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rjwb's avatar
rjwb
Helpful | Level 7
5 years ago

Dropbox files no longer inherit folder permissions

Within my Dropbox folder, I have sub-folders with different Windows ACL permissions. Up until recently, whenever Dropbox synced a file it inherited its folder permissions perfectly. Now it no longe...
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SLWelsh's avatar
SLWelsh
New member | Level 2

I have a dropbox subfolder that is set up for sharing over a local Windows network. The folder and its parents are all set for sharing with a default of Full Access for "Everyone" on the network. If I create a file in this folder using Windows, the file will have proper NTFS permissions, both local and Network Share.

Any files imported into the folder through Dropbox, however, from, say, an Android device or a Linux machine, only inherit local NTFS permissions. The permissions for "Everyone" are missing. I have to open each file's permissions box and add "Everyone" to it for any other machines on the Windows net to see the file.

I've had this arragement for quite some time, and it seems like the permissions worked fine up until a few months ago after an app update. I've been pulling my hair out looking for solutions, but I am at my wit's end.

What is Dropbox doing differently when creating these files from all other Windows apps?

Walter's avatar
Walter
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
5 years ago

Hi SLWelsh - welcome to the Dropbox Community!

What you notice is now expected as we implemented a fix in a new version of the Dropbox desktop application that ensures both consistent folder icons and file/folder permissions for items residing within the Dropbox folder.
 
If you have files or folders in the Dropbox folder with custom permissions (such as custom POSIX permissions or BSD flags), these may be removed to ensure the file syncs to other devices without any issues.  
 
I hope this clears things up and we're always a post away if you have any additional questions. 
  • Brian1's avatar
    Brian1
    Collaborator | Level 10
    5 years ago
    Walter wrote:

    Hi SLWelsh - welcome to the Dropbox Community!

    What you notice is now expected as we implemented a fix in a new version of the Dropbox desktop application that ensures both consistent folder icons and file/folder permissions for items residing within the Dropbox folder.
     
    If you have files or folders in the Dropbox folder with custom permissions (such as custom POSIX permissions or BSD flags), these may be removed to ensure the file syncs to other devices without any issues.  
     
    I hope this clears things up and we're always a post away if you have any additional questions. 

    Please elaborate:

    1) As of what specific version was this change made, and why wasn't it highlighted in the release notes?

    2) What else do you consider a "custom" permission? You mentioned two things, both outside of the Windows realm, POSIX and BSD, that wouldn't be in play for us, so I'd like to know all the possible scenarious you mean.

    3) "May" be removed?  Explain further.

    What we've been seeing lately in isolated cases, definitely with files that have synced recently from one site to another, is users (in the Security permissions list of a given file in Properties) being removed and the list merely being left with SYSTEM and Administrators, or similar. We then need to fix this manually and hope it doesn't happen again.

    I don't want to open a case. I just want to see this fully documented.

  • SLWelsh's avatar
    SLWelsh
    New member | Level 2
    5 years ago

    So what's the fix or workaround? Or do I need to just move to a different file-sharing service?

    • SLWelsh's avatar
      SLWelsh
      New member | Level 2
      5 years ago

      Those computers do not have Internet access. This is not a solution whatsoever.

      Please explain to me why Dropbox is overriding the default permissions for the folder? This should have no bearing on sync of files to other platforms.

       

      • Walter's avatar
        Walter
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        5 years ago

        I understand this is not optimal -especially when it comes to your particular setup- but, as mentioned, this is merely to ensure syncing across devices SLWelsh.

        If you have any suggestion about this, feel free to post in the 'Share an Idea' section so other similar-minded users can find and upvote it too to show their interest. 

        I know it's not much, yet, I hope it helps to a certain extent. 

    • Walter's avatar
      Walter
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      5 years ago

      Your best bet at this point would be to utilize one of our core features which is shared folders SLWelsh.

      So instead of giving those permissions to other Windows users that are within your network, share a folder with them by using their email addresses. 

      Let me know how it goes. 

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