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Forum Discussion
Unable to open files synced to computer
Hi -
I've been using dropbox for a few months now and it has been aweseome -
I've got a distributed team of 10 people working across the country - and we've been sharing files on Dropbox without issue until a couple of days ago.
Suddnely, and for reasons I don't understand, no one is able to open files. I thought it was me or my machine or my software .... but I'm getting the same reports from across the country that people are no longer able to open files stored on Dropbox.
Everyone is getting the same error message and calling ME to fix the problem and i don't know what to do -
The file “PDLogo_AnalyticsTag.png” could not be opened.
It may be damaged or use a file format that Preview doesn’t recognize.
Everythting was working fine until Friday or Saturday - when suddently file-opening stopped workiong.
Please help !!!!!
- Jane
Dropbox Staff
thank you Jane !
yes everyone is getting the same error messate. Mac, PC, everyone.
we've all been using Dropbox for a few months and eveything was fine until a couple of days ago - and now i'm getting people calling me saying they can no longer open the files stored on DropBox
i'm not able to get you the screen shot - but the error messages are the same -
"the file .... cannot be opened" ... it may be damged or use a file format Preview doesn't recognize"
i've had 10 people working with this system for 4 months and have never had an issue until a few days ago -
please help !!!
i've got a screenshot for you but can't get it to you as this message board will not accept it ???
Hello,
I actually have same problem as Clangdon described (https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Files-folders/Unable-to-open-files-synced-to-computer/m-p/277271#M112893). I tried quitting Dropbox, it does not help. When I download files from Dropbox - then I can open them and they look just fine. The problem is with those that are syncornized. I can not Preview any of them, those that I worked on 4 days ago are working after opening them, but older ones ar enot. It looks like synchronizing is damaging files? This is the message window I get:
Also while downloading some of them get "_." in the middle of name file, so I need to manually change them after.
- Walter
Hello kajakiem - welcome to the Dropbox Community!
As you can see, I moved your post under the thread you had quoted in your second post; merely to keep things neat around our Community.
As per the matter at hand now, kindly note that the issue you're seeing is a Mac issue that occurs when copying files with extended attributes metadata into a file system that doesn't support them. Depending on the information stored in the metadata, you may or may not need these files.
These files are called AppleDouble files and more information on how to handle them can be found by searching for: "apple double files"
To avoid this issue if you have your Dropbox folder on an external drive, we usually recommend ensuring that the drive is formatted in the default file system format for the Operating System that is installed.
Formatting drives may cause data to be deleted. Please consult resources from your Operating System's manufacturer for steps and recommendations on formatting drives to a different file system. The most common default file systems are NTFS (Windows), HFS (Mac OS X) or ext4 (Linux).
I hope this information helps you find the culprit and please keep us posted on your progress!
Hello, I still have same problem, I can not open files that are syncronized. When I download them they are fine, I can open them.
AI files are having problems with Text Import.
PDF files are just not to open.
Indd files can not open.
etc...
