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
Files appearing in the Dropbox folder on Mac but not syncing
Hi guys
Been using Dropbox for a decade now, literally without any issues. But this last week some photo/video files are not fully syncing. As in they appear in file explorer on desktop (Mac OS), , full size MBs and everything but they cannot be opened. Like the files are not finalised or something.
Each of the files has this cloud symbol next to it that I've never seen before
Yet when I click the icon it says everything is synced?
Also if i download the files from the web app they work fine.
Any clues?
Hahaha, might be!
Perhaps you can give these steps a go and see if they make any difference (only if you're not on a free Basic plan with more than 3 devices currently linked):
1) Clear the cache on your Dropbox app.
- Tap the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines) in the upper-left corner of the screen
- Tap the gear icon labeled "Settings" at the bottom of the menu list
- Scroll to “Privacy” & select “Clear cache"
2) Uninstall the Dropbox App
3) Sign out from the Play store
4) Restart your device
5) Sign into the Play Store
6) Download and Install Dropbox
7) Try to sign into your Dropbox account
- Hannah
Dropbox Staff
Hey dvorakoa, thanks for joining the Dropbox Community!
This is actually expected, as these files are in what we call an "online-only" state.
This is a feature created to turn files into placeholders, with no physical space on the drive, to basically free up space on your drive.
If you want to open them, you can right/control click on them and choose "make available offline".
Let me know if you have any questions or issues with this.
Hi Hannah Thank you for your reply.
The 'make available offline' option is not present for these files...now what?
I am using the latest Dropbox version on Mac OS.
Also, the files are still taking up space on my system. I just can't use them.
Is this a new feature? How can I disable it as it clearly doesn't work.
Anton
- Hannah
Hmm, is this a file that's currently in your Dropbox folder?
Because it seems like you don't have any Dropbox options whatsoever in your right-click options.
Is the app syncing files as normal? Meaning, if you add a file to the Dropbox folder, does it sync to your account on dropbox.com and vice versa?
Hi Hannah
Yes, this is my Dropbox folder. Now that you mention it, the desktop app does not seem to be syncing all the files. This is the first time this has ever happened and I've been using your services for a decade 🤔
I'm getting a new laptop today anyways so will report back if the issue persists. The files are there on Dropbox Online and my mobile device.
