Child Item

Windows cannot find folders revealed by search Dropbox

Device
Custom PC - 13th Gen i7, 48GB Ram
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
Windows 11
Dropbox App Version/Browser Version
241.4.4795.0

Question or Issue
When I search dropbox and then click on a folder, windows cannot find the folder. This is only happening with some folders, not all. This was never a problem prior to the recent update.

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Accepted answers

GibSam

I received the new version of the Dropbox app (241.4.4853), and it has resolved my issue.

The ability to search for files through Windows Explorer is essential for anyone working with large volumes of files.

A big THANK YOU to the Dropbox team for responding quickly and delivering a fix!

All comments

Rich

JimMcCar wrote:
When I search dropbox and then click on a folder, windows cannot find the folder. This is only happening with some folders, not all.

Are those folders marked as Online-only, or Available offline? If they're Online-only, try marking one as Available offline before opening it.

GibSam

Having similar issues - since the Dropbox application updated to version 241.4.4795, we are no longer able to search for files located in Dropbox using Windows Explorer. Only folders and files that are fully synced locally appear in the search results. Files that are online‑only or not yet synced do not show up at all.

Hannah

Hey @GibSam, thanks for your input here.

Can you try switching the files in question to "available offline" and then back to "online-only", to see if that helps?

GibSam

Thank you, Hannah. Here is a response from Dropbox Tech:

" I understand you’re experiencing a change in how you search for Dropbox files in Windows Explorer after a recent update. The Dropbox for Windows update integrates with Microsoft’s new Cloud Files API, which revamped the sync engine.
While the behavior in Windows Explorer may have changed, you can still effectively search for all your Dropbox files, including online-only content, directly within the Dropbox desktop app. Here’s how:

Click the Dropbox icon in your taskbar.
Click the search icon (magnifying glass) at the top.
In the search bar that appears, type what you’d like to search for.
Press Enter or wait for the results.

If a file or folder found through this search is online-only, it will open on dropbox.com. If it’s locally synced, it will open on your computer."

Do you know if this is correct and are other having the same issue after updating their windows client to 241.4.4795?

Hannah

Thanks for keeping us in the loop, @GibSam!

Have you tested this out?

GibSam

I received the new version of the Dropbox app (241.4.4853), and it has resolved my issue.

The ability to search for files through Windows Explorer is essential for anyone working with large volumes of files.

A big THANK YOU to the Dropbox team for responding quickly and delivering a fix!

Hannah

That's wonderful news, @GibSam!

I'm happy to hear your issue got resolved.

If you come across it again or if you need help with anything else, don't hesitate to let us know.

Have a great day!

JimMcCar

This continues to happen... It is not resolved. When I click on a folder revealed by a DB search (a folder that is stored both online and on my hard drive), I get the error messgage: "windows can not find 'F:\Dropbox/folder name/folder name'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again."

Hannah

Sorry to hear that you're having this issue again, @JimMcCar.

Can you try the steps you mentioned that were shared with you here and let us know if they help?

JimMcCar

Thanks.. but All of my files are stored locally... and my dropbox app is current. Here's the error message (looks like the slashes are not consistent...):

Hannah

Thanks for that, Jim.

Can you also send me a screenshot of the search results you see before you click and get the error message above?

Slegnor

I am getting the exact same issue on v244.4.6580.
You can see the issue is the change from backslashes to forward slashes after the DropBox folder:
\My Documents\Dropbox is fine, but it then switches to /

I've found the only way to make it work is to turn off the redesigned system tray option i Settings and go back to Classic design