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Wrong file version opens

I have an Excel file in my dropbox folder that I reference on a daily basis from my work Windows desktop, my home Mac desktop, and my iPhone.

I have been updating this file daily for the last few weeks. Today, when I open the file, Excel opens and shows me a much older version. Roughly 90% of my added data is not showing when I open the file.

Oddly, the "Preview" of the file on my desktop explorer window properly shows the current version. Also, If I right-click on the file to view the "Previous Versions", the "Current Version" shows a preview with the proper information.

Why can't I get the "current version" file to actually open, all of the sudden? Thanks in advance!

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Daphne

Hey there @sporwancher,

From what you mentioned it sounds like you might be updating this file from the Dropbox folder locally on your computer, is that right?

If so, can you let me know the current sync status and version of the desktop app that you have installed? It may be that the desktop app isn't running on your computer or there may be an error in syncing that file.

Let me know what you find - Thanks!

sporwancher

Hi, Daphne. Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am updating from the Dropbox folder.

Current Sync Status: Up to Date

Version: 78.4.119

Daphne

Thanks for that info @sporwancher!

Can you just clarify for me then where you are opening the file and seeing the outdated version? Is this via the website or another device, and which version do you see when accessing the file in both of these locations?

Is the most recent version of the file on your desktop saved within your Dropbox folder or was it perhaps saved to a different location when editing it?

Looking forward to your reply!

sporwancher

I was saving and opening the file into the Dropbox folder on my desktop. This is the way I have been using Dropbox between multiple devices for many years now, on a nearly daily basis. I have never had this happen.

However, I am just going to stop troubleshooting this. I was able to restore the version prior to the latest version, and I know what changes I made since then. So, I was able to get it back to where I needed it.

Thank you for your help with this, whatever it was!

Daphne

Hey @sporwancher,

Thanks for keeping me posted here, I'm glad to hear that you've worked through it on your end!

If you have any other questions then please feel free to give me a nudge here.

Have a great day - Thanks!

Redsnapper

I just started having (Feb 20, 2020) what sounds like the same problem. An Excel file I edit daily works correctly on my Windows desktop computer(s), but when I preview the file on my Pixel, I see a 3-day stale version. Yet if I launch Excel (on the Pixel) to actually edit the file, I see the correct, current version! It's as if Excel can see the synced version, but the Files preview browser cannot! I've uninstalled and reinstalled the app - no difference! I've copied the file to a new folder, and the copy retains the same odd behavior. It is very puzzling. This just started 3 days ago.

Redsnapper

To clarify, I should add - changes I've made to the file *on the Pixel* correctly propagate to the other computers, where the preview version continues to agree with the editable version; but I can only see the changes on the Pixel itself if I enter edit mode. To reiterate, ONLY in edit mode can I view the current version of the file on the Pixel, whereas I always can view the current version on my other computers even when the edits were made on the Pixel. Even a *copy* of the edited file.

Daphne

Hey @Redsnapper, thanks for joining us here!

The behaviour you're describing is very strange indeed. :thinking:

Can you just clarify for me exactly what you're referring to when you mention that the preview if the file is incorrect?

Would this be the file thumbnail, as you said that this persists outside of the Dropbox folder too?

If you close the desktop app on your device, do you see the same issue with the preview of the file? You can close the app by:

Clicking the Dropbox icon in your system tray.
Click the profile pic/initials icon in the top right of the window.
Choose "Quit Dropbox".

Let me know what you find!

Redsnapper

Daphne,

First of all, in this context when I'm looking at files on my Pixel, it's exclusively through the Dropbox App. So, by "preview" mode I simply mean the default view of the file you get when you first click on its icon within the Dropbox App. Perhaps "read-only" would be a better term?
You asked: "Would this be the file thumbnail, as you said that this persists outside of the Dropbox folder too?" I don't remember saying that, but I may not have been clear - I have no visibility of any file on my phone outside the Dropbox App, so the question is moot.
It's not simply a thumbnail (at least, I wouldn't call it that), its the entire file. If it's an Excel file, you can look at any sheet (if there are multiple worksheets); you can scroll around and look at charts and graphs, you just aren't in "edit" mode yet. Note: you have the option of telling Dropbox whether you want to always open files in Excel or Sheets, and once you've set this preference, all you have to do is click in any cell and immediately the file opens in Excel (or Sheets - or if you haven't yet set a permanent preference, you have to answer the dialog as to which program you want to use for editing). I've switched between Excel and Sheets and the problem persists.
As for closing Dropbox and reopening it, yes, I've tried that with no apparent effect. I've even tried uninstalling the app entirely and then reinstalling it, and, astoundingly, I still get the Feb 16 version of my file until I click on a cell and it opens for editing in Excel.
Even in list view, the date next to the file icon will say "last edited a few seconds ago", but if I click on the file icon, what opens for viewing (as described above) is the Feb 16 version! It also doesn't seem to matter whether I switch the settings from "autosave" to manual save; any changes (however saved) are not reflected in the default opened-view but only in the edit-mode view.
HOWEVER, I've made one small discovery. This problem seems to have appeared with the Android Dropbox App version released on or about Feb 16, the new version of Dropbox being the one that allows you to create "spaces" (I'll call them workspaces) where you can pin a frequently used file into a named workspace for quicker, even immediate, access. I hadn't tried using that new feature yet, but when I tried using it on that specific file, guess what? The problem went away! Now, when I click on the file icon in the workspace, the read-only version is indeed the most recently saved version! So I think this points to the new release of Dropbox (with the workspace feature) as the root cause of the problem. For frequently used files, the new, convenient workspace feature seems to have the accidental side-effect of eliminating a synchronization problem that now exists for files you don't put in a convenient workspace. For frequently accessed files, it is indeed convenient and you don't notice any problem at all. It's only for files you access infrequently that you might beat your head against the wall trying to figure out why you can't see your most recent changes on your Android app, even though you can see them everywhere else.
Interestingly, any edits I now make through the "workspace" are immediately reflected in the default view through the workspace (problem solved), but if I browse my way to the actual file location and make an edit directly there, I still have the problem; not only that, but the default view in the workspace only shows the most recent edits made through the workspace (until I switch to edit mode). It's as if there are now two different read-only views of the file - one for the workspace, and different one for the actual location. The read-only view through the workspace works correctly, but the read-only view at the actual file location has lost synchronization.

