cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Announcements
Want to learn some quick and useful tips to make your day easier? Check out how Calvin uses Replay to get feedback from other teams at Dropbox here.

Apps and Installations

Have a question about a Dropbox app or installation? Reach out to the Dropbox Community and get solutions, help, and advice from members.

cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Use of "/" and other symbols

Use of "/" and other symbols

sjesser
Helpful | Level 5
Go to solution

Thank you for taking the time to ready my question.

 

When I create folders they have these types of names and use these types of symbols:

 

06/08/18_Property Management Company Name_Property Address

 

So, when I was using DropBox on my iPad I notice that by default it changes the forward slash symbol with a colon. No problem. I'm sure there is a reason for that. However, when I attempt to change the file name to Property Management Company_Property Address_06:08:18 (using the same colon symbol) I get a message saying:

 

Invalid Folder Name. The following characters are not allowed in folder names: /:?*<>"l

 

That doesn't make sense because it changes all the / to : in the files in Mobile DropBox but when I attempt to use a : it says that's invalid.

 

IMG_1765.jpg

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

sjesser
Helpful | Level 5
Go to solution

Thank you so much for your reply.

 

It appears I have solved the problem. Even though the error message says the forward slash is not an acceptable symbol it works!

 

Interestingly enought though, the forward slash is replaced with a colon when I few my files on a mobile device such as my phone or iPad. Weird.

 

...and yes. I am running the most current version of both DropBox and iOS.

View solution in original post

8 Replies 8

Mark
Super User II
Go to solution
This is because of the fact Windows does not allow those characters. So, if you added them to a folder (or file) on Dropbox they'd not sync to any Windows device.

See the section here on 'Incompatible Characters' https://www.dropbox.com/help/syncing-uploads/files-not-syncing

 


:penguin::penguin: - :penguin: - :penguin: - :penguin:


Heart Did this post help you? If so please mark it for some Kudos below. 


:white_check_mark: Did this post fix your issue/answer your question? If so please press the 'Accept as Solution' button to help others find it.


:arrows_counterclockwise: Did this post not resolve your issue? If so please give us some more information so we can try and help - please remember we cannot see over your shoulder so be as descriptive as possible! 


 

sjesser
Helpful | Level 5
Go to solution

Actually my desktop is an iMac and the problem I encounter is on an iPad.

Mark
Super User II
Go to solution
That may be so, but, Dropbox is designed to work across all operating systems, so, even though you (and me actually) are totally within the Mac ecosystem the same rules apply to make everything work.

Logic is that everything needs to 'just happen'. So, they dont want issues if you decided to share one of those folders and the person you shared with was a Windows user - they'd quite possibly not understand and get annoyed at the fact it wouldnt download and sync to their machine.

 


:penguin::penguin: - :penguin: - :penguin: - :penguin:


Heart Did this post help you? If so please mark it for some Kudos below. 


:white_check_mark: Did this post fix your issue/answer your question? If so please press the 'Accept as Solution' button to help others find it.


:arrows_counterclockwise: Did this post not resolve your issue? If so please give us some more information so we can try and help - please remember we cannot see over your shoulder so be as descriptive as possible! 


 

sjesser
Helpful | Level 5
Go to solution

Noted this in your link so now it really doesn't make sense...

 

"Note that on Mac computers only, Dropbox will sync files that include a forward slash in the file name to dropbox.com. However, these files will sync to dropbox.com with a : (colon) in place of the / (forward slash). Files with forward slashes sync to other Mac computers, but they can't be synced to Windows computers."

sjesser
Helpful | Level 5
Go to solution
I get that but then what should I substitute for a / or : symbol because if I use either one I get the error message.

Jane
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Hey sjesser, thanks a lot for posting your editing query on the Forum! 
 
As I was unable to recreate the behavior you’ve described above on my end (namely the forward slash wasn’t renamed to colon when I tried to recreate on an iPad)- though I received the same error message with Invalid Folder Names, could you relay the steps you’re following in your next post here, so as to make sure I get a better understanding of the matter? 
 
Additionally, can you please confirm that you’re running the latest version of the Dropbox application on your iPad (98.2) & you’ve installed all OS updates? 
 
Thanks in advance for your cooperation & I’ll be awaiting your next post here, in order to check it in more depth together! 

 


Jane
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support

 

Heart Did this post help you? If so please give it a Like below. 
:white_check_mark: Did this post fix your issue/answer your question? If so please press the 'Accept as Best Answer' button to help others find it.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Still stuck? Ask me a question! (
Questions asked in the community will likely receive an answer within 4 hours!)

sjesser
Helpful | Level 5
Go to solution

Thank you so much for your reply.

 

It appears I have solved the problem. Even though the error message says the forward slash is not an acceptable symbol it works!

 

Interestingly enought though, the forward slash is replaced with a colon when I few my files on a mobile device such as my phone or iPad. Weird.

 

...and yes. I am running the most current version of both DropBox and iOS.

Jane
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution
Thanks a lot for looping back here on the progress sjesser, glad to hear that this has now been sorted for you!
 
Please don’t hesitate to post us again here in case you have further questions or feedback in the future & we’ll make sure to check back with you as closely as possible. Happy Dropboxing & enjoy the rest of your day! 😊

 


Jane
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support

 

Heart Did this post help you? If so please give it a Like below. 
:white_check_mark: Did this post fix your issue/answer your question? If so please press the 'Accept as Best Answer' button to help others find it.
:arrows_counterclockwise: Still stuck? Ask me a question! (
Questions asked in the community will likely receive an answer within 4 hours!)

Need more support?
Who's talking

Top contributors to this post

  • User avatar
    Jane Dropbox Staff
  • User avatar
    sjesser Helpful | Level 5
What do Dropbox user levels mean?