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Forum Discussion

Andrew-RFLB's avatar
Andrew-RFLB
Helpful | Level 5
8 years ago

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?
desktop
Mac
Setting up the apps
  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    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.

Sanchez's avatar
Sanchez
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
Hey ewest, welcome to our community! 

I don’t have any update for you, unfortunately. We haven’t heard back from the original poster, so I have no idea how that worked out. 

I suggest that you get in touch with our support team about this. I can have an agent reach out to you at the email address associated with your forum profile, or you can submit a request here. 

If you want to give the reinstall a try, know that you won’t need to re-sync all your data. When you uninstall or delete our app, your local Dropbox folder is left in tact. When you install again, our app will recognize that folder, and only re-index your files! If you have moved your local Dropbox folder to a non-default location, then you can tell our app where that location is, by choosing the Advanced Options during the installation process. Again, it will just need to re-index. 

Here’s the reinstall info for MacOS: 

Make sure you save and quit ALL programs that access files in your Dropbox folder. Then: 
 
  1. Download the latest offline installer of our app, 49.4.68. The offline version is the complete installation package. 

  2. Stop Dropbox (If needed):
  • Click the Dropbox icon in the menu bar at the top of your screen
  • Click on the gear icon in the Notifications panel and select 'Quit Dropbox'
 
  1. Delete the Dropbox application from the Applications folder. You may need to provide your computer password in order to perform this action.

  2. Reinstall the Dropbox desktop application
  • Open the Dropbox .dmg file and double click the Dropbox icon.

Let me know how this goes. 
Cheers! 
Lauri I.'s avatar
Lauri I.
Helpful | Level 6
7 years ago
Hey,

From the emaiI support I only got instructions how to take screenshots on mac and asked to describe the problem, which I have already done here.

Ewest: Re-installing of the dropbox client does not help so I personally do not recommend wasting time on that.
  • Sanchez's avatar
    Sanchez
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
    Hey again, Lauri I., 

    I’ve asked our agent to reach back out to you about this. They’ll be in touch as soon as possible. 

    Thanks! 
  • Norah's avatar
    Norah
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
     
    Hey Lauri I., I have reached out to you once more! :upside_down:
     
    I understand the procedure can be frustrating,however, in order to have a better understanding on why you are experiencing this issue I will need you to provide me with all the details requested.
     
    Thank you for your time and cooperation!

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