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Desktop App is not opening or running - files from 3rd party app are not syncing

5 Months ago I downloaded the desktop app for my PC.

It downloaded and has never actually opened when I tried. I see Dropbox in the files and can open some files that way, but I need the files I sync daily from a third party website to be accessible locally on my desktop for compliance. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the app a million times, I even tried to upgrade to a paid plan to get support, no one seems to have the solution. If ya'll have any experience with this and a solution, it would be much appreciated.

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TGD-Inc

@DBoxTips JACKPOT!

I removed the ending punctuation from the file name in Dropbox Web and everything synced right away. I'm so relived.

Now to make sure it continues to sync to file explorer.

Thank you very much! I'll pop back and confirm resolution in a couple days just to be sure it sticks.

All comments

Mark

You've not actually said why it isnt working -whats the error messages etc.?

For the ones from the third party website are they appearing online at www.dropbox.com/home ? If not THATS the issue not the software.

TGD-Inc

Thanks Mark,

There is no error message. I click it & nothing happens... at all.

The 3rd party files are added every day & accessible at dropbox.com as well as the drobox app on my phone. I created a folder that I use and that updated in the app & on web. It is reflected in the files as well. When I add files tot he website they are reflected on the desktop and vice versa. In the "apps folder on the website I can see the daily files, on the desktop app when I open the apps folder I get a "desktop.ini file that opens to info in notepad.

Dropbox Screenshot.JPG

DBoxTips

Hello @TGD-Inc

While there are more details that would be needed to troubleshoot this, I would start with:

1. Which version of Windows are you running on your PC?

2. Was the Dropbox icon ever visible in the bottom right (tray area) of the screen?

This would help as a starting point to getting to the bottom of this, although finding a solution in this manner could take a while given the asynchronous nature of the forum.

Alternatively, I could help with troubleshooting this faster via email, as I have experience with figuring out hard Dropbox puzzles like this one. If that's an option that you would consider, feel free to add ".com" to my forum username and enter it in the address bar in order to get in touch. Otherwise, answering the forum here would also work (albeit slower).

Here to help,

Andrew (DBoxTips)

I am an individual contributor to the Dropbox Community forums, not affiliated with Dropbox in any way. All opinions expressed here are my own.

TGD-Inc

Andrew,

Thanks for the assist.

I'm running Windows 10 Home.

The DropBox Icon is visible in the bottom left taskbar (I pinned it there). as well as in the system tray. FYI - It says "my files are up to date", but they are not.

DBoxTips

Thank you for the details.

Since you mentioned the files being accessed via the "Apps" folder via the website and the mobile app, are those files from the third-party website accessible via a subfolder of the "Apps" folder? If so, when you go into Dropbox selective sync settings on the Dropbox desktop app preferences do you see that subfolder checked?

Thanks,

Andrew (DBoxTips)

TGD-Inc

Unfortunately the Desktop App doesn't open. There fore no selective sync settings or anything else that would be in the desktop app. Honestly, I don't even know what should be in the desktop app, I have never actually seen it.

DBoxTips

You previously mentioned in the system tray it says your files are “Up to date”. You can open the Dropbox desktop app by clicking in the system tray on the Dropbox icon that says “Up to date”. After clicking it a small window should appear in that corner of the screen. Does that small window appear for you when clicking the Dropbox system tray icon?

Andrew (DBoxTips)

TGD-Inc

Yes, the window appears when I select Dropbox via the system tray.

DBoxTips

Great! That windows is part of the desktop app. Follow the instructions in this picture:

Thanks,

Andrew (DBoxTips)

TGD-Inc

Andrew,

Thank you for showing me that. Here is what I get when I open the sync tab.

I poked around a bit in selective sync and it appears that all the folders are checked to live on this PC. Unfortunately either they are not syncing to this PC or I just don't know how to access them.

DBoxTips

That's great! You are now seeing the Dropbox desktop app and it is great that you got to the "Selective sync" configuration window.

What is the name of the subfolder of the "Apps" folder in Dropbox that contains the third-party files and that is accessible using the Dropbox website and the mobile app, but not on your computer? Is that subfolder visible in the "Selective sync" settings under the "Apps" folder? Could you send a screenshot of that?

Thanks,

Andrew (DBoxTips)

I am an individual contributor to the Dropbox Community forums, not affiliated with Dropbox in any way. All opinions expressed here are my own.

TGD-Inc

Hi again,

The subfolder of "apps" is eBound Backup.

It is visible in Selective sync & selected

The subfolder of that is TGDInc, which is also visible in selective sync and selected.

When I go to dropbox on my PC (not the app) eBound Backup is there. The subfolder of it is "desktop.ini" and it opens notepad w/ file location text

DBoxTips

Thank you for the details. When you browse the “eBound Backup” using the Dropbox website or the mobile app, does it contain any file/subfolders? Are there any subfolders listed for “eBound Backup” inside the selective sync settings window? If so, could please show screenshots of how that folder (“eBound Backup”) looks when browsed through the Dropbox website versus the Selective Sync settings?

