Fedora 25: clicking message to see updated files results in ~100 browser windows opening

[al3]

Hi,

I have a bizarre error on my desktop machine running up-to-date Fedora 25 - whenever a file is updated elsewhere, and an icon is displayed saying this file is updated, clicking on it leads to ~100 file browser windows opening.... instead of 1.

Whilst not dehabilitating, this is a real pain as my computer crawls to a stand still and I have to spend 5 minutes closing all the windows I don't need.

I presume this error is something local to my machine as we've two other machines nearby running the same operating system and they have no problems. Has anyone got suggestions where to look/start with getting this fixed?

Many thanks,

Andy

[Jane]

Hey al3, 

Thanks for getting in touch on the Dropbox Community, glad to look into that! 

Could you please clarify whether “whenever a file is updated elsewhere” may mean that you have Symlinked a location to the Dropbox folder? Please keep in mind that in general, we recommend that you move actual data (your files and folders) into the Dropbox folder. That way the actual data will sync in your Dropbox. Also, could you please let me know whether there’s any third party file browser accessing your Dropbox folder?

If you are uncertain about whether you are using Symlinks, or don’t know how to remove them, please let me know in your reply, so that I follow-up! 

Warm regards, 

JaneA

[al3]

Hi JaneA,

Sorry, I should have been more explicit!

“whenever a file is updated elsewhere” = whenever a file is updated on another computer in a shared Dropbox (i.e. by another user, or by me on another computer). There are no symbolic links.

And no, to my knowledge there are no 3rd party browser software with access to Dropbox - if there is a method to check please let me know. I just have a standard F25 build with a dnf installation of Dropbox.

I await any further comments/suggestions!

Andy

[al3]

Hi JaneA,

(Weirdly, I posted a response yesterday but my message has dissappeared?)

Sorry for the ambiguity in my original email. In short summary to your queries:

"whenever a file is updated elsewhere" = when another Dropbox user edits a file (or I edit it on another computer). There are no symbolic links.

Re: 3rd party software, to my knowledge there is nothing of this type of my F25 system.

Look forward to your response.

Andy

[Jane]

Hey al3, 

Thanks for the swift reply, much appreciated! 

Hmmm... I'd really like to have a closer look to the case. Would you mind opening a ticket with the team and let me know a ticket ID in your reply and I’ll be more than glad to work on that with you!

Kind regards, 

JaneA

[al3]

Hi JaneA,

I'd love to give you a ticket ID..... but....

I've submitted the details to open a ticket twice, and both times the website has returned me to the homepage without confirmation that the ticket has been opened.

Is this normal behaviour? There is only so many times I'm prepared to fill in a form that won't submit.

All the best,

Andy

[Jane]

Hey Andy, 

Thanks for the follow-up, I appreciate that a lot! 

I was able to locate the ticket and see that my colleague has reached back out to you requesting more information. Could you please check your email inbox for their reply and let me know here if you're unable to locate it?

Hope this gets resolved soon! 

Kind regards, 

JaneA

[Jane]

Hey al3, 

I 'm just replying here to wrap-up our troubleshooting steps, so that other users who may have experienced something similar find it easily. 

Because there was a folder Symlnked  to your Dropbox folder, we had to remove it in order for Dropbox to work as expected again. Let me repeat the steps below for a Linux device, on which the Dropbox folder is located at "/home/JaneA/Dropbox”. 

LINUX:

1) Open your Terminal app.

2) Copy and paste the following line into the Terminal:

find "/home/JaneA/Dropbox" -type l -exec ls -lah {} \;

This should give you a list of symlinks in your Dropbox folder and where they point to. The list the command provides shows you the full file path to every symlink in your account.

When you find the folders there, you can jsut remove the files in your Dropbox folder by dragging them elsewhere on your computer (if you don't want them deleted). After you've removed all of the symlinks you can identify from the Terminal command, please quit Terminal, open it again, and run the command again to ensure that no symlinks remain in your Dropbox folder.

Again, thanks for your cooperation through the process. Please feel free to get back in touch at any time if you have any issues or questions. 

Warm regards, 

JaneA

[al3]

Bad news - the behaviour has reappeared, and I don't have any symbolic links in my Dropbox this time. I can provide more screenshots if desired, but they look identical to last time!

Can I ask for further advice as to how to address this problem?

[Jane]

Hey @al3, 

Thanks for letting me know! 

I have made sure that you have received a newest reply on your support request. At your convenience, could you check your inbox for this message and let me know if you have any issues locating it, so that I make sure that you receive the email again? 

Warm regards, 

JaneA