I really regret having done this "upgrade," as all my files are in limbo. It is a terrifying feeling. Can anyone please tell me if this is normal and will end soon?
Thank you!
My Word files don't exist anymore on my computer and all my files in Dropbox say they are uploading. Yesterday I did many edits on a file. Today, the latest version I see is from a month ago. I am feeling desperate and can't wait the whole weekend to speak to someone. Can anyone help, please?
Hi @Mirasol, let's see what we can find about this!
Am I correct to understand that you recently updated your device's OS?
You mentioned that your app is syncing. Would you mind clarifying the app's current syncing status?
Do you notice any progress in this status?
Let me know more, and we'll take it from there!
Hi @Megan, thank you for replying.No, I didn't update my OS recently. What I did was click on a message from Dropbox that I'd received months earlier saying that an updated version for Mac was ready. I had ignored it for months, but decided to do it last week. That's when the mess happened. The current status is "indexing." It has said that since I updated last Thursday or Friday (can't remember which day). Now when I look at my Dropbox files in the Finder, I see a cloud next to each file, which never was the case before. They were all resident on my computer. Some of the cloud icons have an exclamation point inside. I guess that means there are conflicting versions? I no longer have access to the files I had worked on last week -- they say that the latest version is from May.
Thank you for your help!
Hey @Mirasol, thanks for the additional info and sorry to hear that.
What is your exact OS version? If you haven't already, we recommend updating your Mac to macOS 13.3 to help with this issue.
The cloud icon with the exclamation point inside it means that your file or folder can’t update or sync.
If you take a look at your account on dropbox.com, do you see the current versions of your files or the old ones, like on your computer?
Hi @Hannah,I am running OS 13.6.7.When I look on the Dropbox site, I see a May version of a file that I had been working on recently. Same as I am seeing in my Finder.
Thanks for checking, @Mirasol.
This could mean that the changes you made to your files after May, never synced to your account for some reason.
It could be a connection issue, or something else, but this isn't caused by the update; it sounds like the update just jump-started the app and made it sync with your account online, because whatever you see in your account online, is what's actually synced to your account and our servers.
If that's the case, there's not much we can do on our end, to help you retrieve those updates, I'm afraid.
If you take a look at this file's version history, are you able to find more recent versions perhaps?
There is no question that this was caused by the upgrade. Until then, my files were syncing perfectly, immediately. This happened right after I upgraded. I have a huge amount of files stored in Dropbox. At this point, I want to get them all out of there and onto my hard drive, but that seems impossible. I used to be able to move a file easily from Dropbox to my desktop. Since upgrading, the files now have an extension "webloc" instead of "docx" or whatever. I want to know how to get my files back.
You mentioned that your files were syncing perfectly; if they were syncing, you'd be able to find them online or at least in your version history, can you check there and let me know what you find?
It shows lots of versions every day until May 30, when I left on a trip. Nothing in June, when I returned and updated my Dropbox version.
It sounds like something happened with the syncing process when you left on that trip.
What do you see in your events page? Any events after that date?
I got home on 6/11 and it was working then. On the events page, it shows that I added the app Dropbox on 6/14. After that, nothing was right.
Hi @Mirasol, I'd have to agree with Hannah on this.
If the content didn't sync to our servers, our hands are tied and there's not much that we can do since they never synced to our end.
How is the syncing of the app at the moment? Has the indexing been rectified?
It still says that it is indexing. I appreciate your help, but someone needs to tell me what to do now. I followed the company's instructions to update and I'm left with all my files in limbo. My assumption about what went wrong is that the update behaved as I was newly installing Dropbox. There are so many files in my Dropbox that it could be indexing for the next year. Or maybe it got stuck. Either way, there has to be a solution.Why can't I pull my files onto my desktop anymore? Why are they ".webloc" files now? How do I convert them back?
How long has it been stuck at indexing @Mirasol?
Can you send us a screenshot of the app's exact status, and version as shown in your menu bar, so that we can have a visual too?
It has been indexing since last Friday or Saturday. A screenshot of the word Indexing, you mean? I prefer not to share a wider screenshot publicly, which would show my files. The app is version 202.4.5551
Sorry for jumping in, @Mirasol. I just wanted to ask something else.
If you right click on your local Dropbox folder and select “Get info”, what’s the number of files you see?
If you wish, you can take a screenshot and crop it, so that we can’t see the rest of your computer screen.
Please feel free to jump in! 🙂It isn't showing me the number of files. Size just says "--"
Thanks for that, @Mirasol! Now, as for the .webloc files, can you send me a screenshot of an example file with this extension? You can hide the name of the file, if you wish.
Regarding the files whose updates haven’t synced to your online Dropbox account, can you do a quick search in your Finder, and let me know if you can see your updated files anywhere on your local device?
Hi Nancy,Here's an example. All my files have this extension now.
In the Finder, they all have a cloud symbol next to them. That never was the case before.As for updating, the file in the first screenshot says it was last updated on May 30, even though I made several changes in the file last week. I didn't work on any other files since I upgraded my version of Dropbox, so I assume they are all current. However, my menu icon still says "Indexing."
Hey @Mirasol - thanks for the screenshot!
Could you clarify if you have more than one user profile on your computer?
Also, can you try fixing your hardlinks and permissions as outlined here and let us know how it goes?
Hi Walter,
I have only one account.
When I followed the instructions for fixing hardlinks and permissions, there was no option to click on for fixing. I assume because I didn't have anything to fix?
What I did notice, though, was that syncing was set up as cloud only. I guess that changed when I did the upgrade, so I switched it to Available Offline. I hope that means that in the next sync my files will be returned to my hard drive? 🙏The Dropbox menu continues to say "Indexing." Also, could you explain why there is an exclamation point inside the cloud image on some files?
Hey again @Mirasol, regarding the files with the cloud icon and exclamation point, it means that these are files or folders that can't update or sync to your Dropbox.
As for the hardlinks and permissions, the steps should all appear for you whatever the case; can you send me a screenshot of what you see instead?
Hi Hannah,
I didn't realize that I needed to hold the Option key to see them. Now I've clicked on both hardlinks and permissions.
As for the exclamation points, I notice that they are in files that I have been editing. So nothing I have edited since I updated my Dropbox is syncing.
Thanks for the update again @Mirasol.
Did the fix of the hardlinks and permissions help with the syncing status, so we can make sure that syncing works correctly?
Or is it still indexing?
Still indexing. Still have exclamation points in the clouds. Still don't have my files resident on my computer.
@Mirasol, one more thing I’d like to clarify; did you search your Finder and checked if your updated files are located anywhere else on your Mac device?
If there’s no trace of them, let us know and we’ll log a ticket next for further investigation.
Hi Nancy. No, hundreds of my files exist only in the cloud now.
Hi @Mirasol, have you already submitted a ticket regarding this matter to the support team?
I had an online chat with Rudy a week ago, before trying to find the answer from the community. He followed up with recommendations from someone who wanted me to reinstall Dropbox. I was afraid to do that, afraid I would lose hundreds of files, so I posed the question on this forum. As I just now see, Rudy had opened a ticket. But that automatically closed because I didn't see it.
No worries, @Mirasol. I’ve opened a new ticket for you, so we can look into this further. Please reply to it when you can.
