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Can't open PDF files with new beta on my mac

Issue is that the file info says open with Dropbox, not Adobe. If I change back to Adobe then it opens. (Or if I open it from inside Adobe.) But I have hundreds of PDFs that now have the wrong app to open them. Wouldn't be a problem if they opened using Dropbox, but they don't. I can change open with info on each file, but that would be a huge pain. I checked the box to say change open with info for similar files, but it didn't have any impact.

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Emmet

Hi everyone,

Thanks for reporting this, and sorry for the inconvenience. We think we have a good idea of what is causing the issue, and we're looking into a fix.

In the meantime, the following workaround might help:

Open a Terminal window.
Run the following command:

xattr -drv com.apple.LaunchServices.OpenWith ~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox

This command will remove the custom "Open With" settings for all files in your Dropbox folder, including the incorrect/broken setting that is forcing some files to open with Dropbox.

It's possible that Finder won't notice the change right away, so you might need to relaunch it for that to take effect:

Hold Control + Option and click on the Finder icon in the Dock.
Select "Relaunch".

All comments

jubbins

Same thing happening to me on M1 Monterey 12.6.

Reported in another thread. It's driving me nuts!

Burnt-On

This is a variation of the issue I have that I explained to @Hannah from DB in details weeks ago. Only difference for me is that with Adobe files they don't open at all.

Like yourself even after changing a default app to EXCEL for .xls or .xlxs files ( for all .xls and .xlxs files) it just opens that particular .xls file in the excel app and all other .xls files on dropbox.com, even though default app to open .xls file has been set to open with EXCEL app.

Thankfully I only joined the Beta on my backup machine or I'd be going crazy by now.

Burnt-On

I reported this problem weeks ago and have just been on to the machine I'm running the Beta on and was amazed when I clicked a few PDF's in Dropbocx folder in Finder and hey presto, they opened! Wow, it is fixed I thought. Then I tried an Excel doc, which opened in Dropbox.com, NOT Excel. Get Info>Set Default App to Excel etc...

Low and behold nothing happened and I'm back to square one. MS Docs only open in Dropbox.com (not what I want, I want them to open in the native MS Apps on my Mac and Adobe docs don't open at all... the icon quickly expands as if the document is going to open a second later, but it never does.

Very slow progress DB! I've been a user for as long as I can remember Cloud File Storage being a thing and you were always streets ahead of the competition but this Beta is a mess.

ABA

Good luck

Emmet

Hi @Burnt-On,

We’d like to check what’s going on here, would you mind if we reached out to the email associated with your community profile to look into this further?

Thank you!

Emmet

SamPT

Couple of community managers emailed me privately and in email since last week the reply is “ our engineers are working on it”

So basically dropbox just wants the query raisers from this forum, so the more people do not come to know the problem on this platform.

Since last 4 weeks dropbox is not able to find solution, i believe dropbox just made a unstable version for latest mac os

jonkratz

I'm having this exact issue — it's a real bummer. Please update us if you find a solution.

I wonder if the solution is to click the "Leave beta" button in Preferences > General, but was all the file moving to new location tied to being part of the beta and do all local files get deleted? It seems so.

Ideally, they'd just be able to let the files open with the "default" app and not Dropbox. How is Dropbox ending up between this expected behavior anyway?

Burnt-On

Hi @Emmet

I have detailed the issue extensively on this thread. There are now at least half a dozen other posts detailing the same issue, and there are a significant amount of users commenting on these posts. I'm not quite sure what 'reaching out to me' directly is going to achieve, but if you want to, please feel free to contact me.

jquam

Hi @Emmet -- I am experiencing essentially the same issue as @Burnt-On detailed so comprehensively here, and would also appreciate some outreach. I'm not sure how I can put this more clearly: The issue essentially makes Dropbox unusable in the way I've come to rely on it in my workflow. It's a little disconcerting that DB doesn't seem to have addressed it in the last few months.

iandol

Hi @Emmet — what is the current status for this hugely frustrating bug?

bluemigrant

I am experiencing essentially the same issue as @Burnt-On detailed

SamPT

Dropbox does not have a clue how to fix it.

Pathetic service by dropbox.

omydoc

I am experiencing essentially the same issue as @Burnt-On detailed.

Most of the document files included. PDF files, MS office files...

iandol

So there is a fix from a dropboxer for the "open with" issue (you should restart Finder after applying these commands):

https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Dropbox-for-macOS/Files-won-t-open-without-control-clicking/m-p/648931/highlight/true#M904

xattr -drv com.apple.LaunchServices.OpenWith ~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox

This is just resetting the metadata, and so for issues with spurious quarantines I would think something like:

xattr -drv com.apple.quarantine ~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox

At least my errors are currently fixed...

Emmet

Hi everyone,

Thanks for reporting this, and sorry for the inconvenience. We think we have a good idea of what is causing the issue, and we're looking into a fix.

