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Desktop files not syncing from my computer to the site

Many files and folders that I have edited on my desktop are not updating online. I have checked all the settings (allowed use offline), checked my network, unlimited upload speed, uninstalled and reinstalled, and don't know what else. Attached screenshots are of my desktop (see two files updated yesterday) and my online account (those docs listed as last updated May 6). Please help!

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Comments

nsawicki

And on my Dropbox desktop app, it says "Your files are up to date."

Walter

Hey there @nsawicki - sorry to hear about your syncing issue.

Could you please send us a screenshot of how those files look inside your Dropbox folder and another one of the app's exact status and version as shown in your menu bar/system tray?

Did you reboot your computer since you first noticed this by the way and have you checked the files content as well apart from their time-stamps?

Let us know more and we'll take it from there.

nsawicki

Thanks. I have restarted my computer several times. The content of the files online is old; the content of the files on my desktop is up-to-date - and note that there are several other files I've worked on in the past week or two that have the same issue. Attached are the screenshots you requested (I think). FWIW, I recently got a new computer (Macbook Air, replacing an old one) and did not have any issues transferring or installing Dropbox. In my Preferences, the version is listed as Dropbox v200.3.7010.

[screenshots removed by Moderator for security reasons as per the Community's Guidelines]

Walter

Thanks for the screenshots @nsawicki - I'll be removing them for security purposes in a bit, but they're really helpful! I noticed that the files you're looking at don't have syncing icons on them.

I also noticed that you're running a beta version of the desktop app. Could you update to the latest, stable version from this page and let me know how it goes??

Make sure to turn off the early releases from your account's settings first.

nsawicki

I turned off early releases, updated to the new version, and restarted. No change (online files still old), and I still don't see sync icons on my desktop.

Walter

Do you happen to have any 3rd party apps that might be monitoring your files like security or back and sync programs perhaps @nsawicki?

Until we get to the bottom of this, you can upload the files you're not seeing on the web manually via a web browser.

nsawicki

I don't think so, especially since the computer is new - what are some examples of the types of apps you're talking about? (Thank you so much for your help)

Walter

Antivirus apps or VPN/firewall settings and other services like iCloud, Google Drive, One Drive etc. @nsawicki

While we're at it, could you try the steps outlined here as well and ensure that Dropbox has full disk access as well?

nsawicki

I already set the finder extensions correctly (found that article on my own!). I just followed the steps to give Dropbox full disk access (then quit dropbox and restarted). I'm not running antivirus software, and Dropbox is allowed under my firewall settings. I couldn't find any other settings or services that seem like they'd be impacting this.

One point of info that might be helpful: When I went into "Open Recent" in Word, I saw two versions of one of the docs that's not updating (see screenshot). I opened both, and the one in users/name/dropbox is the correct version, while the one in users/name/library/cloudstorage/dropbox is the not-updated one that's showing up on dropbox.com.

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Hannah

Hey @nsawicki, thanks for the additional info.

Which of the two files are you updating? The one in Users/name/Dropbox?

If you update the other one, do your changes sync online?

nsawicki

Yes, the documents I've been working on are all in users/name/dropbox (which I think is supposed to be the default location for dropbox files).

So ... I just went into the users/name/library/cloudstorage/dropbox and selected one of the files, edited it, and renamed it. It got saved on my desktop WITH a syncing checkmark, and when I go on dropbox.com the new file appears (screenshots attached)! That made me think that the users/name/library/cloudstorage/dropbox is what's syncing with the online version ... but on the other hand, none of the others files in this same location have syncing icons. What do you think?

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Jay

Hi @nsawicki, could you try marking the other files as available offline, if you have enough space on your computer to do so?

nsawicki

All my files are available offline. To confirm, I unchecked, then rechecked the box.

So here's what I think is happening: I found this article on Mac updates and learned that in the new OS, Dropbox files are stored in users/name/library/cloudstorage/dropbox, and not users/name/dropbox (the old location). I've been updating my files in the old location rather than the new, which is why they're not syncing to online. So the solution, I guess, is to transfer all the files I've updated in the last few days into the new location.

My only remaining question, then, is why the only syncing icons showing in the new location are on new and edited files? Old unchanged filed and folders (so, most of them) do not have sync icons.

Hannah

Hey @nsawicki, can you try selecting some files that don't have a sync icon, right/control click on them and choose "make available offline", to see if that helps with the sync icons?

nsawicki

Yes, that does work - thank you very much.Does that mean I have to do this individually with each folder? Why didn't setting the universal settings to "make available offline" automatically update everything?

nsawicki

Never mind - I just did that for the whole Locations Dropbox folder and all the syncing is updating. Thanks, all, so much for your help. I am grateful for your support.

Hannah

Happy to hear that, @nsawicki!

If you need anything else, just give us a shout. 🙂