Learn how to make the most out of the Dropbox Community here 💙.
Forum Discussion
Solved
How to tell which files are being copied
I have been following various "slow sync" threads, given that I am in the middle of a four-day sync of just six files. This is the first time in nearly five years that DropBox has grinded to a halt like this, and the various threads speak of checking for weird filenames and other perfectly reasonable approaches to take.
But this raises an additional question for me: how does one know which files DropBox is trying to sync?
At least on Windows, the app sports a pretty meager interface. I know which files have already been synced from the Recent tab and I get a basic idea of its current activity from the "Syncing X Files" message and the accompanying progress bar. But nowhere can I find the name of the file that DB is actively trying to sync.
That seems like important information! What am I missing...?
Hey Rick A.2, thanks for reaching out to us about this.
I'd be more than happy to help look into this with you, I'll just need a bit more info, such as:
- What do the syncing icons show on your Dropbox folder? Can you see any with the blue icon and the spinning arrows?
- Could you also send me a screenshot (without any personal info) of what the Dropbox icon that's next to your computer's clock shows when you hover over it?
- Is the Dropbox folder located on an internal/supported location? You can check this from your desktop app's settings.
Let me know what you find!
- Lusil
Dropbox Staff
Hey Rick A.2, thanks for reaching out to us about this.
I'd be more than happy to help look into this with you, I'll just need a bit more info, such as:
- What do the syncing icons show on your Dropbox folder? Can you see any with the blue icon and the spinning arrows?
- Could you also send me a screenshot (without any personal info) of what the Dropbox icon that's next to your computer's clock shows when you hover over it?
- Is the Dropbox folder located on an internal/supported location? You can check this from your desktop app's settings.
Let me know what you find!
Lusil, your questions were telling. I use an alternate file manager (Total Commander) so I rarely set foot inside the Windows File Manager. To address your question, I opened a file window into DropBox and, perhaps for the first time, made note of the icons. Sure enough, there was a small log file with the blue syncing icon -- it seemed to be stuck in a feedback loop, endlessly updating itself and never being fully synced.
As soon as I ditched that useless file, my hard drive quieted down and DropBox reported itself to be up to date. Many thanks for that.
