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Forum Discussion
Andrew-RFLB
8 years agoHelpful | Level 5
Smart Sync and Quick Preview on Mac
Smart Sync causes my quick preview function (spacebar) to not function properly on my Mac. I can't preview thumbnails, or quick preview any videos or photos. Any ideas why this happens?
- 8 years ago
Likely because you're trying to preview a file that doesn't exist on your computer.
When you set a file to Online Only, the only thing that's left of that file on your computer is the necessary information to make it appear in the folder. Since there's no content in the file, your OS (nor any other program) is able to preview it.
Remember, when you set a file to Online Only, the file is removed from the computer leaving behind only a marker file. In order to access that file, whether it be to open and edit it or simply preview it, the file needs to be on the computer (Smart Sync doesn't allow you to open files directly from the Dropbox servers). When you open a file, it's synced back to your local drive and then opened as normal. When you're done with the file, if you want it to be online-only again, you need to mark it as such.
Jane
Dropbox Staff
As I’d like to put that to the attention of a specialized team member, I’ve made sure to create a Support Request on our system on your behalf (gathering all info you’ve included on this discussion here), so as to forward your request to a specialized colleague.
Whenever you find some time, please check your inbox for my email & I’ll make sure to promptly follow-up with you & help you address this inquiry in any way I can.
Thanks again & I’ll be awaiting your next email, so as to move forward on the matter together!
CNowell
7 years agoHelpful | Level 6
Jane This is what we've been discussing all along with Rod2's post details, and there's a significant amount of users in this thread also having this same issue.
What about the rest of us?
PLEASE, whatever you do, don't consider the issue "resolved" with just Rod2.
AT LEAST inform the rest of us what's going on in here, or when we can expect a fix, if any.
Rod2, at the risk of sounding pessimistic, don't be surprised if they say it's OSX's problem (...how can they even justifify this explanation? Dropbox makes software for Apple, not the other way around). On the flipside, I hope your customer service experience is better than mine!
Pardon any abrasiveness in this post, but the level of blame shifting or support quality in this thread is starting to wear thin on me.
- CNowell7 years agoHelpful | Level 6
Lauri I. God, that sucks. Sorry for all of the frustration you've probably encountered, but thank you for passing the info along.
LeahlcMy employer is actually in process of testing out Box— apparently it doesn't suffer from the same syncing issues, but only time will tell. Fingers crossed!
In the meantime, I'm cancelling my (personal) subscription later today. It's just not worth the headache anymore, especially with customer service putting the blame on the user and/or claiming that it's "The OS's fault" (guys, guess what, you're supposed to update your software as the OS gets updated) — Imagine the lovely responses we're going to get when our information is compromised or when data is lost (which will inevitably will happen at some point).
At this point, Dropbox isn't exactly the type of company I'm cool with safekeeping all of my work docs— especially if they can't be bothered to fix a problem as fundamental to most of our workflows as this.Good luck out there everyone.
- DanKorkelia7 years agoHelpful | Level 5
So has the issue been resolved at all? I had issue on High Sierra and now also on Mojave.
- Leahlc7 years agoHelpful | Level 6
Has anyone here considered switching to Box.com, or already using Box and not having any of these issues? I use to be on Box through my previous job and never had issues like this. Im nearing desperate to move on from this issue as I have to look through tons of photos a day and this is really hindering my productivity.
- Jane7 years agoDropbox StaffThanks for reaching back out to me on this discussion User4759, annienar & CNowell, I’ll do my best to follow-up with you & we’ll take it from there!For starters, I’m assuming that you’re all experiencing the same behavior Rod2 has described above. If someone is seeing something different or they have this issue by following different steps, please do let me know in your replies.Moving forward, I’m genuinely interested in seeing whether this is specific to Dropbox-related processes & for that reason I’ve made sure to reach back out to you via email CNowell & annienar, so as to try & recreate the behavior. I haven’t reached out to you User4759, because you’ve mentioned that the issue they were facing persisted with Dropbox complete closed.That all being said, I appreciate your efforts & the time you’ve all devoted in sending us the relevant info & rest assured that I’m here to examine the variables that may apply on this behavior.Last but not least, I’d like to note that I’m at your entire disposal should you need any updates & chase any newer report that could be posted here, so feel free to ping me at any time & I’ll make sure to check back with you asap.I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day ahead & I’m looking forward to hearing back form you via email!
- Jane7 years agoDropbox StaffOnce you “Quit Dropbox”, the application is no longer actively running on your device, hence it’s a valid troubleshooting steps for us, so as to determine whether it’s affecting any other functionality.Your folderstructure remains intact on your device though & you can access your files normally regardless, as the Dropbox folder that remains on this device is merely a regular folder on your computer.I hope this sheds some more light on your query User4759 & I’m wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead!
- Jane7 years agoDropbox StaffIf your files are set to “Online-only” (☁️) on your device, you shouldn’t be able to access them locally once you disconnect your Dropbox account from your desktop (though this should apply only to the files inside your Dropbox folder).As per Rod2’s description on the previous page though, it was my understanding that we were discussing that Smart Synced files are set to local & after doing so, you’re still unable to use the Quick Preview. Am I right or are you seeing something else User4759? If so (namely your files are available locally), then Quitting the Dropbox application should be a a valid troubleshooting step.Of course, I could happily analyze all the above in more detail in case you have more questions, so please do keep me updated if you’d like me to here to explain any of the above more. Happy Monday!
- AlyssaP7 years agoNew member | Level 2
I am having the same issue as the above posters. I just installed Dropbox the other day (after upgrading to High Sierra). Now, none of my files can be previewed in Finder. When I relaunch Finder, previews will show again for a few minutes, but then the same issue happens again and I can't preview files anymore. I have tried turning off Smart Sync and online-only settings, but it hasn't worked. How do I turn off the online-only setting so that all of my files can be downloaded and previewed in Finder?
- User47597 years agoHelpful | Level 6
CNowell, I'd love to hear how Box works out for you. I've found the only thing that works is syncing everything locally, which defeats the purpose of SmartSync for me (smaller hard drive, more files stored in cloud). So I'm currently archiving things to Dropbox but not using SmartSync the way I like, which means I can drop my plan down a notch and save a bunch of money. But if Box can actually do it right, their $15 plan looks terrific to me - and less than I'm paying for DropBox.
- User47597 years agoHelpful | Level 6
What does "completely closed" mean? As Support instructed, I clicked the DropBox icon, clicked the gear, clicked "Quit Dropbox." And yet, I could still access files which were stored on DropBox only via SmartSync. If I completely closed out of DropBox, shouldn't I be unable to see those files?
- User47597 years agoHelpful | Level 6
So, even though I only have those filed stored online, not locally, I can still access them locally with DropBox turned off? I'm use SmartSync so I don't have to keep so many files on my limited hard drive. It doesn't make sense that I'd be able to access them if DropBox was truly deactivated. Plus, I'm not talking about the Dropbox folder. I'm talking about other folders that have SmartSync set to store the files online only. You're saying I should be able to see them without Dropbox being active on my computer?
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