Cannot open password protected file on Mac; fingerprint works but not password

[ChrisG777]

I have a password-protected file on my Mac (Ventura 13.4). It is in DropBox. My fingerprint will open it but my password will not. The password I am trying is my Mac login password. I am sure it is correct because I log out and in again to test it. My caps lock is not on. I open the KeychainAccess app, find the file in question, click 'info', and select the 'show password' check box. It asks me for a password. I enter my Mac login password. It then asks me for a password again. I enter my Mac login password again. It then shows nothing in the password field - it is just blank. I need the password because I want to access the (Dropbox stored) file from my phone and my phone asks for the password. It seems the fingerprint mechanism knows the password, but I cannot get it to tell me what it is.

I submitted this question to the Apple Mac forum. The reply was to contact DropBox support. So now i am not sure whether it is needing a DropBox password or a Mac one. I have tried both and neither work.

[Hannah]

Hey @ChrisG777, thanks for joining our Community!

If this is a file that is password protected through your computer's OS, a Dropbox password is definitely not what you need.

If you close the Dropbox app, do you see the same behavior?

Let me know what you find.

[ChrisG777]

I closed the Dropbox app. Tried to open the file on my Mac. Opted to use password and not fingerprint.  I got 'incorrect password' with both my Mac login password and my Dropbox password. I then did the same process but elected to use my fingerprint and the file opened ok.

[Hannah]

Thanks Chris, were you actually the person that created and password protected this file?

The password could be anything, it doesn't have to be related to your Mac or your Dropbox.

If someone else sent it to you, I would recommend reaching out to them.

[ChrisG777]

Yes I created the password. I’m pretty sure it’s a Mac password, not Dropbox. But the Mac password app shows it as blank. And I’ve tried a blank password (just pressing enter) and that gets an invalid password response.

[ChrisG777]

Yes, with the Dropbox app closed I get the same behaviour. File will open with my fingerprint but not with my Mac login password nor my Dropbox password.

[Mark]

Does it work if you take it outside of the Dropbox folder @ChrisG777 ?

The key thing here is that Dropbox itself does not control the password on files. Thats done by the files themselves. So, if its opening on finger print but not typed then the issue is with the password OR a corrupt file. The finger print ID check to open the file is not a Dropbox security feature. 

[ChrisG777]

Exactly the same behaviour if I take its out of the Dropbox folder. As I expected.  I never really thought it was a Dropbox issue and wouldn't have bothered the Dropbox community - except that someone on the Apple Mac community told me that it *was* a Dropbox issue. Thanks for the help.