Getting notifications about online-only files, with Google Drive/OneDrive active

I have found that if I pause sync for thirty mins , the problem goes away and my files go back to syncing with no problem

I tried that, but it did not work for me.

Im getting the same anoying error as well any news on a fix for this? 

Bill_Richards  The issue came up unexpectedly for me again as well. No PC shutdown/restart, so I don't know what triggered it. The temp fix I posted still works.

Walter  A number of us have already reported that stopping one of the two cloud services will stop the notifications. I posted a detailed approach to figuring out my temporary solution, and narrowed down the problem to some troublesome files. Disabling one of the cloud services, or keeping them separate from each other, is not a "solution" when it hasn't been a problem for years.

Also, many of the posts regarding this specific issue that were originally posted in this thread (1), have now been merged into the current thread. Thank you for locking that thread and grouping our posts into the more appropriate thread.

Thanks for the nudge and the additional information you've provided so far UptownPulp 

When it comes to the issue itself, I'm afraid it's not within our remit since having multiple services (or apps) backing up the same files isn't -and has never really been- officially supported. 

I wish I had a better answer than this. 

Regardless of whether or not another cloud service is backing up the same files, there is still an issue. I posted it in my detailed post, but I'll reiterate: The Dropbox placeholder files will have a gray “X” unsynced icon. These icons NEVER go away. That means the placeholder files NEVER sync via Dropbox, regardless of the other service.

Please consider and answer all of these questions: What is it about the placeholder files that is causing the issue? What is their purpose and are they necessary? Are they new? If not, did their behavior change recently? Why don't they ever actually sync? Are they even meant to sync? If not, why does the unsyced icon imply that they are meant to sync? Do they need to sync? If not, why can't you remove their meant-to-be-synced status? Why don't they sync or try to sync when copied via my method, yet their presence causes no issue? Are they actually online-only, as the Windows notification indicates? Why do other online-only files work as intended, with no sync/notification issues?

I think the root issue is the fact that the placeholder files are set to sync, but never do so via Dropbox. If you can address and fix that issue, it'll likely resolve our issue. My temp fix of copying them allows them to exist there and sync to the OTHER provider, however, they are not marked for, nor do they sync via Dropbox. I've also discovered that deleting them altogether is another temp fix, but don't know if that'll cause issues elsewhere.

dbox_ - Please address this issue!  I'm ready to uninstall Dropbox forever.

Yeah, this is a bit ridiculous. We've pinpointed the issue, yet we can't get an update or fix...? Again, this was not an issue a couple of months ago. Staff member Megan acknowledges that the reason for the start of the behavior is unknown. Well, now we know the likely reason.

At the least, could you please stop Dropbox from deleting the placeholder files when quitting Dropbox? With my temp solution, it would hopefully become a permanent solution. If you cannot prevent Dropbox from deleting the placeholder files, why?