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Dropbox Backup - stuck updating one file

I am backing up an external drive on macos and it seems to be stuck updating a pdf that has a hash for the filename - probably a mail attachment deep in a mail directory. Unlike a couple of toher files, where VBackup has alerted me to illegal characters, there is no notificaiton.

Aside from searching for that file and renaming it (it won't be the only one for sure). where are the Dropbox Backup log files stored?

I've looked in ~/Library/Application Support/Dropbox and in /Library/Application Support but I don't see any logs or Backup, only some binary logs for Dropbox.

thanks,

Julian

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finetuned

It took a long time to find that file. Rebuilding the spotlight index for 8TB and still not results. I downloaded Find Any File and it took a few seconds. it was in the root folder: .DocumentRevisions-V100-bad-1/PerUID/501/c4/com.apple.documentVersions/

I think it was stuck indexing the file as it was a corrupted pdf. I couldn't open it so I deleted it and the backup is now continuing.

So what does indexing actually do: index file contents and if so, can it be turned off?

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Hannah

Hey @finetuned, welcome to our Community.

Would you mind clarifying exactly what you mean by "log files"?

Regarding the file in question, can you please check the sync status of the Dropbox app, by hovering over the Dropbox icon in your menu bar and let us know if it reports any errors?

If you do indeed locate the rename the file to remove the hash, does it help?

Let me know and we'll go from there.

finetuned

Hi Hannah,

When transferring files e.g. in ftp software, curl, scp, etc. there is usually a log file that lists the actions of the software. Thsi can be checked for information, errors, etc.

Hovering over the icon, the popover shows 'Indexing B28BF98E-9FA1.-42D... 9E9964.pdf

I've not found the file yet.

Thanks,

Julian

Hannah

Thanks for the clarification, Julian!

From what I can see on your sync status (the "indexing [file name]), that particular file has a "." (period) in the name, which is an unsupported character.

If you locate that file and remove the period, does it help?

finetuned

I think it was stuck indexing the file as it was a corrupted pdf. I couldn't open it so I deleted it and the backup is now continuing.

So what does indexing actually do: index file contents and if so, can it be turned off?

Hannah

I'm glad to see that you were able to locate the file and resolve the syncing issue!

Regarding indexing, it's part of the syncing process as well, as it helps look for changes on files that need to get updated, without having to re-sync the files from scratch, so it can't be turned off.

I've passed your feedback along to our team, though!

Let me know if you need anything else.