In the meantime, the following workaround might help:

Open a Terminal window.
Run the following command:

xattr -drv com.apple.LaunchServices.OpenWith ~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox

This command will remove the custom "Open With" settings for all files in your Dropbox folder, including the incorrect/broken setting that is forcing some files to open with Dropbox.

It's possible that Finder won't notice the change right away, so you might need to relaunch it for that to take effect:

Hold Control + Option and click on the Finder icon in the Dock.
Select "Relaunch".

b4798

Emmet,

You're assuming that we know what Terminal is, or that we've used it before. I'm probably in the minority on this one, but now I have to go on an Easter Egg hunt to research what Terminal is and how to use it without doing further damage to my computer.

Walter

Hey @b4798, sorry to jump in, but I just wanted to mention that you should be able to find all the information you need about Mac's Terminal in this page.

I hope this helps!

b4798

Thank you, Walter!

SamPT

did what you said, and still its the same problem.

iandol

Hi @Emmet — the proposed fix aims to solve the problem with the "Open with" applications. However the remaining problem is that the quarantine bit is set so that many files become "from an unindentified developer..." — why are you not suggesting to use the same fix but for quarantine metadata?

e.g.

xattr -drv com.apple.quarantine ~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox

terrabella

I can change files on a file-by-file basis. This wasn't a problem until I ungraded to beta version of Dropbox. Not sure what you mean by changing computer's (mac) settings.

plopez12

I'm having the exact same issue with my new laptop.

bluemigrant

@iandol

This problem is annoying and no one of dropbox gives the solution

iandol

Well, this is probably par for the course from a corporate entity. Many of us have problems, and it seems there is a disconnect between the developers and the QA / customer support teams. The fact I am using a beta means I bear some responsibility, though the fact we are still in beta for basic support of Apple's latest OS and changes that were announced several years ago says something pretty dire about Dropbox management. I understand it is hard for indie developers to keep up with Apple, but this shouldn't apply to behemoths like Dropbox. The response to these particular bugs is patchy at best, mostly these threads are users who are motivated enough to complain (there will be a greater sea of users who just sit confused and manage the best they can). We have some generic canned replies and then some incomplete potential workarounds. It amazes me they suggested the xattrs fix for one problem (which works for me at least) but then just ignored the other and cannot even feedback if we should try or not. Surely this kind of joined up thinking is not that hard?

Emmet

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your patience in this matter. A fix was recently pushed through for this issue, and it should no longer be affecting your devices. If you are still experiencing this issue after you've updated your Dropbox, please let us know. We will need to investigate further.

Regards,

Emmet

BJN

Didn't work. Got permission denied error.

barrynalebuff@SOMC02D42LHML85 ~ % xattr -drv com.apple.LaunchServices.OpenWith ~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox

xattr: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/Users/barrynalebuff/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox/My Mac (Barrys-MacBook-Pro.local)/Desktop/`.nosync'

bluemigrant

I got this error as well.

radical_exponent

Hi everyone,

Let me try to level-set on what our understanding of the problem is and where we're at, solution-wise:

* When migrating from an existing 12.3+ install of Dropbox to the new Dropbox for macOS, any files that were Online Only prior to the migration had a "com.apple.LaunchServices.OpenWith" xattr that stores a setting telling the OS to open the file with Dropbox. This xattr was part of our existing implementation of Download on Demand.

* When users double-click a file with this xattr, depending on the exact circumstances, they could see: (1) nothing, (2) .docx/.pptx/etc files opening in the web browser rather than the native app, or (3) receiving a scary warning dialog about an unidentified developer.

* We're now removing these xattrs as part of the migration to the new Dropbox for macOS. This was fixed as of version 166 - so new users migrating/upgrading after that release shouldn't see this issue.

* We've also deployed a fix in 165 that should fix the symptoms for most existing users, by making sure our app responds correctly to open requests. The xattr should be removed from files for you as you interact with them (e.g. double-click).

* There are a small remaining set of users where this fix doesn't work, who will need to manually remove the OpenWith xattr

As posted previously, the command to do this is:

xattr -drv com.apple.LaunchServices.OpenWith "~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox"

(adjusting appropriately in case your Dropbox folder has a different name - e.g. "Dropbox (Personal)")

Some users reported that running this command via the Terminal app ran into a Permission Denied error. We believe this is likely caused by Terminal not having permission to read/write files in your Dropbox. This is a built-in protection in macOS, designed to protect your data from malware on the machine.

In order to temporarily bypass this protection, you can go to (apple menu, top left) -> System Settings, then look for the "Privacy and Security" section, then "Full Disk Access", click the "+" in the list (authenticate if prompted), navigate to /Applications/Utilities/ in the file open dialog that pops up, click "Terminal.app" and then click Open.

After that, you'll need to quit and re-launch Terminal, and re-run the "xattr -drv ..." command mentioned above. That should hopefully work correctly now.

When you're done, you can optionally remove the additional permissions granted to Terminal.

Please let me know if you encounter any issues with that!