Every time I open a Powerpoint file I get an error message from DB for no reason

[David T.36]

I have powerpoints in unshared, regular folders that are synced to Dropbox as I've always done before. But now when I open the files (without moving them at all), I get a message If you move this file to (the folder it currently resides in with everything else), it won't be available in Dropbox or on any devices." This is maddening. The Don't Ask Me Again checkbox doesn't work if I hit Cancel and if I hit Move Out of Dropbox, then it isn't synced with Dropbox, which is not what I want. Why am I suddenly getting these messages on files that are definitely in my Dropbox and indeed accessible on my iOS devices and the Web, and are not being removed, just opened? It sounds like Dropbox thinks I'm removing each file by opening them, but I'm not. I'm running v56.3.90. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

[Mark]

Hi David,

You are using a beta version which is shown by the 3 within your version number (xx.3.xx). Its expected that these have bugs in I'm afraid. You can report it on the right thread over at the Beta area (https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Beta-testers/ct-p/101003000) and if you want to get off the beta and to a stable build reinstall Dropbox from www.dropbox.com/downloading

[rusignola]

I am getting this too under similar circumstances. I have a script that overwrites an existing text file, and when it does, a little window pops up saying "If you move this file to (the folder it currently resides in), it won't be available in Dropbox or on any devices."

I am on 55.4.171. It started I believe within the past week.

[Lusil · Accepted solution]

Hey there @rusignola!

Could you please first check for any symlinks in any of your devices running the desktop app?Please note that we strongly recommend against methods that add referenced files (such as symlinks or networked folders) to the Dropbox folder. 

Since using reference files can cause quota usage disparities or other syncing issues, removing them is one of the first steps that are recommended before proceeding with troubleshooting. 

Let me know what you find! 

[rusignola]

Hi Lusil,

You are correct -- the whole directory is a symbolic link (and always has been). It hasn't caused quota issues in the past because sometimes the files I put in that directory push it over the quota and I get a warning or temporarily locked from using Dropbox.

The reason I use symbolic links is I have a directory structure on my computer (basically my whole development environment) that I'd like to preserve without moving everything in the Dropbox folder. I only need access to a small subset of those files on multiple computers, hence the link to that directory.

Do you think this is the problem? Why did I (and others) just start getting this message? More importantly, what can I do about it?

Thanks,

Michael 

[Lusil]

Since we don’t fully support symlinks as they can cause issues various issues and irregularities at any point in time, in order to further investigate, one of the first troubleshooting steps is removing them.  

If you’re still experiencing the same issue even after that, please send us a screenshot of the message so as to have a clearer image of your concern. 

Thanks in advance, Michael, aka @rusignola! 

[David T.36]

I rely on symlinks and indeed that’s the main reason for my using Dropbox since it was always supported, officially or not. What fixed things was to remove the folder in question from Dropbox then re-add it to where it was originally. I was also advised by DB support to revert from the beta. I did that as well but had corrected the issue with the first step. Yeah, officially you don’t support symbolic links but they do work and should.

[kikoulou]

I've got the exact same and maddening problem, starting just this morning. I'm running v56.4.94 ... 

[rusignola]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the advice! 

I removed the symbolic link, let Dropbox resync, then re-added the link. The error still, however, pops up when the shell script runs.

Is there a way for me to revert to an older version of the Dropbox desktop software while the Dropbox team fixes this?

Thanks,
Michael 

[David T.36]

It has nothing to do with symbolic links. Try this: create a blank test text folder. Move it into any folder that is in Dropbox itself (not a symbolic link). Now move it out of Dropbox to a local folder that is not in Dropbox: I get the error every time.
I get it-it's a way for Dropbox to tell us that we are moving something out of a Dropbox folder (whether within Dropbox or a symbolic link; it doesn't matter). But every time I even edit some powerpoint files I get that error, when I'm not actually moving something outside of Dropbox at all. This is really annoying. Please stop it. And I'm running v. 56.4.94 not a beta now. The behavior had stopped but now that I transferred everything to a new computer, it's back.
Even worse-unless I click the blue button to take powerpoint files out of dropbox just by moving them one level up (and still within dropbox), it won't let me move them. Hitting Cancel reverses my move.

So I would hope that this issue is addressed. Not sure what it is about powerpoint files (and only ones I had in two folders created in the past week) that would constantly trigger these warnings when I'm not moving the files out of dropbox. I should be able to open those powerpoint files without getting that warning. I should be able to move them to another folder still within dropbox and not trigger that warning. I get that Dropbox doesn't want to officially encourage symbolic links, but they work, have worked for years, and were the reason I chose Dropbox over other competing, and less expensive, options. I have many shared folders that are in a larger symbolically-linked folder. Moving all that over to Dropbox directly rather than through symbolic links likely will break all those shares.