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The Dropbox right-click options are gone from my Mac's Finder.

My files are all in the cloud. This restricts things I can do on my Mac; I can't preview or upload to the web, for example (which I want to do often).

I thought one used to be able to right click in the Finder and make a particular folder available offline. But that's missing on my Mac. Right clicking in a Dropbox folder reveals nothing connected to Dropbox. Otherwise, files function and sync if opened and modified as normal. The Dropbox icon at the top right of the Mac screen is visible and seems to be functioning normally.

Can right clicking in the Finder be turned on somehow?

I have the option to make all Dropbox files available offline in Dropbox preferences, but I don't want all of the files—just some of them.

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Comments

Nancy

Thanks for posting here, @Birsay1!

Can you tell me the exact syncing status and app version of the Dropbox app at the moment?

I’d also like you to clarify what you mean when saying you can’t upload to the web; are you adding files within the local Dropbox folder and they never appear to your Dropbox account online?

Other than that, I’d like you to follow these steps to restart your Finder and let me know if the context menu options appear after that in your Dropbox folder.

Keep me posted for any updates.

Birsay1

Thank you very much for helping!

Dropbox I believe is v213.4.4597.

Sync status? I'm not sure. Seems to be syncing fine. Default sync for new files: Available offline (I changed recently from Online-only). In Dropbox folder updates I have an option to update to use File Provider. Could that be an issue?

By upload to web I mean upload files from a Dropbox folder to a website—nothing to do with Dropbox sync. The files aren't on my computer, with the Finder showing the filenames and zero kb, meaning do data. I have to open the file first so that it downloads to my Mac, then upload it to the website I want. I don't want to have to download each and every file (I want to upload hundreds). Previewing each file is also important. I don't want to have to open each one before viewing it.

About the link ("these steps"), it doesn't seem to match my Mac (Sequoia 15.1.1 (24B91)). But looking around I found Login Items & Extensions, then File Providers. Dropbox is already on. There also is One Drive, which I turned off. Relaunching Finder didn't seem to change anything, so no Dropbox context menu options didn't appear. And I need to turn One Drive back on.

Nancy

Thanks for the updates, @Birsay1! You can double check the syncing status of your Dropbox app with these steps. Does it state it's up to date?

Thanks for trying to relaunch your Finder in the meantime; what I want you to do next is perform an advanced reinstall of the Dropbox app (if you're not a free Basic user with more than 3 devices connected) and let me know if that helps.

Birsay1

Thank you for helping! Sorry for the delayed response. My problem has continued with no change.

Syncing status seems fine. All up to date.

I am a free Basic user. So, what now?

Jay

Hi @Birsay1, could you copy and paste a screenshot of the Dropbox folder as it appears in Finder showing the lack of context menu items?

Birsay1

Thank you. Is this what you want to see?

The first is the main Dropbox folder. Below that, inside a subfolder, here's a file. It's zero bytes with no preview unless I open it. There don't seem to be any Dropbox options using right-click or any other way.

I'd like to be able to have a particular folder and all of its subfolders and files downloaded to my computer so I can preview them, upload them to the Internet, and other things. How can I do this? I don't want to download all of my Dropbox subfolders and files, which is multiple gigabytes.

Walter

Thanks for the additional information and the screenshots too @Birsay1 - much appreciated.

I'm not seeing any syncing icons on your files. Are these files located inside your Dropbox folder on your computer?

Also, what is your computer's exact OS version and the version and status of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your menu bar at the moment?

Birsay1

Thank you. Yes, the files shown are inside the Dropbox folder.

iMac 5K Sequoia 15.1.1 (24B91)

Clicking on the Dropbox icon on the menu bar, it says "Your files are up to date." It shows a list of files recently modified in the last day or two. In Preferences/General, at the bottom right, it says v218.4.4348

Birsay1

Right, there are no Dropbox icons visible.

However, if I open a Word document from a folder in Dropbox, a Dropbox icon does appear in Word.

