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Dropbox Folder randomly disappears from the MacOS Finder. If I force quit it shows up.

I am using the latest version of MacOS, Ventura 13.0.

I am using the latest version of the Dropbox desktop app, V160.4.4703.

The Dropbox folder appears in the new place in the Finder under Locations.

The problem is that this folder randomly disappears.

The only way to get the Dropbox folder to come back is to do a Force Quit Finder.

It is inconvenient to have to keep doing the Force Quit Finder multiple times a day to get the Dropbox folder to reappear.

This is a bug in the Dropbox Mac integration, and I would like it to be reported.

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Megan

Hey @Steven-in-OC, thanks for posting here today!

It might sound trivial, but have you rebooted your device after the update? Also, do you happen to have any screenshots of the folder disappearing, or not showing up?

Thanks a bunch!

Steven-in-OC

I rebooted my computer (MacBook Air 2020) as part of the upgrade to Ventura. When I posted my original comment, the Ventura upgrade had been the last time I rebooted.

I noticed that the Dropbox folder had moved from under Favorites to under Locations, which is what was supposed to happen after the Dropbox upgrade. I saved files to Dropbox in the new location for several days, before I noticed that it was suddenly gone yesterday. I tried quitting and restarting the Dropbox app, but that didn't fix it. I got the Dropbox folder back only after a did a Force Quit Finder. Once it was back, I saved files to Dropbox again successfully. But then several hours later, I wanted to save a file to Dropbox, and I noticed it was missing from the Finder again. This time I knew the workaround, so I Force Quit Finder again, and it came back.

I don't have a screen shot of the Dropbox folder disappearing. I only noticed it was missing when I wanted to save a file.

I just rebooted my computer again, since you asked about when I rebooted. After the reboot, Dropbox does appear under Locations. If the Dropbox folder disappears again, I will take a screenshot and follow up this post. I'm not sure how useful that will be though, since it will just show a list of Locations that does not include Dropbox. I am attaching here a screenshot of my Finder with Dropbox in its correct place under Locations.

Hannah

Thanks for the screenshot and the update, @Steven-in-OC.

Hopefully restarting the machine will do the trick and you won't have this issue again, but if you do, make sure to let us know.

Thanks!

Steven-in-OC

The Dropbox folder disappeared from my Finder again today. I am attaching a screenshot of the Finder with Dropbox missing.

I noticed, when I compared with the earlier screenshot, that not only is Dropbox missing, but so is Google Drive, which also recently moved its folder to Locations. Could be a defect with MacOS, or could be that both Dropbox and Google Drive are not integrating properly with MacOS. Both folders are restored when I force kill Finder.

Jay

Hi @Steven-in-OC, since it's affecting both cloud services, which are now required to use the CloudStorage folder, it's possible there may be a specific issue with Finder on your device, since we haven't experienced this issue, and rebooting it seems to work.

david r

The same thing has just happened to me. Suddenly Dropbox is gone from finder. Dropbox top menu icon is still there and working. I am using MacOS 10.15.7 on a mid 2015 iMac

david r

Follow-Up - think it is Finder. The Favourites had all gone and reselecting that heading brought them back

marktb1961

DropBox starting disappearing for me too me a few months ago. In my case, it is not associated with any other issues like Favourites. I have a link-folder that I copy back into the Locations area when it happens. I will just add that to Favourites, now I think about it.

Nancy

Hey @marktb1961! Hope you're doing well.

Did this start happening following an update of the Dropbox app or your OS?

Are you receiving any type of error messages, before the app crashes, or is this a silent crash instead?

bobr666

I have been having this problem too. First time it happened, I re-installed it. Although Dropbox is apparently working on my system, it's not visible to Finder and now an app (DXO Photolab seems to be unable to see files, although they have been synced).

Nancy

Thanks for your post, @bobr666.

Just to make sure I understand the issue; are you able to access ~/Library/CloudStorage normally on your computer, but the Dropbox folder is not always showing there?

Can you let me know your current OS version, as well as the app version of your Dropbox app? You should be able to see both by hovering over the small Dropbox icon in your menu bar.

bobr666

Thanks for the response. I hadn't known about the ~/Library/CloudStorage path - useful thanks.

