Some file names now have a semicolon in them, on Windows

Question

Hi Walter,

I am experiencing the same issues as noted in the original post:

- Windows OS (no users syncing to the Dropbox use Mac OS)

- Version 189.4.8395

I now am receiving a sync error for 92 files or folders. These files, which have been on my Dropbox for years with no naming or sync issuses, all of a sudden now have semicolons included in their file names, which has caused sync issues.

Has Dropbox got a bug in it that has renamed these files to include a semicolon in them?

It appears that the recent issues in this thread (ie. the ones experiencing issues in the past few months) all related to Mac OS but I am running Windows.

Can you please advise the steps to remove the sync issues?

I can do the obvious in going through every file name with the new error and manually removing the semicolon, however I imagine that this this would be a temporary fix and not solve whatever is the root cause of the issue (being that Dropbox has automatically changed file names to include incompatible characters which then causes sync errors).

Thank you

Tom

TOBES33 · Answer

Hi Jay,

Thanks for your help. In response to your queries:

1. These files are in random locations in the Dropbox folder.

2. This is a shared folder, with 3 users with access (myself included).

Further;

3. All 3 users experienced the sync issues at the same time.

4. None of the users had altered or changed these file names, all the files had been on the Dropbox for a period of years.

5. All 3 users use PC operating systems, however 2 of the users previously used Mac OS approximately 4-5 years ago. I'm unsure if the files that have had the names automatically changed to include non-compatible characters were created / saved onto the Dropbox by the users who were operating Mac OS at the time (not sure if this is relevant).

Thanks again,

Tom

Jay · Answer

Hi @TOBES33, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

I've moved your post into a new thread as it was unrelated to the previous discussion.

Are these files in random locations in your Dropbox folder, or are they all in one specific location? Is this a private or shared folder?

This will help me to assist further!