Roger

Daphne

Thanks for all the detail there @Redsnapper!

I'd love to look further into this with you, but to do so we'd need to continue through our Support channel so that I can check out some device specific info.

Would you mind if I reached out to the email linked with your profile here?

Let me know and we can go from there!

Redsnapper

Daphne,
I just made a couple of edits to my previous rather lengthy post, hoping to eliminate some possible confusion in my description. You should probably re-read it before offering any additional response, in case my clarifications changed your understanding of the issue.
Thanks,
Roger

Redsnapper

Daphne,
I've been watching this thread but somehow missed your suggestion (Tuesday!?) we switch to another venue. Yes, that would be fine, but I haven't seen any emails coming from anywhere! Sometimes messages get lost through spam filters. Please try again.
Thanks,
Roger

Redsnapper

Daphne,
I'm having issues with my Dropbox profile. I originally set it up through my work email, but then my wife started using it at her job and somehow Dropbox co-opted my profile with hers and her work account won. So it's possible that any messages you sent to me went to her work email. Whenever I open Dropbox (anywhere) I always have to choose between Personal and Business option, but either one always refers to me by her name, not mine! My Dropbox Profile on my Pixel doesn't even show what email it's associated with (at least, I can't find it!), but it says my name is hers. I can't login to Dropbox at work anymore, because our IT department has blocked the Dropbox URL! Bottom line is, I don't know how to reach you except through this forum, and I don't know how to give you any alternative that isn't visible to other users, which is no doubt why you didn't refer to my email specifically, either. Any suggestions?
Roger

Daphne

Hey @Redsnapper, thanks for all the updates here!

I hadn't previously sent you an email as I wanted to check with your first, but I've just reached out to the email linked with your profile here.

Can you let me know if you received this when you have the chance to check your inbox?

We can look into this better through our Support channel with the info that I'll have at hand there.

Thanks!

GasparM

Three years later and I'm having pretty much the same behaviour. Right now I'm on a computer with no dropbox app installed. I'm accessing my files through the web. Opening the very same file in preview/read only shows an old version, but opening it in excel for the web shows the up to date version. This is quite confusing.
Have you found a solution/cause in the meantime?

GasparM

UPDATE: This same behaviour happens when using the other computer, where the dropbox desktop app is installed. When using the web app I get the same behaviour: Old version in preview/read-only and up-to-date version in Excel for the web.
I've tried it on firefox and Chrome. Same result.
By the way, I'm on W10 Pro 22H2

Nancy

Thanks for reporting this, @GasparM.

Out of curiosity, is everything working OK when accessing the Excel file via the Dropbox app on your second computer?

Also, if you haven’t tried this already, I’d like you to test this via an incognito window as well on your web browser, and let me know what happens.

GasparM

Hi Nancy,

thank you for coming back to me. I'm not sure what you mean by accessing the file via the installed dropbox app. Maybe there is "another" app I'm not aware of, but the one I'm using "only" synchronises my local folders with the cloud. When I want to open a file this same app either opens the regular windows explorer: This works as supposed. The local file opens and it is the up to date version.
Or I can open dropbox.com from inside the app and the known issue happens as described.
I've tried an incognito window and same problem persists. I expeceted it since I already tested a different browser with the same result.
Now I'm done with these files and I probably won't need them anymore. Maybe I could somehow delete the old versions, or just move the up to date file out of dropbox, and then back in again. I'll wait a couple of days in case you want me to do more testing.

Cheers

Nancy

Thanks for the updates, @GasparM! I was referring to the Dropbox desktop app indeed; apologies if I didn’t make it clear.

What you suggest towards the end may be a good thing to try; what you can do is open the local Dropbox folder on your computer, move these files to another location on your device (which will also remove them from your web account), and then re-add them to your desktop app and let them sync to www.dropbox.com.

Does that make any difference at all?