InDesign will freeze if we try to open files that are online-only

[AL ARABY]

Please note that we have a Dropbox shared among multiple employees. Since yesterday, we've encountered the following issue:

Whenever we try to open any files, such as InDesign or Photoshop files, through Dropbox that have a cloud status, the application freezes. To work around this, we need to right-click on the file in Dropbox, select "Save Offline," and then open it in InDesign through Dropbox. This problem did not occur before. If we don't save the file offline first in Dropbox, InDesign will freeze until we quit Dropbox, reopen it, save the file offline, and then open it again through Dropbox to work on it.

For example, if we click on one of these items that has a transparent X to open files from Dropbox in InDesign, InDesign will freeze first like in img1:

img1

second  dropbox freeze also, for example if you right click on any dropbox file , no option to save the file offline or online .... like img2 :

img2

the only solution is first to quit the dropbox  then open it again when dropbox became like img3 :

img3

 then make the file you want to open through InDesign, Photoshop, or any other app available offline first. Then, you should be able to open it without any problems.

Another problem we're encountering is with opening files from Dropbox in InDesign. The first time we open a file, it displays correctly with icons like in img3. However, the second time we open a file, it appears like img1, with the dark green icon missing and the cloud icon becoming a transparent X. To restore the correct display (like img3), we have to quit Dropbox and reopen it.

Please address this issue as it affects multiple desktops and laptops used by six different users from various companies. Some of these users are on Windows 10, while others are on Windows 11. The problem started appearing yesterday.

[Nejc_R]

I (kinda) figured out a work around for avoiding freezing all the time. It's only a temporare and the issue must be resolved by DB as by all the accounts seen the fault comes from their side.

If you're working with online only files:

1. set desired files and links to offline only and wait to sync

2. turn off DB

3. open and operate Indesign

4. save/export files and close Indesign

5. open DB, let it sync

If you're working with offline only files just ignore the first step.

But as I said, this should not be the norm now. It's recognised the issue (not known before) comes from the last update and DB must react to it accordingly.

[BenDBX]

Hi Everybody,

Thanks so much for reporting this. I've informed our engineering team, who is currently investigating. I'll provide an update here when I have more information!

Regards,

Ben

[AL ARABY]

find the issue in below link :

After open above folder in dropbox through indesgin , it freeze:

Moreover if you right click on any file in dropbox , it does not show view online or make available offline or make available online or show the status of file :

[rjl104]

We also have a large team that work with Adobe CC. Dropbox is the entire basis for our distributed working model. It has always worked amazingly well with a multi-TB drive where majority of files are kept offline except for projects users are actively working on. In the past week we've been plagued by pauses and freezes, mainly using InDesign and Acrobat and some users have had to resort to working outside dropbox. We would really like to go back to an old version of dropbox when things worked perfectly!

[rjl104]

We've also been getting users to do this as seems the only practical way for users to work with InDesign at the moment.

[rjl104]

Hi Ben. We're seeing this exact same issue too. We've been using Dropbox since 2015 and it has evolved to be the entire underpinning of our teams distributed working model. I've always been very impressed with how it handles our multi-TB fileset and up until the past week it's worked perfectly. It would be great if the engineering team could get things back to the previous excellent experience. Thanks for your help!

[Cloydbr]

Ben - is there any update? This is keeping us from going to press and will cost us revenue. I have called your support line and there’s no help.

[jrodriguez7310]

Ben, we are having the exact same issue as everyone else. It all started on June 26th after the Dropbox Update and a team of 25 marketing/designers can't produce work. This is creating an compounding problem. You need to update your first-level support team that you are aware of this issue and what steps we can do to resolve it. Even if interim solutions. I've seen some comments here. But if trying to use online-only files, they crash as soon as we open. The right-click options go away, and then our computers freeze. We've resorted to countless hours lost in production and sitting on IT calls within our company trying to solve this issue. We need a fix ASAP.  Original posters and fellow commenters are all having the same issues as us. Happy to jump on a call and screen share.

[RSTirendi]

Ben, Please tell your team to simply revert to the previous version and then figure out the issue. This is standard protocol and the right thing to do for all of us paying a fortune for a service that has us hamstrung.

[aliwihbi]

@Ben, do you have any updates on what happened? Have you identified the issue and started working on it? Also, could you please update us on the investigation by the Dropbox engineer, including what they discovered and their next steps?