Having problems accessing word .docx files from Dropbox on my MacBook (Big Sur).

[wilsuthers]

Hi,

Macbook Pro early 2015 - macOS Big Sur V 11.1

Every time I try to access a word.docx file from Dropbox on my Macbook, I get the attached error message.  If I procees to recover the documents it doesn't work.

When I go online to Drop Box and downlad the same word .docx file it works perfectly.

Can anyone help me solve this problem?

Thanks

W

[Lusil]

Hi there @wilsuthers, let's see what we can do here. 

Could it be that the file in question is Smart Synced as online-only by any chance? 

Have a look and let me know what you find, thanks!

[wilsuthers]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

Not sure what you mean by smart synced, so tried accessing the same files via my Mac and all worked perfectly, opening immediately, which suggests that there is an issue with my MacBook talking to the Dropbox folder stored on it.

Any further suggestions much appreciated

Wil

[Lusil]

Smart Sync is a space-saving feature for your hard drive. 

When you set files to be online-only, only specific information becomes available on your hard drive, like the name and type of the file. 

You can tell if an item is online-only by the syncing icon that it has, which should be grey with a white cloud in the middle of it. 

Could you have a look and let me know if the files you're trying to open have such an icon on them?

[wilsuthers · Accepted solution]

Thanks Lusil,

I've resolved my problem by uninstalling and reinstalling Dropbox which came with an Update, so all working normally now.

Thanks for your comments

Wil

[Lusil]

Thanks for keeping me in the loop, and glad to hear that you were able to resolve your concern in the end!

If anything else comes up, you know where to find us. 

In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful day ahead!