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Every time I move a file btween shared folders it'll recreate the file of 0 bytes in original folder

Say I have this in my Dropbox:

~/Dropbox/shared/folderA/foo.txt
~/Dropbox/shared/folderB/

The folder "~/Dropbox/shared/" is shared between 2 Dropbox accounts. Then I move "foo.txt" from "folderA" to "folderB":

~/Dropbox/shared/folderA/
~/Dropbox/shared/folderB/foo.txt

The move operation succeeds as expected but after a few seconds "foo.txt" would reappear in "folderA" though its size is 0 bytes:

~/Dropbox/shared/folderA/foo.txt (0 bytes)
~/Dropbox/shared/folderB/foo.txt

This is 100% reproducible and it happens on both macOS (Dropbox account #1) and win10 (another Dropbox account #2). For now I have to manually remove the 0 bytes file each time I move a file between folders.

Any idea?

UPDATE 10/08: Just tried and it turned out this can also be reproduced from Web browser (I'm using Chrome) and iPhone's Dropbox app.

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Comments

Walter

Hey @dropmeinbox - thanks bringing this to our attention.

Just to clarify, are you using a web browser to move the files or are you doing this locally within your Dropbox folder and waiting for the Dropbox desktop app to sync your changes?

Could you also send us a screenshot of how those 0 byte files appear on your end?

Thanks!

dropmeinbox

Hi @Walter ,

I'm moving files locally from within macOS' Finder and Windows' File Explorer.

I dont how to attach a video here. See this screen recording (in my dropbox) I made on macOS: removed

Megan

Hey @dropmeinbox, let me also jump in here!

I'm afraid we can't access your link due to security & privacy reasons. Do you think you can try clicking on our camera-button icon, and attaching some screenshots here?

Also, how long has this been going on for?

dropmeinbox

@Megan wrote:

I'm afraid we can't access your link due to security & privacy reasons. Do you think you can try clicking on our camera-button icon, and attaching some screenshots here?

Hi @Megan ,

The following are the screenshots though I don't know how much info you can get out of them.

Screenshot 1: The .rdp file is successfully moved from folder-1 to folder-2.

file moved to another folder.png

Screenshot 2: The .rdp file is recreated in folder-1 with zero bytes.

file recreated with 0 bytes.png

Megan

Thanks for the added info @dropmeinbox!

Both of the paths: ~/Dropbox/shared/folderA/ & ~/Dropbox/shared/folderB/ are part of the same Dropbox account, right?

Also, can you try to open the zero byte file? If so, does it preview?

dropmeinbox

@Megan wrote:

Both of the paths: ~/Dropbox/shared/folderA/ & ~/Dropbox/shared/folderB/ are part of the same Dropbox account, right?

Also, can you try to open the zero byte file? If so, does it preview?

Hi @Megan ,

Yes ~/Dropbox/shared/folderA/ & ~/Dropbox/shared/folderB/ belong to the same Dropbox account. Their parent folder ~/Dropbox/shared/ is shared (with read/write permission) to another Dropbox account.

The zero bytes file cannot be opened/previewed. For example, I cannot open a zero-bytes .pdf file since it's not really in PDF format and the PDF viewer would complain.

dropmeinbox

The issue is there for quite long (>6 months I guess). It's not new.

Rich

@dropmeinbox wrote:
The issue is there for quite long (>6 months I guess). It's not new.

Look at the version history of the newly created file. You should be able to see which computer is replacing the file. Is it consistent?

dropmeinbox

@Rich wrote:
Look at the version history of the newly created file. You should be able to see which computer is replacing the file. Is it consistent?

Hi @Rich ,

Cool I can check the version history!

My dropbox accounts and linked devices:

Account_1
- macOS
- iPhone
- Windows #1
Account_2
- Windows #2
- Windows #3

My macOS is not at hand for now. I tried a few times with Account_1 on iPhone and Windows #1 and it's very consitent that it's Account_2 who added back the zero-byte file. Since Account_2 has 2 logins on 2 Windows computers (remote logged in, not at hand for now either) so not sure which Windows computer (or both?) added back the zero-byte file. Will check details later.

Rich

@dropmeinbox wrote:
... it's very consitent that it's Account_2 who added back the zero-byte file.

