You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.

Forum Discussion

VL15's avatar
VL15
Helpful | Level 5
6 years ago

I'm facing an issue, where .tiff files wouldn't preview intermittently. Why?

Have been uploading image files -- jpg and tif formats -- so I can share with specific users for their download. Have been encountering situation where a tif file that  uploaded to DB just fine, and ...
desktop
View
Web
  • VL15's avatar
    VL15
    6 years ago

    Thank you, Jane! very helpful! 

Jane's avatar
Jane
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
6 years ago
Hey VL15, are you by any chance getting the same results upon attempting to replicate through an incognito window/in private browsing mode/without any extensions running & see if that makes a difference? 
 
As an additional step, would you mind clearing your browser's cache & see if this does the trick for you this time? If you’re still getting the same error message or you get stuck in any way, I’d appreciate it if you checked the file size for me & let me know in your next message if possible. Additionally, does the same behavior occur with more than one .tiffs?
 
Thanks for taking the time to work on that with me & I’ll be awaiting your findings, so as to further advise!
  • VL15's avatar
    VL15
    Helpful | Level 5
    6 years ago

    Hi, Jane. Thx for response. So (while online mode at Dropbox.com) I: cleared cache (no change), turned off extensions (no change), and went into incognito mode (no change. ) I decided to download DropBox App again in case I did not have a current version, and in the hopes that my desktop Dropbox app would sync better/faster with my online mode. Also no change to my problem while in online mode. HOWEVER, I went to the Dropbox app on my desktop -- which is in offline mode (cuz that's what it always is, or am I doing something wrong there?) -- and the tif file that would not open in online mode was now appearing fine in that offine mode. And in answer to your other two questions: the problem tif file is 307 MB; I am able to open up the other tif files in online Dropbox just fine. Q: Am I correct that my offine Dropbox files accessed via my desktop app *should* always be a mirror image of of my files at Dropbox.com? And is my experience correct that I can only share files while online at Dropbox.com? Thanks, Jane!

    • Jane's avatar
      Jane
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      6 years ago
      Wow, thank you so much for checking out all my suggestions VL15 & following-up so promptly; that’s mostly appreciated! 
       
      Now, kindly note that the file causing you trouble isn’t previewing on your account online due to its size; you should be able to view .tiff images if they’re smaller than 200 MB or 50 megapixels. As you’ve mentioned that you’ve already discovered that the file opens normally as you’re viewing it locally on your desktop, I’d also encourage you to utilize this workaround for the time being for larger files that you can’t view online. 
       
      VL15 wrote:

      Q: Am I correct that my offine Dropbox files accessed via my desktop app *should* always be a mirror image of of my files at Dropbox.com? 

      Absolutely correct; your online file structure should be reflected across devices (i.e. your desktop/laptop &/or phone) & your account on our website. 
       
      And is my experience correct that I can only share files while online at Dropbox.com? 
      On the other hand, that’s not entirely right, as you should be able to share your files from our website, your connected desktop &/or your connected phone. 
       
      Please keep me posted if you have any follow-up inquiries & it will be a pleasure to further clarify! 
      • VL15's avatar
        VL15
        Helpful | Level 5
        6 years ago

        Thank you, Jane! very helpful! 

About View, download, and export

Need support with viewing, downloading, and exporting files and folders from your Dropbox account? Find help from the Dropbox Community.

Need more support

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or 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!