbox support, and they said it would work. Its pretty crazy that we have to do this, and I haven't tested this yet to be 100% sure it is true. That said, I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work. Let's hope!
Oh goodness, the interface for this community seemed to imply that my last post would appear as a reply to my post from a few days ago. However, it appears that posts just come up in the other that they are added to the system. As a result, my last posted didn't have the relevant context. Here is the full story.
My goal is to have existing and new files be offline only by default. A support tech at Dropbox confirmed that the following steps would produce that result.
- Create a new top-level folder called "Top level work-around folder" and set it as offline only
- Move all of my other folders into "Top level work-around folder"
- Create all new files and folders in "Top level work-around folder"
I haven't done this yet, but I hope it will work. I can't see any reason why it won't. If anyone tries this, it would be helpful if you posted to let everyone know if it worked or if it failed.
So I just tried to do this, and it isn't simple. As soon as I moved the files, I got a storm of dialog boxes that read "DropboxFileProvider is downlaoding a file from com.getdropbox.drop. The file won't open until the download completes." With two choices: "stop downloading" and "continue waiting." This continued for about 15 minutes, and I couldn't do anything on my machine at that time. One of the dialog boxes refuses to go away. The dropbox app says that the files are now all synched up. Can I trust that? I don't know.
"So I just tried to do this, and it isn't simple. As soon as I moved the files, I got a storm of dialog boxes that read "DropboxFileProvider is downloading a file from com.getdropbox.drop. The file won't open until the download completes."
Did you do the Mac Dropbox upgrade already? Trying to figure out if I should try this before the upgrade or after. When (if) I do it, I will do one folder at a time into the new top level folder. Maybe something that isn't critical, then test creating a new file in it and see if it syncs to my other devices.
It couldn't hurt to move the files in batches. I moved everything into the new folder after the upgrade. The storm of dialogs did stop after about 20 minutes, and it appears that everything made it over OK. The tech I exchanged email with said that if a folder has a green circle with a white check mark in it, the folder is offline and synched to the cloud. I think that this also means its subfolders are offline and synched as well. I
This change in DROPBOX did indeed break everything. I was at a conference tonight and could not open my company database file because DROPBOX decided that my files should be stored online and not on my hard drive. The building I was in had minimal wifi -- it took 40 minutes to download the database (900mb) to be able to use it. My presentation time was 30 minutes. This was a train wreck. It was said elsewhere here: The great benefit of Dropbox, which I have been using since about 2010, is that it was invisible -- it just worked. On my Mac, I like to use things that just work.
Dropbox is no longer invisible and it doesn't just work anymore. My presentation tonight was ruined by the folks at Dropbox who decided to substitute their opinions as to where my files should reside with their own opinion. Dreadful update. If I knew this was the ramification, I would never have updated.
