Files failing to save in Dropbox

Hi there @qualiyah, thanks for reaching out to us and sorry to hear about your frustration.

I'd be happy to help look into this with you, I'll just need a bit more info. For example:

Does this happen to specific file types or any file?
Do you get the same experience if the desktop app isn't running?
What does the file's version history show online?

Keep me posted!

qualiyah

1) It's happened to me with .docx files and with .pptx files, and I think also with .pdf files. And those are about the only three kinds I use. So I don't think file format affects the problem.

2) I'm not sure whether I get this experience if the Desktop isn't running. Because I have to switch computers regularly, it's really important for me to leave the app running, so I haven't been able to check.

3) Just now, I had a document I wanted to save as "Summative assn answer key" but right after trying to save it in the relevant dropbox folder, its title reverted to "Document2", which doesn't happen when you successfully save a document under a new title. When I look in the folder, there *is* a document there titled "Summative assn answer key", but it's 0 bytes, and when I open it, it's just a blank page. (The document I was trying to save was not blank!) If I look at that file in "Version history," it shows it as having been created at the appropriate time, but as being 0 bytes.

I tried several times in a row to save the document in dropbox, with the same result each time. When I then attempt to save it on my Desktop, it saves properly with no problems.

I'm not sure what it shows in "Version history" when what I've tried to do is to save a document under a new title--that hasn't happened in a couple of days so I haven't been able to check.

Walter

Hi @qualiyah; sorry to jump in here.

I just wanted to mention that if you bump into this issue again, you may need to reinstall our desktop app on the affected devices.

If that won't help improve matters, you can also re-install the 3rd party app(s) you use to edit those files.

Let us know of any updates and have a lovely weekend in the meantime.

qualiyah

Thank you for the suggestion! Unfortunately, it didn't work. I uninstalled Dropbox from my computer, and then reinstalled it, but it's still happening.

I don't think it's very plausible that the problem is with Word and Powerpoint and Adobe, so I haven't tried reinstalling those. Given that this problem arises for all file formats I regularly use, I feel certain the problem must be with Dropbox.

Do you by any chance have any pending updates on your computer or the Dropbox desktop app?

Just for troubleshooting purposes, could you create a test file and try saving any changes to it while the desktop app isn't running?

I've had the exact same problem for months, most often with Word documents. I can save those files anywhere else on my computer, but not to Dropbox folders. Originally the problem occurred when trying to save a new document or "save as." But now I can't even save a file that's already named.

I have reinstalled Office and Dropbox. The problem still exists. Has anyone figured out the solution?

My understanding is that something is interfering with the temp files that Microsoft creates in the process of renaming files. But it's unclear what.

Daphne

Thanks for joining us here @bropdox.

Can you let us know if the issue persists, in saving/renaming a file in the Dropbox folder, while the desktop app isn't running?

If you're not familiar, you can close the app by:

Clicking the Dropbox icon in your system tray.
Click the profile pic/initials icon in the top right of the window.
Choose "Quit Dropbox".

Yes, it still happens when I quit the desktop app.

I do not have this problem saving to other folders on my hard drive, including my Box folder. This only happens with files inside the Dropbox folder.

I should add that I did a full repair of my Office installation, plus uninstalled an reinstalled Dropbox (just two days ago). And the problem doesn't happen 100% of the time. But probably 80 - 85% of the time. It used to only happen when:

- saving an unnamed document for the first time OR

- trying to take a named document and "Save as" as something else

Which made me think that something was just interrupting the conversion of temp files.

But it has occasionally also occurred when I'm just saving an already named file. The problem has definitely gotten worse over time.

Daphne

If you're still getting the error when the app is not running, then it would point that the issue isn't being caused by the app itself, @bropdox.

Could you send me a screenshot of the error that you're getting, when trying to save a file within Dropbox?

If you're trying to save the file within a relatively long folder path, can you try saving the file in the top level of the Dropbox folder to see if that makes any difference?

The problem happens even in the top level Dropbox folder.

There actually isn't an error message. And what happens is hard to capture in a screen shot.

Let's say I have a document named "Test" and I want to "save as" as "Test. v2".