The status I'm describing has been on my computer for months, if not longer. I used to have Dropbox icons in the Finder, but now I don't. Not sure what happened.

Other than that, Dropbox is functioning and syncing.

Birsay1

I do also have OneDrive on my computer. Its icons appear in the Finder and function fine. A cloud icon with a down arrow appears on each folder, for example, and I can download all of the files by clicking on the icon.

Walter

And where your is your Dropbox folder located per the app's preferences under the Sync tab @Birsay1?

Also, does the issue persist if you temporarily close One Drive and/or any other 3rd party apps that might be monitoring, syncing or backing up your files?

Birsay1

OneDrive and Dropbox are covering separate folders on the same drive. Yes, I've tried closing OneDrive and turning off its extension.

Birsay1

@WalterIs this what you were looking for? (Sorry, I just posted, not a direct reply.)

Nancy

Hi again, @Birsay1! Just to make sure I haven’t misunderstood something, the Word document you mention above, are you able to open it normally on your computer, even though it’s 0 bytes?

If you try to open other files that are currently 0 bytes on your device, what exactly do you see?

Birsay1

All the files open normally. Once they are opened, a preview appears, as well as the file size and all the other usual information.

Dropbox is working completely fine, as far as I can tell, except for what I've mentioned about its Finder integration.

Screen shots: Before and after opening a file and the appearance in the Finder.

Megan

Hey @Birsay1, can you please try the following steps and let me know if this helps?

-Click on the Dropbox icon from your Desktop and quit the application
-Open your Activity Monitor from your Mac Utilities folder
-Force quit out of the instances of the Dropbox application that are running by searching for "Dropbox" in the search bar, then clicking on the "x" force quit icon on the top left
-Re-start Dropbox from the applications folder by double clicking on the Dropbox application
-Click on the Apple icon in the top left of your screen
-Click on "force quit"
-Relaunch the finder

Birsay1

Hello and thank you.

I tried that exact sequence and got no change. Doing a search in the activity monitor after quitting Dropbox resulted in nothing found.

Hannah

Thanks for trying that, @Birsay1.

Can you also follow these steps and let me know if they help?

Click on the Apple logo located at the top-left of the screen.
Click on "System Preferences".
Click on "Extensions".
Click on "Finder Extensions".
Only leave the Dropbox Finder Integration ticked.
Once this is completed, "suggest" to close the window.
Click one more time on the Apple logo at the top-left of the screen.
Click on "Force Quit".
Look for Finder on the list.
Click on "Finder" then "Relaunch".

Birsay1

Thank you. My OS shows things a little different than your suggestion.

After leaving only Dropbox Finder Integration ticked, I'm not sure what you mean by "suggest" to close the window. Anyway, closing the System Settings window and relaunching the Finder results in no changes. This suggestion was given and tried earlier.

Jay

Hi @Birsay1, could you attach a screenshot showing the Dropbox desktop application in the menu bar when you click the icon there?

Birsay1

Thank you. Sure, here it is.

Megan

Hey @Birsay1!

My colleague, Nancy, suggested that you perform an advanced reinstall in her earlier response here.

From our side, we want to exhaust all troubleshooting steps, and help you get to the bottom of this.

If you'd like to proceed, please ensure that OneDrive or any other third-party apps that might be interfering with Dropbox have been disabled while you follow the steps.

It's also important to keep in mind that even if we move our conversation to ticket, this route will most likely be unavoidable.

Birsay1

Okay, I will give it a try. I'll need to set aside some time for it, so it may take me awhile to let you know the results. Thank you.

Megan

Sure thing @Birsay1!

Take as much time as you need, and let us know of the results! 🤓

mcmeloni

Hi Birsay1, I was experiencing the same issues and I solved it:
system preferences - general - login elements and extensions - extensions - file provider - check dropbox.

I actually hope you already solved it 😅 if not, I hope these steps will work for you too.

classic mesa

Lol this seems to be what db support does - make the user jump through endless hoops, post countless screen grabs, answer inane questions, essentially grind you down until you abandon hope. Useless.