Downloading zip folder creates duplicate but empty folders

[deeuu]

Hi,

When downloading a zip folder (via both the browser and Python SDK), the resulting folder contains both the correct sub-folders and files, but also a duplicate of the parent folder where all sub-folders are lowercased and empty, e.g. If I zip a folder called 'FOLDER', I get:

FOLDER (correct)

  / SUBFOLDER (correct)

    / FILE (correct)

folder (shouldn't be here)

  / subfolder (shouldn't be here and has no children)

I think this is related to this issue

Any thoughts?

Thank you

[Walter]

Hey there @deeuu - sorry to hear about this.

Could you please let me know if this happens on another browser other than the one(s) you've used so far? Would you mind sharing a screenshot of the problem (omitting personal information)?

Thanks!

[deeuu]

Hey,

I failed to give, what now seems to be, a crucial piece of information:

- This only occurs when downloading a folder that belongs to a dropbox app, e.g.

/Apps/myapp/some_folder

The problem does not seem to occurs if I move 'some_folder' to a non-app folder within my Dropbox, and then download it as a zip.

I understand that this is not a typical use case, but still appears to be a bug.

I've tried it in Firefox, and via the Python SDK.

Do you still require a screenshot?

Thanks again

[Walter]

Thanks for the additional information @deeuu - I appreciate it.

Could you let me know if this persists on other browsers or a private browsing window? Also, is it true that this occurs on folders that are generated from 3rd party apps that are connected to your Dropbox account - did I get this correctly? 

Thank you in advance for your response! 

[deeuu]

Hi,

So I can reproduce this with:

- Firefox

- Firefox private window

- Google chrome

- Python SDK

The plot thickens...

The folder in question was originally copied from a standard dropbox folder to an app I created myself (with 'App folder' permissions). Lets call this app 'my_old_app'.

The app was then deleted from the app console (it is no longer listed in console), but the app folder remains on my Dropbox as /Apps/my_old_app.

The duplicated, lowercase and empty folders are only present when the folder in question (e.g. /Apps/my_old_app/some_folder) is downloaded from within the parent app folder.

If I move/copy the folder (e.g. /Apps/my_old_app/some_folder) to any other location outside of /Apps/my_old_app (even to another active app folder), the downloaded folder contents is as expected (no empty dirs). It's almost as though the zip includes metadata for the folders:

(folders under 'data' should not be included in the download)

Again, I totally understand that this use case is uncommon, but I would not say this behaviour is expected?

[Walter · Accepted solution]

Thank you for your elaborate response and sharing all of the troubleshooting you've done so far - I appreciate the helpful screenshot too @deeuu! 

Since this seems to be very account specific, I'd need to have a better look into it with all of my tools available. Therefore, I have reached out to you via email directly to the email address you use for your profile on the Forum. 

Check your inbox for my email when you get the chance and we'll take it from there. Thanks again and talk via email!

[Philminh]

I'm having the same problem, happens with both firefox and chrome

[Walter]

Sorry to hear that @Philminh.

Can you let me know your device's OS and the version of the browser you use? 

Also, does this happen for an app specific folder for you as well or for all of your folders? 

On a side note, I think that those could be resource forks or extended attirbutes (these are hidden information normally). Could you check if you have enabled hidden files to show on your device? 

Let me know what you find!

[Philminh]

I'm using Ubuntu 16.04,

Chrome Version 78.0.3904.108

Firefox 70.0.1

Not app specific folder, but I also don't know if this happens with every folder.

Turning hidden files on/off doesn't end up changing the zip that gets downloaded.

I should note that unlike the poster above, in my case the duplicated lower case folder has some of the contents (so the total contents are split between the two folders).

To clarify:

FOLDER (correct)

--/ SUBFOLDER_1 (correct)

----/ FILE_1 (correct)

--/ SUBFOLDER_2 (missing FILE_2)

folder (shouldn't be here)

--/ subfolder_1 (shouldn't be here and has no children)

--/ subfolder_2 (shouldn't be here but has FILE_2)

----/ FILE_2

Notably, FILE_2 isn't all lower case

[Walter]

Thank you so much for the additional details @Philminh; they surely help paint a better picture of the matter at hand. 

I'd really like to have a further look into this, if you don't mind me reaching out to your Dropbox email to work on this together that is, so just let me know!

On a side note, can you try another program to unzip the problematic file?Does the same thing occur? 

Let me know what you find please and we'll take it from there.