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Forum Discussion
Some of my files show up as zero bytes
When I save file, the file will appear in my DropBox, but when I open it the file is completely blank or only kept an older version of the document. I realized some of these "saved" items are being saved as Zero bytes. I am not sure why this is happening.
It is strange that someone from Dropbox doesn't answer this, since the users that are offering replies to this question are pointing this user in the wrong direction. When files on your hard drive Dropbox Folder say zero bytes, it means Smart Sync is on and the file is stored on the Dropbox Server. If you want to access this file or folder offline, you must access the Right Click or Control Click menus for Dropbox. One of them will say, Make Available Offline. You must do this for instance if you wish to copy the file somewhere else. If you do not, the file name will copy (very slowly) with no warning and you will have a zero byte file on your local Non- Dropbox location. If you do not notice this, and you delete your dropbox online version, you will have lost that file. Dropbox, knows this is an issue, and supposedly will offer an upgrade that fixes this. It should automatically start the offline download and put up a dialog informing you of what is happening.
Catasonic I've been seeking answers to this question for months. I don't know where to right-click in order to change the setting. I've asked for a photo of video of this and no one can help me. I find Dropbox extremely confusing to use and very hard to find clear answers. Thank you for your suggestion but I don't know where to make this change.
- Walter
Dropbox Staff
Hey elainemorrison, sorry to jump in, but I just wanted to mention that you should be able to tell your Dropbox files status, be it online only or available offline by their syncing icons.
Hope this helps a tad.
Hi Walter I don't see those icons anywhere. I find Dropbox to be terribly confusing. Can you send me a screenshot or Loom video of how one locates these icons?
All I know is that I am unable to access my photos as it says zero bytes no matter how I try to access them. It should not be this difficult and take this many messages for me to resolve this issue.
- Walter
I'm afraid I don't have a tutorial video to provide, but these icons should be visible on the files you've stored in your Dropbox folder on your computer while the desktop app is running and syncing normally elainemorrison
Apart from that, could you send us a screenshot of the exact error you're getting so that we can have a visual too?
Since July I have been unable to access and use the photos I pay to store on Dropbox because it says zero bytes. This is thousands of dollars of brand photography that is rendered unusable. I contacted Dropbox a few months ago and was told this is due to an iOs update and Dropbox has no solution. Have you gotten around to figuring this issue out? I can't be the only one who has lost access to photos. Please help.
- Hannah
Hey elainemorrison, thanks for reaching out to us and sorry to see you're having trouble.
Are you seeing this in the Dropbox folder on your computer or in your online Dropbox as well?
Which macOS version are you using and which version of Dropbox?
You can see the Dropbox version, if you hover your mouse over the Dropbox icon in your menu bar.
Hi @hannah
When I go to Dropbox in finder on my Mac it says zero bytes. When I try to attach photos to email in Gmail it shows that they have zero bytes.
How do you tell the when using the online version of Dropbox what the bytes are?
I'm using Mac OS Monterey version 12.6
I'm not able to see what version of Dropbox I'm using. The article you attached doesn't open when I click to see instructions on how to find it on Mac.
- Jay
Hi Jay -
I accessing it from my computer/machine. I am not sure what you mean by "check if the Dropbox desktop application is running, and what status it has in the menu bar or system tray?" I access my DropBox from my favorites and it's also something i can access from my dock. How do I check if it is running and its status?
- Jay
