Apple MacOS Sierra

A file is copied from the Dropbox folder on your computer to the Dropbox cloud servers. If the file is open in a computer application it will not be able to be copied.

Dropbox Not Syncing – How To Fix

If synchronization has stalled for some reason, it will not upload completely. If the file is corrupt, it can occasionally cause issues with sync even though Dropbox is file type agnostic.

Dropbox has an entire page dedicated to the reasons why it might not work, including characters its systems will not recognize. The link above takes you to the page describing those. Selective Sync is a Dropbox feature that allows you to choose what files or folders you back up.

1. Is Dropbox is installed on your computer?

It is easy to overlook it and accidentally enable it or place a file in a folder with Selective Sync enabled. To help manage network latency and preserve integrity, Dropbox caches data in order to facilitate uploads. Sometimes the cache becomes full or unreadable. Thanks for your feedback! Let us know how this article helped:.

Fix common issues with the sync icons on files in the Dropbox folder on your computer. Do your files look different between your computer, tablet, phone, or dropbox. See step-by-step troubleshooting step.

Incompatible characters with Windows

Show all results. Dropbox Help center Syncing and uploads Fix bad filenames.


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To ensure that your files sync correctly, first verify three things: Incompatible characters for all operating systems If sync isn't working and your file name includes one of these characters, the easiest solution is to rename the original file without these characters. Incompatible characters with Windows If sync isn't working on Windows and your file name includes one of these characters, the easiest solution is to rename the original file without these characters.

Ignored files Some small system files aren't synced over Dropbox. These include: A few notes: Some applications—such as Microsoft Excel—have shorter limits characters.

How to sync folders on Mac OS X with Dropbox using Symbolic Links

Windows counts the file path as part of the name. For example, Windows counts the below file name as characters: Trailing characters Files and folders that end with periods. Temporary files When some applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint open a file, they will often save a temporary file in the same directory and name it in one of the following ways: Metadata and resource forks Avoid syncing files that use metadata or resource forks , including Mac aliases or Windows shortcuts.

Junction points Dropbox will follow Windows junction points and sync the files or folders they link to. Reparse points In some rare cases, Windows may append a certain type of extended attribute, called a reparse point, to files or folders.


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A warning regarding metadata and FAT32 drives Some documents have file attributes, or xattrs, in data attached to the file. Monitoring more than 10, folders on Linux The Linux version of the Dropbox desktop app is limited from monitoring more than 10, folders by default. Open a terminal and enter the following: Turning on extended attribute xattr support in Linux Some Linux distributions have extended attributes xattrs turned off by default.

Using referenced files in Dropbox We strongly recommend against methods that add referenced files symlinks, junction points, or networked folders to the Dropbox folder. How helpful was this article? By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Cookie Policy , Privacy Policy , and our Terms of Service. How do I restart syncing of the Dropbox folder? I guess there must be a metadata file that I should delete, but I'm not sure where to look. Your version is outdated and the fact that it didn't self-update is a significant issue as and of itself Try manually deleting the Dropbox.

May not be your problem, but worth a try.

Sync isn’t working—troubleshoot issues with incompatible characters and bad filenames

By clicking "Post Your Answer", you acknowledge that you have read our updated terms of service , privacy policy and cookie policy , and that your continued use of the website is subject to these policies. Home Questions Tags Users Unanswered. How to restart syncing of the Dropbox folder on Mac? Ask Question.