Didn't Save, Need to Recover File

[kevinstaake]

Hi there. I'd been working on an Excel doc on desktop Dropbox and accidentally closed the program without saving. Now I've lost 4 hours of progress and can only restore to the version I last saved at 2pm yesterday. Isn't Dropbox supposed to autosave versions every few minutes? Please send help asap! Thank you!

[Jane]

Thanks for circling back to me on this matter @gwrevare; let’s take it from where we’ve left off! 

It looks like we’re starting to connect the dots, however let me briefly clarify that each application retains its own versioning scheme. That said, if you’re working on a file you’ve stored on your Dropbox folder & you save your changes, then these should be reflected in Dropbox as well. If you can’t see the most Up-To-Date version of your docs in Dropbox, then this denotes that there’s probably an underlying syncing issue. 

Unlinking & relinking your account on your desktop once can be helpful as a quick fix, since it recreates the local database. Would you mind giving it a go at your earliest convenience? When you do so, could you have a look at your overlay icons to see if your files are syncing correctly /?

From there, I’m wondering if you’ve also enquired to Microsoft regarding your missing edits by any chance, as I’m suspecting that this version hasn’t been synced to Dropbox so your best bet would be checking whether it can be retrieved within Microsoft Word. 

I hope that this is helpful to some extent- please let me know if you make any progress on your end or you have any follow-up questions!

[gwrevare]

I unlinked then signed back into dropbox. Now none of my syncing icons are working. 

[Jane]

Hmmm… 🤔 Interesting outcome @gwrevare (& thanks for sharing); at this point I’d recommend re-installing our app using the Offline installer which should eliminate similar discrepancies (& you can reference the steps outlined below to get going with that):

Spoiler

• Stop Dropbox (If needed) by clicking the Dropbox icon in the system tray at the bottom of your screen. >Click on the  icon in the Notifications panel and select "Quit Dropbox".

• Uninstall Dropbox: [Note: If Dropbox was installed by a Windows administrator in Program Files, you will need admin permissions to remove the application.]> Click on the Start button on the bottom left of your screen, and select "Control Panel" (Windows 7), or type Control Panel at the Start screen or start menu, and click on it (Windows 10, 8 ).> Click "Uninstall a Program". >Select Dropbox from the list of programs and click "Uninstall".

• When the uninstall finishes, reboot your computer. This will make sure the uninstall is complete.  

• At that point, I’d suggest disabling any Security/Antivirus programs & give our offline installer a try: https://www.dropbox.com/downloading?plat=win&type=full (Windows) 

Nonetheless, if you’re still unable to see any syncing icons on your files, please let me know & I’ll make sure to reach out to you directly on my end, so as to check back on the specifics I have on my tools. Thanks again for sticking with me on our discussion here!

[Tom25]

Similar problem here.

Was trying to find the local AutoRecover file for the document, and went back through the AutoRecover folder for Word using Time Machine.  Files that were locally saved on my machine (that I had open at the same time) generated an AutoRecover file, but not the file I had that was saved in Dropbox.

I'm left concluding that if a file is saved in Dropbox Microsoft Office may not make an AutoRecover file, which is pretty worrying.

[Tamie]

I had this exact same issue today. I had saved my word doc multiple times, working with my word doc in Dropbox. Then, I accidentally dropped my computer and the screen went blank. I restarted the computer, and when I opened my word doc, it only showed the version saved at 10:15 that morning, as if I hadn't saved it after that time. And Word also showed no previous versions. (That option was greyed out in Word.) So I"m afraid that the autosave function doesn't work if your document is in Dropbox. I've lost six hours of work, and now I don't trust dropbox. 

[Jane]

Hey @Tamie, sorry to hear you’re feeling this way. Kindly note that after a crash or unexpected shutdown, the “Document Recovery Pane” should appear on the left when you start up Word, showing you work that might not have been saved; I’m wondering whether you got that once you relaunched Microsoft Word. 

From there, I ran a search on our system & I could see that you’ve chatted in to my colleague, where you’ve made some progress together, so it would be best to gather all relevant details under the same email chain for convenience’ sake. 

While I’ve now made sure to include a copy of your comments & I’ve increased your support priority internally, I remain at your entire disposal should you need more help in any way. Thanks! 

[rcookney]

I am also in the same boat. But I didn't experience an unexpected shut down. I had a file which I was working on, saved it (it saved properly and synced). Came back a few days later, worked on the file for a couple more hours and saved (I know I saved because I completely closed out of Word and was prompted to save before closing).

Then went back to the file a couple of days later to find that my edits had not been saved. As such, there was nothing in 'recover unsaved files' because I had actually saved it. The version both locally and online was the version that I had worked on in the first instance without any edits.

Is this some kind of reverse sync issue? I need a solution otherwise I'll have to move from dropbox to another tool. I can't afford for that to happen again

[rcookney]

And just another update. I just did a test...

Went into the file I mentioned above. Did some more updates, saved as I went. Saved the document, closed out of word, reopened document - it only saved the edits from the save I did half way through, but not the final edits (just before I saved and closed). Luckily I copied and pasted them to another document.

[Tamie]

Here's what I'm doing now... I save my document and I automatically save a backup copy (option in Word.) When I save, I click the dropbox icon and it opens a list of recent activity. Sometimes it shows that the document was saved (edited), and sometimes it doesn't. I really don't understand why. One time, I simply added one extra word to the doc and pressed save and Dropbox never showed the document as being "edited." It only showed it as being "viewed." In desperation, I have saved the document with a new title, which never seems to fail to show up in Dropbox. This is definitely a concern!!!

[Jane]

Hey @rcookney & @Tamie, I understand your concern & I’ve now made sure to reach out to you directly via email, as I’d need to further look into the files causing you trouble in the first place. Whenever you find some time, please check your inboxes for my message if you’d like to work on that with me from that point on & I’ll make sure to promptly get back in touch with you soon. Thanks again!