Renaming files: windows re-selects entire filename when other files resync

[AcerbicMaelin]

Found a reproducible annoyance in Windows 10 with Dropbox. I often cycle through a lot of folders using the tab key to rename them one at a time, and this produces an issue where, as soon as the Dropbox app has synced the previous file, Windows highlights all text in the currently-being-edited filename, even if I am tapping through it.

To reproduce:

1. Open a folder containing many files that is currently synced in Dropbox
2. Click on a file name twice (not doubleclick) to begin renaming it. Rename it however.
3. Press the Tab key to flick down to the next file in the folder. If the previous filename was still in the 'editing' mode then you will automatically be editing the next filename.
4. Quickly start using the arrow keys or Home/End to move around in the filename but do not start typing
5. After a second or two, when the Dropbox App has re-synced the file you previously renamed, Windows will highlight the entire filename that you are currently arrowing-around in - maybe just as you were about to start typing.

I suspect this has something to do with updating the little blue and green file icon overlays.

If you were just about to start inserting some text somewhere in a filename, but hadn't started typing yet, then the fact that the filename has just re-highlighted itself might cause you to overwrite the entire filename instead of inserting the part you were planning.

When doing this with many files this can be a real annoyance. Is a fix possible?

[Joe95]

So just to be clear, this is an issue with Windows AND cloud storage providers working together and not a solely Windows problem, correct?

I ask because we know the problem disappears when you pause Dropbox, and I've used OneDrive and Google Sync without experiencing this issue for the files stored with those providers, only the files stored on Dropbox.

Which to me implies it's a more specific Windows w/Dropbox issue, rather than Windows w/cloud storage providers in general.

[Gus_O_o]

When Dropbox is paused - The issue doesn't happen.
When Dropbox is active - The issue does happen.

To say that this issue has nothing to do with Dropbox at all seems a little dismissive to me.

Off the top of my head I can think of one solution;
Give users an option for synchronising frequency that delays updates for periods of 1, 5, 10 mins (Dropdown/slider/or enter a custom value, whatever) to stop this from happening by essentially doing automatically (pausing) what you're asking users to do manually.

Depending on team sizes - And many users might just be teams of 1, 2 or 3 people, and/or not actively work in the same folders and on the same files, this feature might contribute zero conflicts.

Again, this suggestion is just an extension of your existing 'pause' button feature. So whatever you're doing with that, just make it automated.

N.B. There might be 100 better options, depending on what the actual underlying issue is, but this is something that should be very easy to do.

[Rich]

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@Gus_O_o wrote:

When Dropbox is paused - The issue doesn't happen.
When Dropbox is active - The issue does happen.

To say that this issue has nothing to do with Dropbox at all seems a little dismissive to me.

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You're not understanding the cause. Of course it happens when Dropbox isn't paused, because Dropbox is syncing your files, and any changes in that folder (i.e. Dropbox syncing a file) will result in Windows refreshing the folder. If Dropbox is paused, there are no changes happening so Windows doesn't have to refresh the folder.

This same thing happens when ANY process makes a change in a folder. Other cloud services, your browser downloading files while you're working int he Downloads folder, or any other program saving a file in the same folder you're working in... Windows will update the folder.

This is a function of Windows.

[Joe95]

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@Rich wrote:

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This same thing happens when ANY process makes a change in a folder. Other cloud services, your browser downloading files while you're working int he Downloads folder, or any other program saving a file in the same folder you're working in... Windows will update the folder.

This is a function of Windows.

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So wouldn't this happen if you renamed files en masse in Windows? That is saving a file in the same folder you're working on, if you are using f2 + tab to rename files quickly shouldn't this issue appear then? It can sometimes take a file or two to change before Windows refreshes the explorer window, but it never highlights the entire filename contents unless Dropbox is running.

Also, why was I not experiencing this issue with other cloud storage providers as mentioned in my previous comment (Livedrive, OneDrive & Google Sync), solely Dropbox?

[Mark_Jepson]

Come on the issue is simple. When the icon changes (so when Dropbox syncs something) the name is highlighted again.

So Dropbox changes the icon, Windows highlights the file name. 

This is an issue of interaction between the two. The resolution is not apparent to me, but I'm not some IT guy...

If I had the option to have "Dropbox icons" which change depending on sync status or "Windows icons" which just remain the same. I would opt for Windows icons to prevent this issue. I can check the status of sync'd files elsewhere. The icons are of no moment to me.

[grobbio]

This.

[Joe95]

Has there been any movement in the last 6 months?

This is still a daily annoyance that solely occurs with Dropbox, the problem goes away if Dropbox is closed, and doesn't occur when using other similar cloud storage/sync services such as Onedrive, Livedrive or Google Drive.

[Joe95]

Also, I can confirm that this problem has gotten worse in recent months.

Before, pausing Dropbox stopped the problem completely, so the 'work around' was to pause Dropbox, rename files en masse, resume Dropbox and let it catch up. Annoying but workable.

Now the file issue still persists when paused, albeit to a lesser degree than if not paused - 1 in every 7 documents rather than 1 in every 2 when unpaused. I am unsure when precisely this change occurred, and am unsure if it is a Dropbox update or a Windows one that has caused this further disintegration, but this has only led to further annoyances which still seem to solely affect Dropbox files and not other files hosted through alternative cloud storage providers.

Really hope Dropbox gets back to us about this, considering this issue was first raised in April 2019!

[Walter]

Hey @Joe95, thanks for the nudge on this and I appreciate your feedback too.

I looked a bit into this issue and I found that this isn't an issue caused by Dropbox or pertaining just to Dropbox, so we're not able to provide a solution for this issue.

I'd recommend getting in touch with Microsoft for further assistance in this case. 

[Matthias C.]

Thanks for having another look at this. It is obviously an issue that arises out of the combination of Windows and Dropbox running. You might be right that this is an issue that Dropbox cannot fix. But at least you have much more powerful channels to get in touch with Microsoft and have them fix this than a normal user has. So I would suggest that someone at Dropbox can get in touch with Microsoft and find a solution to this.