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Forum Discussion
Why does Dropbox insist on renaming my files?
2020: "Stop renaming my files! (on auto phone upload)" by BoxyBeat https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Dropbox-installs-integrations/Stop-renaming-my-files-on-auto-phone-upload/td-p/391599 Dropbox r...
So why does Dropbox insist on renaming my files?... because they/it can. It is that simple I'm afraid.
I just stumbled upon this issue, too. Perplexingly, I think Dropbox might have backpropagated some renaming from my device files, too. The last ones I know were correctly named and synced appear to be from 2022/11/14, but I'd wager I'm just not seeing a more recent "correct" sync.
This would be less of an issue if the device folders were maintained, but it looks like all files from the selected directories have been synced to "Camera Uploads". I've got a few years to duplicates to undo now to free my storage and need to figure out how to get back the old file names.
Fortunately, I've got a few days off to investigate, but oof, this one kinda' hurts.
- Rich
Super User II
JosephCat wrote:
... I think Dropbox might have backpropagated some renaming from my device files, too. The last ones I know were correctly named and synced appear to be from 2022/11/14 ...
The automatic Camera Uploads feature has always renamed photos and videos during upload, and they have always uploaded to the Camera Uploads folder en masse. This is how Camera Uploads is intended to function. Also, It can only rename the files during the upload process. Dropbox/Camera Uploads doesn't (and can't) go back and rename your files later.
A manual upload, where you can select which specific files you wish to upload, will not rename the files and they will be uploaded to the folder you choose. The only time manual uploads would be renamed is if you have an automation or naming convention applied to the folder that you're uploading them to, in which case the files would be renamed based on the rules you've defined for that folder.
Interesting. Perhaps I only added folder _other_ than the default DCIM recently and just don't remember doing it. The logs on my system only go back three days, so that's not helpful. 🤔 Perhaps I was syncing other device folders automatically and then added them to the automatic camera upload, too. That would explain the duplicates and name changes.
EDIT: There does not seem to be a selective sync for mobile, so that theory is out.
JosephCat wrote:Interesting. Perhaps I only added folder _other_ than the default DCIM recently and just don't remember doing it. The logs on my system only go back three days, so that's not helpful. 🤔 Perhaps I was syncing other device folders automatically and then added them to the automatic camera upload, too. That would explain the duplicates and name changes.
EDIT: There does not seem to be a selective sync for mobile, so that theory is out.As I noted in my previous comment, files can take many turns throughout their lifetime, before they reach their final resting place, in a cold storage (unless they are deleted). The same file can easily get out of sync if you work on multiple copies on multiple devices. Using Camera Upload is just one of several ways to transfer or copy files from device A to device B. Should those files ever be transferred back to device A, now with altered file names, then of course you're going to have duplicates! But if the Camera Upload feature of Dropbox app had not altered those file names during "camera upload" (transfer), your operating system would have most likely detected the error in your attempt and that you already have files with the same file names on the system. It would have prompted you to make a decision to either overwrite existing files, or skip the files you're trying to transfer or copy in, or to allow for the duplication to happen (usually with a "(2)" appended to the file name). As a result of Camera Upload altering file names during upload, this checking mechanism fails, on pretty much every operating system including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS.
In other words, keeping file names consistent throughout their lifetime, is very important. For your own sanity, and to save time, by avoiding having to deal with duplicate files as a result of not having a strict naming convention. Dropbox has a strict naming convention alright, but they have one that they impose on you, whenever you use the Camera Upload feature. This is why I stopped using Dropbox altogether. I did try to persuade them to consider changing this, or at very least letting users decide for themselves if they want to alter file names upon using Camera Upload feature, or not to. But they have stiffly decided not to listen in on what I and others before me have said and complained about in other posts that they downplayed as irrelevant and closed due to inactivity.
However, I'm not entirely sure what you mean by selective sync, but you should be able to selectively upload files from a mobile device to Dropbox. For example when you select a few pictures and a folder that contains PDF documents, and you upload that manually, the file names will be preserved. It's only the Camera Upload feature that automatically and periodically uploads picture files only, that alters file names (on the files as uploaded, not the source files). I don't have Dropbox installed anymore, so I can't verify this, but that's how I remember it.
Rich wrote:The automatic Camera Uploads feature has always renamed photos and videos during upload, and they have always uploaded to the Camera Uploads folder en masse. This is how Camera Uploads is intended to function.
When a company fails to see the error in their way of doing things, or when it recognizes the error but decides to turn their head the other way: We have been doing it like this since the beginning of time, and we will continue to do so till the end of time.
Hey, happy new year Dropbox! New year; old problem. At least you're consistent and keeping up with your new year's resolution to never change. How long has it been now? Two years? I think more, if you look up other posts about the same topic.
Rich wrote:Also, It can only rename the files during the upload process. Dropbox/Camera Uploads doesn't (and can't) go back and rename your files later.
A manual upload, where you can select which specific files you wish to upload, will not rename the files and they will be uploaded to the folder you choose. The only time manual uploads would be renamed is if you have an automation or naming convention applied to the folder that you're uploading them to, in which case the files would be renamed based on the rules you've defined for that folder.
This is not incorrect, but this kind of thinking is flawed. Files can take many turns throughout their lifetime, before they reach their final resting place, in a cold storage (unless they are deleted). Files can be transferred from device A to device B. They can exist in more than one device at the same time! They can be copied from device A to device B and device C. The same file can easily get out of sync if you work on multiple copies on multiple devices.
Those who grew up carrying their school documents around on a USB flash drive remember this well. Then Dropbox appeared, as a sync solution with a whopping 2 GB storage, and a better alternative to a USB flash drive. Common sizes for USB flash drives was 256 MB and 512 MB back then. There were also 1 GB and 2 GB options, but they were not cheap and not cheaper than a free Dropbox account. I should not need to explain this to Dropbox. Keeping files in sync is the whole reason Dropbox came into existence. It's a sync tool, primarily, not a backup solution like so many people confuse it for (and later it was prompted as such).
Using Camera Upload is just one of several ways to transfer or copy files from device A to device B. Should those files ever be transferred back to device A, now with altered file names, then of course you're going to have duplicates! But if the Camera Upload feature of Dropbox app had not altered those file names during "camera upload" (transfer), your operating system would have most likely detected the error in your attempt and that you already have files with the same file names on the system. It would have prompted you to make a decision to either overwrite existing files, or skip the files you're trying to transfer or copy in, or to allow for the duplication to happen (usually with a "(2)" appended to the file name). As a result of Camera Upload altering file names during upload, this checking mechanism fails, on pretty much every operating system including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS.
