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Forum Discussion
How to Workaround "Zip File is Too Large" Error
I'm sharing a multitude of large files with colleagues via a Dropbox link that are nearly 120GB in size. However, they're telling me Dropbox doesn't allow them to download it due to an error saying the "zip file is too large". Confused, I tried the link on an incognito browser to see for myself, and I see the error too. Why is there a download file size limitation?
My colleagues don't have Dropbox accounts of their own to transfer these files to (and I doubt they'd be willing to to make paid accounts to do it), and I'm not giving my account login info to them (as a few threads on this issue suggested) to be able to download it via the Desktop app.
I saw in a thread made a few years ago that Dropbox is easily capable of raising the file size download limit. They did it some months after someone complained about there being a 1 Gigabyte download size limit. Why don't they raise the download size limit much higher? (Or better yet, not have a limit at all?) I'm a paying customer, and the very reason I subscribed to Dropbox in the first place was to have a cloud service to store and share large files with people. If I wanted to deal with sharing smaller file sizes, I wouldn't even be paying for Dropbox's 2TB plan to begin with. I'd be using the Dropbox free version, or sites like Google Drive.
Same issue here. Just ranted to support about this (who are useless). What a bunch of BS....
HI Levi11, the size limitation only applied to folders (there are some technical reason: when you download a folder the server needs to compress the files into a single ZIP folder, and Dropbox sets some limits). However, there is no limit on downloading a file. If you compress (make ZIP) of your 120GB data, upload and share that file via link, others should be able to download it. But remember there is daily bandwidth limit, for Plus, Family, and Professional accounts: 400 GB/day. If you exceed that daily limit, your link will be banned.
Just make it work! The customers should not be finding workarounds for limitations you are putting on them! If the customers are paying, you have to deliver the service!
This is exactly why I left Dropbox for Google Drive. They try to force EVERYONE to have a pro plan, it's unbelievable. I've had no issues with Google Drive for my clients for 2 years. Now I am forced to come back to DB because a vendor I'm editing for uploaded 400gb worth of footage there. I can't download the folder, I have to download each individual file, using the link
It's insane what their tech team comes up with. I hope this business dies. Pros should be leaving in droves.
If this is the case like you say, why does Dropbox set limits on downloading large folders, but downloading large files are no problem to them? They're making their cloud software unnecessarily convoluted with these specific restrictions. Again, I'd understand these limits if I were using a free version of Dropbox, but I'm not. I'm paying for a large plan only for them to still have limits on my account.
You mentioned compressing them into a zip file. How do I make Dropbox turn my files into a ZIP? And how do the people downloading it turn it back to normal when they download it on their ends? Also, some of the files I'm sending over are videos. If I compress them into a ZIP, won't that ruin the quality of my videos?
For anybody seeing this still later:
I made myself a python script to be able to download files from a shared folder which would exceed the zip file size. Without necessity to add them to your own Dropbox account of course.
Unfortunately your script is not working for me... I repeatedly got an error of "your link is not correct" even if the dlkey part is present.