Zero-byte issue aside, when a file keeps returning it's usually because there's a device that's unable to delete it. Look at it like this...

You move or delete a file out of a folder on your computer. Dropbox syncs that change up to the cloud, and the cloud notifies all other connected devices about the change. The other devices proceed to delete the file but one of them is unable to. Either the file is open or otherwise has a lock on it that prevents it from being deleted. Dropbox on that computer sees that there's still a file there and proceeds to upload it back to the cloud, which then notifies all the other clients to download it again.

Several others have had this issue and it's always been a problem deleting the file at the client level, though I don't think I've seen anyone mention that the returning file had a size of zero bytes.

dropmeinbox

@Rich wrote:

Either the file is open or otherwise has a lock on it that prevents it from being deleted.

The issue can be reproduced with any types of files. I can manually create a new .txt file and repro it. It's not likely all files are being opened/locked by some apps. And only file move can repro the issue, file delete cannot. Weird.

Hannah

Hey @dropmeinbox, if you quit the Dropbox app and try to reproduce this, does the issue persist with the app closed?

dropmeinbox

@Hannah wrote:
Hey @dropmeinbox, if you quit the Dropbox app and try to reproduce this, does the issue persist with the app closed?

Hi @Hannah ,

Just tried and confirmed that the issue cannot be reproduced if I quit the Dropbox app from my Windows system. So sounds like it's the Dropbox app who recreated the zero-byte files.

Jay

Hi @dropmeinbox, is this occurring with any shared folder or just that specific shared folder?

Could you test this in a shared folder with a different member added to it, instead of the previous shared folder member?

dropmeinbox

@Jay wrote:
Hi @dropmeinbox, is this occurring with any shared folder or just that specific shared folder?

Could you test this in a shared folder with a different member added to it, instead of the previous shared folder member?

Hi @Jay ,

Yes the issue can be reproduced in any shared folders (and any sub-folders of them). For now I don't have another Windows PC to test another Dropbox account. Will update later when I get the result.

dropmeinbox

@Jay wrote:

Could you test this in a shared folder with a different member added to it, instead of the previous shared folder member?

Hi @Jay ,

I just tried sharing a new created folder to the 3rd dropbox account (logged in on a Windows system) and yes the issue can still be 100% reproduced.

Jay

This could still indicate that something is creating the file on your end. Here another test I'd like you to try:

Create a shared folder between accounts A, B and C, call it folder 1
Create another shared folder with just A and B, call it folder 2
Same again for A and C, call it folder 3
Same again for B and C, call it folder 4
Add several random, non-zero, test files to these folders, at least 5 in each with different easy to read names.
Pause the Dropbox desktop application syncing on A
Make sure accounts B and C are currently syncing on their own desktop machines
On the Dropbox site, while logged into account A, move a file from folder 1 to folder 2.
See if the issue is replicated
If not, move the file from folder 2 to 3
See if the issue is replicated
If not, logoff the site and login to account C
Move the file from folder 3 to 4

Let me know the results from this test.

dropmeinbox

@Jay wrote:
This could still indicate that something is creating the file on your end.

Hi @Jay ,

What's the reasoning here? I've confirmed that the issue cannot be repro'ed if I quit Dropbox app. And it's only happening in Dropbox's shared folders. I don't think there's some weird processes monitoring my shared Dropbox folders. Technically speaking can a 3rd-party process figure out which folder is shared between Dropbox accounts? Does the Dropbox app expose such info to 3rd party?

Jay

I understand, since it's occurring in shared folders, it means that another device which is linked to the shared folder is creating those files.

It could either be a device linked to your current profile, if you have more than one machine on account A, or it could be account B creating the file.

There are many programs which monitor various folders on your machine, such as security software, other syncing software, and so on. It wouldn't be possible for us to determine what program this is.

The last method would be to completely quit all open applications, make sure the other machines are switched off to (to prevent syncing), and then try moving the files.

dropmeinbox

@Jay wrote:

There are many programs which monitor various folders on your machine, such as security software, other syncing software, and so on.

Yes our company's computers have anti-virus and other monitoring apps running. I have to live with it if it's these apps causing the issue.