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Greg T.16's avatar
Greg T.16
Helpful | Level 5
7 years ago
Solved

Smart sync icons missing

The venerable "missing smart sync icons" problem. MacOS Mojave 10.14.2  Dropbox 64.4.141.  (Professional Acct) Have reinstalled DB several times (including via full desktop download). Tried the ...
Setting up the apps
  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    7 years ago
    Hi Greg, as you’re on a Mac, you can check if a third-party application is causing this issue with the following steps:
     
    1. Save any files and quit ALL programs.
    2. Completely quit and close any third-party cloud service applications such as Google Drive, OneDrive, or others.
    3. Quit Dropbox:
    4. Relaunch Finder using the following steps:
      1. Click on the Apple icon in the top left of your screen
      2. Click on "force quit"
      3. Select Finder then click "Relaunch"
    5. Restart the Dropbox application.
     
    If the issue is resolved at this point, it may be due to the third-party applications running on the computer.
     
    If the issue persists, or you see that a new application is causing issues please let me know.
Steciu's avatar
Steciu
Explorer | Level 3
7 years ago

Daphne, for unknown reasons, NOW it works,

Stefano

Daphne's avatar
Daphne
Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
7 years ago
Hey Steciu,
 
I’m glad to hear the issue has been resolved, great work on the troubleshooting there!
 
If you see the issue again then feel free to get back to me here.
 
Hope you have a great day - Thanks!
  • JWHenderson's avatar
    JWHenderson
    Explorer | Level 3
    7 years ago

    Hello I'm having the same issue with sync icons not showing in the dropbox folder. Also, none of the Dropbox menu items appear when right-clicking on a file or folder. I can't share or manage from the finder.

    Everything has been running fine, had icons and menu items and then suddenly poof. I haven't changed anything on the computer or installed anything new.

    Macbook Pro 15 running OSX 10.13.6

    Dropbox version 76.4.126

  • Daphne's avatar
    Daphne
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    7 years ago
    Hey there JWHenderson,
     
    Can you let me know the current sync status of your desktop app? If you’re not seeing any options from the Command+click menu related to Dropbox then it might suggest that the app isn’t running on your device.
     
    If the app is showing it is “Up to date” and you’re still not seeing the sync icons or menu options, then click the Dropbox icon on your menu bar, click the profile pic/initials in the top right of the window and choose to “Exit Dropbox”.
     
    Then please open your Activity Monitor from your Mac Utilities folder and force quit all remaining Dropbox instances. Once this is done, please click the Apple icon in the top left of your screen and force quit the Finder. Finally, restart the Dropbox desktop app from your Applications menu and once the app is showing "Up to date", check to see if the issue persists
     
    Let me know what you find - Thanks!
  • JWHenderson's avatar
    JWHenderson
    Explorer | Level 3
    7 years ago

    Hi Daphne,

    Thanks for your response. I've tried your suggested solution and it did not solve the problem. My current sync status is there is nothing being uploaded or downloaded at the moment. I see all the folders and files in finder, but none of the dropbox related items exist.. No sync status, no right-click options. It just appears as a normal folder like any other.

  • Steciu's avatar
    Steciu
    Explorer | Level 3
    7 years ago

    I see the same things happening as JWHenderson describes. So far, no good.

     

  • Steciu's avatar
    Steciu
    Explorer | Level 3
    7 years ago

    Actually, again, after having restarted the Finder and Dropbox, I had to go to the preferences again to actvate the smart sync option. So, why does it keep changing without my input?

  • Daphne's avatar
    Daphne
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    7 years ago
     
    Can you check your desktop app preferences to see if smart sync is still enabled as Steciu mentioned? You can do so by clicking the Dropbox icon, clicking the profile pic/initials in the top right, choosing Preferences… and then on the General tab ensuring smart sync is enabled.
     
    Otherwise, can you please send me a screenshot of your sync status so that I have a better understanding as to what you’re referring to? You can see this by clicking the Dropbox icon in your menu bar. Also, can you let me know if you can see the sync icons for your files in your Finder window? 
     
    Finally, Steciu would you mind if I reach out to the email address associated with your Community profile so that we can look into this further? 
     
    Let me know - Cheers!
  • JWHenderson's avatar
    JWHenderson
    Explorer | Level 3
    7 years ago

    Daphne Here's a link to the screen shot since the photo upload here doesn't seem to work for me.

    As  you can see the sync status is up to date. I have no option in the Preferences General tab for Smart Sync. Also, the sync status icons are not showing. When I right-click a file or folder in the dropbox folder in finder I have none of the Dropbox options there.

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/yvzv0qc8ux9jc87/Screen%20Shot%202019-07-15%20at%202.22.36%20PM.png?dl=0

  • Steciu's avatar
    Steciu
    Explorer | Level 3
    7 years ago

    Daphne, of course you can reach out to me through my email address! I wil lbe very happy to help.

    SC

     

  • Daphne's avatar
    Daphne
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    7 years ago
     
    Thanks for that screenshot, it shows the issue you’re describing perfectly! I noticed that the Dropbox folder appears as a plain folder in the left panel of your Finder window so I’d like to ask you to check that the Finder extension is installed. 
     
    To check this, please go to your “System Preferences” for your computer (accessible from the Dock or the Apple menu). Within the preferences choose the option for “Extensions”, locate the option for “Finder” in the side bar and select this. Do you see an entry for Dropbox here?
     
    If you see an entry here, can you check that the extensions is actually running? You can see this by opening your Activity Monitor where you should see an instance of “Dropbox” running with a white box icon.
     
    Finally, just before we move over to our Support channel, Steciu can you also just check the above for me too?
     
    Let me know what you find - Cheers!
  • Steciu's avatar
    Steciu
    Explorer | Level 3
    7 years ago

    Hello Daphne,

    I confirm that I do see the Dropbox extension active under System Preferences and Extensions. Also, I do see the white box in the activity monitor utility.

    Finally, so far so good with the Smart Sync option for me.

    Thank you,

    Stefano

  • Daphne's avatar
    Daphne
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    7 years ago
    Hey Steciu,
     
    Just to confirm, are you able to see the smart sync options now for your Dropbox files? I’ll admit, I’m not 100% certain based on your reply and I’d like to make sure I understand that fully.
     
    Let me know - Thanks!
  • Steciu's avatar
    Steciu
    Explorer | Level 3
    7 years ago

    Yes, I am able to see the smart sync option for the Dropbox files. Thanks,

    Stefano

  • Daphne's avatar
    Daphne
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    7 years ago
    Hey Steciu,
     
    I’m glad to hear that the issues is resolved for you!
     
    If you do experience any other issues with this then please don’t hesitate to reach out to me here.
     
    Have a great day - Thanks! 
  • Steciu's avatar
    Steciu
    Explorer | Level 3
    7 years ago

    Hi Daphne, actually, it would be great if this trick could work not only with OSX Finder but also with PathFinder: https://cocoatech.com/#/

    Stefano

  • Daphne's avatar
    Daphne
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    7 years ago
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts here about this Steciu!
     
    I’ll make sure to pass along your comments and interest in this along to our dev team for review in future Dropbox improvements. :grinning:
     
    Have a great day - Thanks!
  • EdouardMagnus's avatar
    EdouardMagnus
    New member | Level 2
    7 years ago

    This was a persistent problem for me. I tried quitting dropbox and relaunching, force quitting Finder, all the recommendations in this thread. What worked for me was to go to System Preferences -> Extensions and under Finder Extensions I had another app (in this case WhatsYourSign) that also had Finder Extensions clicked. So my recommendation would be to see if any other extensions have Finder Extensions turned on and turn them off.

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