new suffix .icloud

[Susanna P]

Hi, 

I have just found that a number of my .pptx files saved to Dropbox have been changed to .pptx.icloud 

I've looked online and had suggestions such as changing back to .pptx by renaming (doesn't work - corrupts the files and they come back as 0bytes), by trying to open them from different computers etc. But nothing works. I can still see them and they do have content - but it seems there is no way to open them. I've been to Dropbox support and am waiting for them to get back to me. I've also been to Mac and asked about it from their end (they say its a Dropbox issues). 

has anyone else had the same problem and did they find a solution?

All help and advice gratefully received. 

Thanks, 

Susanna

[Mark]

Hi @Susanna P 

Unfortunately this is because you've moved the files from iCloud to Dropbox without allowing them to download from iCloud first. Apple creates these 'files' as placeholders for files which are not actually stored on a Mac but are instantly downloaded when opened - hence its iCloud. 

The only way of restoring and fixing is going back to the iCloud drive and downloading them again. It may work if you copy the files back over and then download, but, it'll depend upon the retention rules on the iCloud drive.

[Susanna P]

Thanks so much. No idea how this happened - I didn't ask anything to do something specific - more like an automatic sync that seems to have not worked. But thanks anyway for your reply. Really appreciated. Susanna