If I go through the motions of doing this in Word, the document will look like it saved for a split second. That is, at the top of the Word window, it will say " Test - Saved to this PC" then change for a split second to "Test. v2" then immediately revert back to "Test" -- but it will no longer say saved to this PC. If I try to close the window by clicking the X in the upper right corner, Word will ask me if I want to save. If I try to "Save as" again, I will often get stuck in an endless loop of this same behavior. Eventually it either saves or I have to save it to a somewhere outside of Dropbox.

Once the above sequence happens, a temp file show ups in the Dropbox folder where I was trying to save. It's in the format ~WRD####.tmp It never goes away unless I manually delete it.

If, after a failed "save as", I try to "save" the file using the old name, I will get an error: "Word cannot complete this save due to a file permission error." If I hit okay, I get the "Save as" dialogue -- then I can rename the file and it saves.

I have the same problem and Dropbox isn't helping to resolve it. I first noticed it yesterday.

Hey @bropdox, if a temp file appears, it sounds like something else is interacting with the file, which could point to a third party app.

Could you try closing any software that could be doing this, like an antivirus or a security app?

Also, @lesliepratch, thanks for joining us here.

Could you also check if this issue persists if you stop the desktop app from running?

If it does, have a look at what I mention earlier on in this post and let me know how it goes. Thanks!

Does "stop the desktop app from working" mean sign out of dropbox?

You don't have to sign out, just make sure that it's not running.

You can find the relevant steps in Daphne's post a little bit above.

@Lusil the only anti-virus program I have is what comes with Windows. I disabled all of that and the problem persists.

@Lusil and @Daphne , I should add -- I used to be able to save Word files if I paused syncing. That no longer works. Could this somehow be related to the Dropbox cache files? I don't know how those work... but it strikes me as odd that this problem has only gotten worse over time... as though temp files are building up somewhere.

Do you have any other cloud/storage/backup third party app running on your computer by any chance?

@Lusil I also have Box. But I ran Box and Dropbox on my previous laptop with no problems. And I don't have this save issue with Box.

I also have Code42 through my employer, but it is *not* set to back up Dropbox or Application Data files.

Thank you. I will try what you suggested in a few hours when I will have the time!

Just for troubleshooting purposes, could you temporarily close them and see if there's any change in behavior, @bropdox?

No worries, @lesliepratch, take your time, and let us know of any updates.

Thanks again!

@Lusil I exited Box and disabled Code42. No difference.

One thing I have noticed is that this problem is not consistent across different methods of saving. Before explaining this, let me say, I do have the option checked to "Show dropbox as a save location in Microsoft Office."

I can save in Word through one of three ways:

1. Use the "Save as" icon which I added to appear above the ribbon in word. This opens a file explorer window. It fails most of the time.

2. File --> Save As. Because Dropbox is set to be the default place to save (in my Word Options), it immediately suggests a Dropbox file path. This fails much of the time, but not quite as much as #1.

3. File --> Save As --> Browse. This, too, opens up the file explorer window. This seems to fail far less often than the others, but it will still eventually fail.

Again, there's no problem across these three methods when saving someplace outside of Dropbox.

Could you try fixing hardlinks or permissions by following these steps?

If that doesn't do the trick and if you haven't already, could you try clearing the cache as well?

@Lusil YES! Thank you. Fixing the hardlinks didn't seem to do anything, but fixing the permissions did! My problems started when I added Dropbox to a new work laptop. The user profile was setup quite differently than my previous laptop, so that must have been at the root of this.

Glad to have helped, @bropdox!

If anything else comes up, just give us another shout.

In the meantime, I hope you have a lovely week ahead.

@Lusil actually, it stopped working again. I tried clearing the cache. That did nothing. There's been a Windows update between when it was working and now, so I will try fixing the permissions again. Can I do that without fixing the hardlinks first, or should I do both?

Something I have noticed, the *only* way I can save for sure within Word is to File --> Save as --> Dropbox --> Browse in Dropbox.

It's a lot of clicking.

If I try any other method of saving that doesn't involve "browse in Dropbox" there's a risk of failure.

The issue has gone away, not sure why. Thank you for your help.

Glad to hear that you're not having trouble with this anymore, @lesliepratch!

Also, @bropdox, sorry to hear that the issue's returned.

You can try fixing permissions first and, if that doesn't do the trick, try fixing hardlinks.

If they don't help improve the behavior, could you clarify if you have any pending OS updates?