Dropbox folder aliases don't work as expected

[DaleC]

Perhaps this is expected behavior but I didn't expect it 😟

I have long had aliases for folders in Dropbox placed in other (non Dropbox) folders, for ease of navigation. So I have two such folder aliases in a third folder (this one in my User folder). When I click on each of these folder aliases (in column view), I see the contents of the folders, each item with a green check (most of my Dropbox files are set for Offline viewing and have downloaded). But when I tried to drag a file from one of the folder aliases to the other, nothing happened! Normally, the dragged file would immediately move to the other folder, but it did not. In addition, when I tried to drag another file from the desktop (which is not backed up, BTW, in Dropbox) to the folder alias, it would not move; it just stayed on the desktop. If I clicked on the folder alias, so that the contents of the folder were visible, and dragged the file to the list, it moved as expected. To move the first file from folder to folder, I had to first move it to the desktop (confirming that I wanted to move the folder out of Dropbox), click on the second folder alias to reveal the contents, and then drag it to the list (not the alias--that doesn't work!)

I did go to Dropbox and found the two folders referenced by alias and it was easy to move a file from one folder to the other, but I don't know why it wouldn't work to move files into Dropbox folders referenced by alias???? Thanks!

[Megan]

Hi @DaleC, I hope you're doing well!

You mentioned this change in the behavior of your aliases, when using your Mac. When did you first notice that this started happening? 

Also, can you clarify the version of your Dropbox app, and if you're using the new experience of Dropbox for macOS? You can find your version by locating your Dropbox icon on your menu bar, next to your WiFi and date and hovering your mouse over it. 

Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there!

[DaleC]

Hi, Megan;

‘’I’m using Dropbox beta, version 172.2.1385, after having jumped back into Beta last week… I have a 2021 MacBook Pro (M1 Max) running Ventura 13.3…  I just noticed this behavior today…

Thanks!

Dale

[Walter]

Hey @DaleC, sorry to jump in here, but could you let us know if you went through the update to the new desktop app for Mac OS recently?

If so, was it around the same time you noticed the issue with your aliases? 

Also, have you tried creating a new alias as a test to see if they work now? 

[DaleC · Accepted solution]

Hi, Walter (and Community),

Your post reminded me to restart my Mac, which I should have done before. That resolved the issue. Aliases are working again as expected!

I had just recently installed the Dropbox beta, a week or so ago, and I'm using Dropbox.app v. 172.2.1385. I had also updated to the newest OS beta (13.3). It was after the second install that I noticed the issue with aliases... Perhaps something in beta + beta caused a glitch?

Just to add what I'm seeing after the restart: I did delete the problematic aliases and re-created them (again, in the folder outside of Dropbox). The new aliases work as expected, and so do others that I did not recreate. I'm able to drag (move) files back and forth at will...

So, I guess it was just an odd glitch...I'll keep an eye out for it recurring...

Peace,

Dale

[Walter]

I'm glad to hear it's sorted now and thanks for keeping us in the loop too, Dale. 

See you around the Community and have a lovely weekend ahead!