Andrew (DBoxTips)

TGD-Inc

eBound Backup

sub - TGD Inc

sub - dated files

They are the same viewed in selective sync and on the drobox website.

20240709_163543 (1).jpg

DBoxTips

Thank you for the details.

1. Could you please also send a screenshot of the contents of the “Apps” folder as seen on the PC when you navigate to it using the Windows File Explorer?

2. If you try to create a folder inside the “Apps” folder using the Dropbox website or mobile app, does it show on the PC? Does it show up in selective sync settings?

Thanks,
Andrew (DBoxTips)

TGD-Inc

Thank you,

When I navigate to apps on file explorer is shows the "eBound Backup" folder. Opening that leads to desktop.ini

Adding a "Test Folder" from the website was successful and it populated into the mobile app, the file explorer and to selective sync.

- the 2 files I added to the test folder are available on all instances of Dropbox including file explorer.

Selective Sync screenshot

Nancy

Hey @TGD-Inc! Sorry for chiming in.

If you open your backup on www.dropbox.com and then open one of the subfolders (for example, “06-29-2024”), what do you see inside? I just want to make sure that there are no files with these characters, which can potentially prevent them from syncing locally.

Feel free to send one more screenshot, if there’s no private info showing.

DBoxTips

My guess is this not caused by invalid characters in file names, because based on the screenshots sent by @TGD-Inc the subfolders (which don't contain any restricted characters in their names) are not synced at all to the local folder, regardless of the files inside them.

One last thing to try, @TGD-Inc: if you go on the Dropbox website inside the "eBound Backup" folder and create a test folder, does it get synced to the PC inside the "eBound Backup" and/or is visible in the selective sync settings under the "eBound Backup" folder?

Thanks,

Andrew (DBoxTips)

I am an individual contributor to the Dropbox Community forums, not affiliated with Dropbox in any way. All opinions expressed here are my own.

TGD-Inc

@Nancy - Thank you for the response. The file names are regular characters and do not contain any of the prohibited characters in the link, but they are .ZIP files if that may be an issue?

TGD-Inc

@DBoxTips Thank you again. I added a test_2 folder to eBound Back Up and placed a PDF file in it. Both the folder and file synced and are accessible via the PC app, mobile app and via the file explorer. They are also in Selective Sync and can be checked & unchecked.

DBoxTips

Thank you @TGD-Inc. I have one more idea to try:

1. Navigate to to "eBound Backup" folder on your PC in File Explorer.

2. On your PC, create a subfolder inside the "eBound Backup" folder and give it with the same name as the subfolder of "eBound Backup" that is not syncing to the PC.

3. Wait for Dropbox to sync the newly created subfolder. Notice if anything happens to the folder name (it gets renamed, a suffix is added etc.).

4. Check the website or mobile app inside the "eBound Backup" folder and see if the newly created folder was synced and under what name.

Please report back your findings here.

Thanks,

Andrew (DBoxTips)

I am an individual contributor to the Dropbox Community forums, not affiliated with Dropbox in any way. All opinions expressed here are my own.

TGD-Inc

Thanks again.

Upon sync an ending period (.) was removed from the folder name.

It synced to all instances the same way.

DBoxTips

Thank you @TGD-Inc, that finally solves the puzzle here. In Windows there is a limitation in that you cannot create folders ending in a dot. This is why Dropbox is not syncing that folder on your PC, while it is otherwise visible on the Dropbox website and in the mobile app. Since that folder is created by an application (Orchid eBound), maybe you can remove the dot from the folder name via the app.

To sum it up: the issue is created by the ending dot in the "Inc." suffix of that folder's name. If you find a way to remove that ending dot from the folder name via the app that handles that folder then you will make that folder sync to your PC.

Hope this helps,

Andrew (DBoxTips)

I am an individual contributor to the Dropbox Community forums, not affiliated with Dropbox in any way. All opinions expressed here are my own.

TGD-Inc

@DBoxTips JACKPOT!

I removed the ending punctuation from the file name in Dropbox Web and everything synced right away. I'm so relived.

Now to make sure it continues to sync to file explorer.

Thank you very much! I'll pop back and confirm resolution in a couple days just to be sure it sticks.

DBoxTips

Glad to hear it worked! Let’s hope the third-party app that manages that folder is not confused by the changed name and continues to create dated backups as subfolders inside that folder, so that it continues to work as expected.

Thanks,
Andrew (DBoxTips)

TGD-Inc

@DBoxTips Resolved!

Thank you for your assistance. Just to button this topic up. The 3rd party app created a new folder with the same name at the next back up and it did not reflect on my file explorer. I reached out to them to correct that & it works flawlessly now.

Thank you very much for your assistance with this issue.

DBoxTips

Happy to hear that @TGD-Inc!

Thank you for crediting my above suggestion that the issue had to be fixed at the 3rd party app level, just removing the dot from the folder name via the website wasn’t enough. Although @Megan picked another reply as the solution, what matters is that your issue is resolved now.

Thanks,
Andrew (DBoxTips)