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Forum Discussion
Mac osx - strange extra files appearing when downloading files directly.
Just had a strange issue with some files that I directly downloaded from our DB folders.
On the website, I went to one of my shared folders from another team member, and clicked on 2 files (illustrator) and one folder that contained several photoshop images.
I chose to direct download option and downloaded them to my desktop. They downloaded to the zip file, like usual. BUT... when I uncompressed the zip file, there was an ADDITIONAL folder named "__MACOSX" - when I opened that, there was a repeat of the same Illustrator files and the PSD folder, but the file names were changed (most had underscores in them). In addition, these files were very small in size (70 bytes for example, when they should have been 3.3MB - same thing for the PSD images they were all around 100kb or less, when they should have been several MB).
I asked my co-worker to repeat the process on his computer (different OS that what I'm using, but still on a mac) and he had the same thing happen.
Any idea's what's happening? Is this just a glitch?
I'm on an imac, running OS 10.11.6
- Daphne
Dropbox Staff
Thanks Daphne,
Opened up a new browser (Firefox - initial browser was Chrome), and yes same exact issue.
Downloading files from my one user (not shared) also produced the same results.
There was no need to clear browser cache on firefox since it was the first time I've ever visited DB on that browser.
Incognito window produced the same results as well (using different files too).
Thoughts?- Daphne
- Rich
Super User II
JefW wrote:
... when I uncompressed the zip file, there was an ADDITIONAL folder named "__MACOSX" - when I opened that, there was a repeat of the [files/folders], but the file names were changed (most had underscores in them).
Just to point it out for the Mac users that may not be aware, but this is pretty common when a PC user receives a compressed file from a Mac user. I'd wager that it's actually your own system that's creating these files in the first place, and not Dropbox. These are the folders/files that OS X uses to store resource forks or extended attributes; not a file or folder that's created by Dropbox. Google it and you'll find MANY discussions describing exactly what these files and folders do, why they're created, etc.
Every Zip file I've ever received from a Mac user has those files in it.
Hi Rich, In my case, there isn't a PC involved. And what is unusual here is that it didn't happen before but is happening now. So something changed. You could be right that it is something about Macs. In any case, it is something between Dropbox and Macs that is now functioning differently than it had been.
- Rich
hshaw wrote:
In my case, there isn't a PC involved.
The PC doesn't matter. The point was that I see the files on a PC because Windows isn't configured to hide such files, like OS X or macOS do natively. It's still the Mac that's creating them. They're system files created by OS X and macOS.
JefW I have this senario happen all the time but it has NEVER happened before a few weeks ago. PC or Mac.
After downloading a folder it is being received as 2 folders; 1 of which is named _MACOSX. This folder is not visible to the original uploader of the docs or is it not visible on Dropbox to shared participants.
As you go through the sub folders of both original named folder and it's MACOSX counterpart the files are not duplicated.
Can anyone help remedy this please?
- Lusil
Hey there EstherWilliams, thanks for checking in with us!
I've moved your post to this thread to keep similar questions together, since other users also report this.
As Daphne mentions earlier here,
Great, thank you, it's somewhere to start.
I would like a resolution to this closed issue: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Dropbox-files-folders/Mac-osx-strange-extra-files-appearing-when-downloading-files/td-p/355269/page/6
Summary of issue: downloading non-zipped loose files (for example) in one batch using Dropbox's "↓ Download" button zips the files and includes a "_MACOSX" folder that contains a copy of the files. On PC/Windows 10. Hypothesis is that Dropbox servers use Mac computers, thus this would be default behaviour on this operating system.
Dropbox support claims it is a macOS issue and not a Dropbox issue, but there is no Mac involved, only Dropbox, so the likely explanation is that Dropbox uses macOS to host files and/or to zip/compress files, resulting in the observed behaviour. Dropbox has to stop claiming it has nothing to do with this issue if their macOS servers or zipping software is at fault.
Solution would be for Dropbox to apply a fix at the source so that users don't have to download this extra folder.
When I download files from the website I also end up with two folders - the problem is that the files I want are all zero bytes. And the metadata - which is all misnamed files seems to have the data but both sets of files are unuseable. When I use my Dropbox folder on my mac the files are fine.
This is a pretty bad bug, Dropbox and means I can't share my files with anyone. As no files are useable. Having to look for alternatives which is a shame as I've used Dropbox for over a decade.Whatever Dropbox are using to compress my Mac files - it is not doing it properly - as these files should uncompress on a Mac without the __MACOS folder. It's like the files are being compressed on a mac - then unzipped on a PC and then re-compressed again, and something is corrupting the names and data of the resource forks of the Mac files. Fonts for instance keep most of their data in the resource fork (which is why so many don't work on a PC).
If I make a ZIP on my Mac - put it on the server and uncompress it using a PC I get a similar structure to the files from Dropbox but without the corrupted resource data. So it's still useable.
Dropbox ZIPs though, are corrupted. And anyway as I said at the beginning should not be showing this folder structure but should only show the files themselves on a Mac. This folder structure should only show up when unzipping on a PC.
So Dropbox - the failure is at your end. Please fix!