At the moment, things seem OK, although at one point a day or so ago, I thought I had the problem. I'm beginning to wonder if it is just in some apps. I will try to be clear about the issue and come back.

ps I'm running Ventura 13.4.1 on a Mac M1 Mini & Dropbox 178.4.4811

AlvaroDiezMora

I am experiencing the same issue, DropBox disappeared from my Finder. I tried rebooting, and it is still missing. I am running MacOS Ventura 13.4.1(c)

Hannah

Hey @AlvaroDiezMora, thanks for letting us know about this.

What's the sync status and version of the Dropbox app, when you hover over the Dropbox icon in your menu bar?

Did this happen after the update of the app to the new Dropbox for macOS version?

AllenB

I have the same problem. I'll find that the Mac isn't replicating to Dropbox and when I investigate, I find that not only has the software stopped running, but it's completely vanished. This has happened twice in recent months.

There is clearly a Mac integration issue, and it would be nice to see Dropbox acknowledging that and doing something about it, instead of asking people to reboot their machines.

Walter

Hi there @AllenB - sorry to hear about this.

Could you let us know some additional information so that we can make sure we're on the same page?

For example, what is your computer's exact OS version and the version and status of the desktop app installed there as shown in your menu bar?

Have you reinstalled the desktop app since you first noticed this by the way?

AllenB

Hello Walter, thanks for your message.

The Mac is cracking on a bit, so probably can't handle the latest MacOS. It's on macOS Mojave 10.14.6.

I can't tell you the Dropbox version as the Dropbox software had completely vanished off the Mac, but as this was the second time this has happened, it must have been on a pretty recent version. No more than six months old. It's now on the latest version: 179.4.4985.

Allen

Walter

I see, thanks for the additional information, Allen - much appreciated.

Your computer's OS is supported so it shouldn't be an issue here. Were/are you running any 3rd party apps that could be causing issues on your machine?

Also, you're no longer facing the issue you mentioned - correct?

AllenB

I'm not "facing" the problem because it's an intermittent problem. My concern is that if the Mac is disconnected from Dropbox for long enough, we'll get replication clashes. Dropbox appears to handle those pretty well, but if the Mac got far enough out of date, surely that would be a problem.

The Mac is lightly used and has little on it that could cause a problem. Apart from the apps that came with it, all it has it Microsoft Office for Mac, BBC iPlayer Desktop and Adobe Reader. It's primarily used for email, Word and Excel.

Walter

Thanks for clarifying that for me, Allen.

Let us know if anything comes up!

bobr666

I just got the problem again - after some time without an issue. I can successfully goto the /Users/bobr/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox folder and see my documents there, but Dropbox is no longer in 'Locations'. The icon is visible in the icon bar and says that my files are up to date.

bobr666

I seem to have worked around it by going to the folder, then dragging it into the locations.

Laurence S.4

I get the same thing with MacOS Ventura 13.5.1, Dropbox 182.3.6348, about once a week Dropbox disappears from Locations but continues to function. I go to ~/Library/CloudStorage and drag it back to Locations. Just a bit annoying.

Walter

Hey @Laurence S.4 - thanks for letting us know about this.

If you'd be willing to give this a go, could you try the latest stable version of the desktop app without reinstalling and let us know if you notice any difference?

Laurence S.4

I installed the latest stable version on Wednesday 6th and today, Sunday 10th Dropbox just disappeared from Locations without warning. I have been using it for the last two hours without any problems. There was no notification and I was using Safari at the time. I reinstated it as usual by dragging it from CloudStorage.

Megan

Just checking in with you, to see how things progressed ever since yesterday @Laurence S.4.

Laurence S.4

Everything has been fine since yesterday but it only happens about once a week so that is expected. I will let you know if it happens again and I will let it update to the latest beta as the last stable version didn't fix it.

Laurence S.4

Dropbox disappeared again from Locations on 17/9/2023 so I put it back from ~/library/CloudStorage. iMac Ventura 13.5.2, Dropbox 183.3.6997

Laurence S.4

After a week away with my Mac turned off, came back, restarted with an update to 13.6 and Dropbox had disappeared again from Locations on 1/10/2023 so I put it back from ~/library/CloudStorage. iMac Ventura 13.6, Dropbox 184.3.6480

Sam DBX

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your reports.

This information is very helpful for our team to debug, and they're actively tracking it.

We'll post updates here once we have solid news.

Thank you for your patience,

Sam