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Forum Discussion
Upload error messages
DropBox will not upload numerous files. I have tried using Firefox, Google Chrome, MS Edge, I have cleared cache, I have tried to upload in Incognito mode. Still, numerous files will not upload. The error messages vary - some have said "file is empty" when it is just a standard .pdf, sometimes the message states that the file type is unsupported by DropBox when, again, they are basic .pdf documents with .pdf file name extensions. Also, DropBox is changing some of my file names. I deleted my DuckDuckGo search extension. I also tried uploading with WebRoot web protection turned off. None of these potential fixes have worked. I have seen other posts about this issue. Perhaps something has happened with DropBox? I have uploaded docs like this just fine for the past year and a half. This problem just became apparent this week with a large upload I needed to do. Oh, and I have plenty of space on my DB account and the files are not too large - nor is the entire attempted upload too large.
I figured out the problem. DropBox has a character limit of 275. The documents that would not upload exceeded that given that the file path included about 5 sub-folders and the document/file name was long. I wish the DropBox engineers would figure out a way to have the error messages match what is actually wrong. The error messages said DropBox would not support the file type (Google docs, etc) and that the file was empty. Well, the file was only empty because DropBox could not manage the number of characters in the path. I hope this helps someone else! I was stumped for a couple of weeks.
- Walter
Dropbox Staff
Hey there spctre598; welcome aboard and thanks for using Dropbox!
I'm sorry to hear you're having issues with uploading files to our website via a web browser.
As you've already done most of the troubleshooting here, could you please forward us a screenshot of the exact error message(s) you get so we can have a visual too?
Keep me posted anyhow!
Walter ... thanks for your response. Attached are a couple of screenshots of the error messages.
At the suggestion of DropBox support rep, Jeff, I tried uploading the files using my laptop. Eureka! They uploaded just fine. So the problem is with my desktop computer. I have tried numerous fixes - none have been successful. I uninstalled Lenovo Vantage as it has additional protections for web interface, etc., I ran a malware scan, I uninstalled Lenovo Family Cloud Server and Lenovo Apps Explorer. Still no luck. It can't be a problem with Windows 10 security as I have Windows 10 on both the laptop and desktop computers. At this point I guess I need to give up trying to upload files from my desktop computer. I will save to a flash drive, plug into the laptop and upload from there. At least I am no longer dead in the water. Any thoughts on desktop solution are more than welcome! I am using a Lenovo IdeaCentre 700 All-In-One. Interestingly, this is a relatively new problem - I did not have this issue when I first bought the desktop computer 2 years ago.
I figured out the problem. DropBox has a character limit of 275. The documents that would not upload exceeded that given that the file path included about 5 sub-folders and the document/file name was long. I wish the DropBox engineers would figure out a way to have the error messages match what is actually wrong. The error messages said DropBox would not support the file type (Google docs, etc) and that the file was empty. Well, the file was only empty because DropBox could not manage the number of characters in the path. I hope this helps someone else! I was stumped for a couple of weeks.
