Child Item

I keep seeing a "To sync this file, give Dropbox permission to access it." error on my Mac.

Device
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) (Quad-Core Intel Core i5)
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
macOS Big Sur 11.7.10
Dropbox App Version (if using the app)
229.4.5197
Syncing Status
89 files are unable to sync

Question or Issue
Hi! I'm essentially having the same issue detailed in this thread: www.dropboxforum.com/discussions/101001014/the-dropbox-app-cant-sync-one-file/441394

I've tried the solutions suggested there and saw some movement, but ultimately no resolution for the affected files.

For more context, I have some files on a backup drive that date back to a previous machine that had some strange permissions defaults set up by an administrator (one of those machines was a student laptop I used), and while I can view, access, and modify files, Dropbox is unable to sync them.

When I do "Get Info" and view individual permissions for each file, I can see that my login has Read & Write access, "everyone" has Read Only access, "staff" is also Read Only, and then there are 2 permissions anomalies I've been trying to figure out; There's a second "everyone" that has custom access, which I cannot remove, but I can modify it to Read Only. Then there's another user that just says "fetching" instead of a username, which I believe is an admin relic from the student laptop and the permissions settings therein. My current machine and all files created there do not have these permissions quirks, it's just old files from the student machine that show these added details.

(I even asked the IT staff about it at the time, since they basically "unlocked" our student laptops once we graduated, but there were some messy ends left over that I assumed were the natural result of having 1 person having to answer to hundreds of students - probably not the ideal way things ought to run, but nothing anyone had the bandwidth to chase ghosts about.)

So far, no changes in these particular file permissions settings within Finder is having any impact, and again, while the solutions in the thread I linked seemed helpful at first, ultimately there was no difference made for the affected files after I tried those tweaks for the Dropbox app and System Preferences.

Anyone know anything that might help me resolve this issue and finally sync these files on Dropbox? Thanks!

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Comments

Nancy

Thanks for posting on our forum, @androidisaloser!

Has the syncing status of your Dropbox app changed at all since you first posted this, or is it still stuck syncing 89 files on your device?

Other than that, I’d appreciate a screenshot of the files that you mention, as they show in your local Dropbox folder; feel free to send me an example screenshot of their permissions as well, after clicking on the “Get info” option.

Finally, besides the steps to fix hardlinks/permissions that are mentioned in the Community thread you linked, can you clarify all the other steps you’ve tried so far, so that we can guide you from there?

Let me know once you have more updates.

androidisaloser

Hi! Thanks for the reply. I'm still having the same issue, though curiously 1 file is apparently no longer having issues, so now I just have 88 more to go! lol

I'd prefer not to share screenshots but I can happily describe what I'm seeing and expand on any details you'd like to focus on.

I'll start with the notification itself and then go more specific from there. From my desktop, I click on the Dropbox logo in the Menu Bar which displays a (1) red notification icon, and I can see a yellow "Couldn't Sync Files" notice up top that reads "To fix this, view sync issues for your files." At the bottom of the same little window in the Dropbox app is a triangular warning symbol and text reading "88 files are unable to sync."

From there, I can either click "Fix" next to the upper notification or "See Issues" next to the lower notification to be taken to a separate window for Sync Issues, where I am shown 88 sequential notifications for the affected files, where I am shown the file name, and text directly below that reads "To sync this file, give Dropbox permission to access it." I can then select "View file" or "Learn more."

Most of these files are in 3 different destination folders, and it appears to only be recent additions to those folders that are having issues, while the original contents of the folders are syncing without issue. The file types include .jpg, .m4a, .txt, .3gp, and .WAV extensions.

In the destination folder within Finder, I see a red "X" on all files with sync issues, and no other apparent action or prompt. As I mentioned in my original post, if I select "Get Info" on a given file to view the Sharing & Permissions info, it reads "You have custom access," and then the table below displays the following permissions information:

everyone: read only
(my username): read & write
staff: read only
everyone: read only

My original post has a bit more info on why some files of mine that originated on my student laptop display unique permissions, and I suspect that's the source of the issue. I may reach out to Apple Support for tips on how to deal with this since it's been a longtime stubborn symptom I've yet to fully figure out.

I appreciate your time! Let me know what else I can do.