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The Automation feature does not work for me - nothing happens when files are added to the folder

I'd first like to say in advance, thank you to anyone who posts here and is willing to lend a hand.

2nd I'd like to make it clear automation has never worked for me. All the other messages I've seen here regarding automation have to do with the fact it has stopped working, or it partially works. It's never worked at all for me.

All I'm trying to do is simple audio file conversion. I want everything converted to Mp3. I have the automation set, and when files are added, nothing happens. I've tried dragging files straight to desktop page, I've tried moving files in from the smart phone app, I've tried different browsers, same result. No, I haven't tried clearing browser cache, because never once in my life has that ever worked when it was suggested as a potential fix, so I don't bother with it. I've tried creating the same automation in different folders, I've tried creating a new folder with the automation enabled from the get-go. Nothing works. Just for experiments sake, I also tried to setup a different kind of automation to rename the files, to see what would happen. That doesn't work either. I am willing to clear browser cache if someone REALLY thinks that's the solution here.

The only way I'm able to convert the files is manually. I'll right click the file and select "save as" -- "Mp3". Then it will convert immediately.

Below is a screen shot of the automation I've created.

Again, thank you to anyone who offers some assistance.

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Comments

Hannah

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, @lotusadmin.

Let's see what we can find out here.

What types of files are you adding in the automated folder?

Clearing your browser case would be a pretty good troubleshooting step and so would trying from a private browsing/incognito window, if you could try that as well.

Also, what is your main browser and which version are you using?

Let me know and we'll go from there.

lotusadmin

I'm using Microsoft Edge - Version 130.0.2849.80

I've cleared the browser data

All the files I'm adding are M4a, which I want converted to Mp3.

I tried an in private window.

Still nothing converts. I did try it try it with Firefox yesterday and it still did not work. I didn't clear that browser history, however.

If it's going to covert, how long does it take? Should it convert the files as soon as it's dropped in the folder?

This is actually a community folder used for work, and pretty much everyone will drop in the audio files via their Dropbox smartphone app. So, having browser data cleared or using an in private window doesn't really apply to my application it seems to me. Unless, you're saying I need to create the automation from the in private window?

Thank you for the help so far, by the way.

What else should I try?

Hannah

Thanks for the additional info, @lotusadmin.

One more question; are the files added to the automated folder less than 1 GB in size?

lotusadmin

Yes, they are. In fact, all of them are typically less than 1 MB in size. They are all small 60 second voice audio recordings.

Jay

Hi @lotusadmin, if none of the automations work on your account, then something else could be affecting this.

Are these in a shared folder or a private folder?

lotusadmin

It is a shared folder.

lotusadmin

Yes, they are a shared folder.

lotusadmin

Yes, it's a shared folder.

Hannah

Thanks for the update, @lotusadmin.

If you add an automation to an already existing non-shared folder in your account, does the automation work?

lotusadmin

No, it still doesn't. In fact that's how I've done most of the testing, with a pre-existing folder that is private to me.

I think I might have created another private folder to test it, and then when it didn't' work I deleted it. I can create another private folder and test again to see if it works or not.

Nancy

This is quite an odd behavior indeed, lotusadmin. If you don’t mind me asking, the new personal folders you’re creating to test this, are they located in your root Dropbox folder or are they saved within other folders?

If the latter, please test this with a folder you’ve created directly in the root Dropbox and let me know what you find. I'd also suggest trying this with a few files of small size.

lotusadmin

They're all within the root Dropbox folder.

To make things even more odd, all of the sudden it has started working today. I've been trying this for over a week and it's never worked before today. Nothing has changed on my end. I'm wondering if the Dropbox development team has corrected something in the software?

Either way, it's working in all folders now. I will probably leave this thread open for a week or so, and if it continues to work, then I will mark it a resolved.

Thank you.