Integrations
Find solutions to issues with third-party integrations from the Dropbox Community. Share advice and help members with their integration questions.
Hi all,
I am a Adobe After Effects user.
I keep my files synced to DropBox. Frequently, I get an issue where, when I try to open a project, After Effects should import all the media files linked to the project. But instead, it shows an error "After Effects error: could not open source file. Please check that file exists with correct permissions." And it happens only with the MOV files saved in the DropBox folder (offline). If I change the file's name or its location (within or outside DropBox), After Effects can read the file fine.
Anyone familiar with this?
Thanks,
Nishu
@Jay They are all available offline and I can open them in QuickTime and preview, I just can't import them back into After Effects anymore. What works is if I rename the file - it allows me to import the file. But that's not really a solution when collaborating on big projects with lots of files in it.
@Jay Have just checked one more thing. If I move the file out of Dropbox (i.e. drag it onto desktop) I can then import the file into After Effects, but if I drag and drop it back into Dropbox - I can't import it again (file is green and synced).
If the file has that green icon on it, and you then quit the Dropbox desktop application entirely, are you able to import it into that app?
Jay
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support
Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!
@Jay good thinking! But no, have just tried it - still can't import the file even if I quit the Dropbox app completely.
Hey @pavelas - sorry to jump in here, but could you try fixing your hardlinks and permissions as outlined here and let us know if you notice any improvement?
Walter
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support
Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join
Hi @Walter did not solve the issue, tried both: fixing hardlinks and fixing permissions. But I think the error message changed after that, it now says:
1) After Effects error: Could not open source file. Please check that file exists with correct permissions.
2) After Effects error: file 'filename.mov' cannot be imported - this 'MooV' file is damaged or unsupported.
I am struggling with this also. If I change the name of the file or the location, its seems to lose the error and work - but of course, that's hardly a viable solution for a comfortable workflow ,as we typically work with many video files in every project.... as I imagine most people would.
Hi everyone! I’d like to ask a few more things here, if you don’t mind.
Can either one of you send me a screenshot of the error, so that we may have a visual?
Also, what’s the current location/filepath of the local Dropbox folder on your computers?
Can you try opening the files directly via the Dropbox folder, and then via Adobe After Effects, and let me know if there’s a difference in the error you’re getting?
Nancy
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support
Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join!
@Nancy error image attached.
current filepath of the Dropbox folder - Users/username/Dropbox
As I mentioned previously, there is no problem opening the files for previews or in QuickTime directly in the folder, only when trying to import to After Effects (doesn't matter if I drag & drop or import it via File -> Import). The files also can't be opened when opening an old project file that has those files in place.
And just to clarify - those files 'break' only after bringing them back from the cloud, and yes they are green and available offline. They work if I change their location or rename them, but once I rename them back to their old names or drag them back into the folder - they don't work.
Hi @pavelas, sorry to jump in here, but I just wanted to mention that this issue seems like a known Adobe issue outlined here.
Have you reached out to Adobe support to flag this with them perhaps?
Walter
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support
Did this post help you? If so, give it a Like below to let us know.
Need help with something else? Ask me a question!
Find Tips & Tricks Discover more ways to use Dropbox here!
Interested in Community Groups? Click here to join
Hi there!
If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for a ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.
For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.
If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!