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Forum Discussion
Joe E.4
10 years agoNew member | Level 1
Getting an error saving an Autocad file, tmp files created?
I use Autocad to work on files I have stored and shared here in Dropbox. My Autocad is set to save every ten minutes. I also manually save very often because I've learned a valuable lesson once when we lost power and my battery backup (UPS) didn't work. Hours of lost work is not fun so I constantly save to avoid losing work. With that being said, I frequently get an error "Unable to save to drawing C:\Users\xxx\Dropbox\thedrawing.dwg. Drawing saved to C:\Users\xxxx\Dropbox\sav###.tmp. This is filling up my Dropbox Folder that I'm working out of with all these *.tmp files. Is anyone else experiencing this problem and what can I do to remedy it? I shouldn't have to monitor my account for these *.tmp files.
- Dustin G.1New member | Level 1
I am having the same exact problem and it just started happening a couple of weeks ago. I also use Autodesk's Autocad and am also having issues saving. I also agree that it is something with dropbox cause when I save a file to my desktop I no longer have any save problems. Likewise I had my other employees do the same thing with the same result. Is there a solution to this problem yet? Can someone direct me to a way to fix this? I really have enjoyed using dropbox and it has worked great for me with no issues until this. Thanks for the help! One other interesting note is that when you turn off dropbox syncing and then hit save it works fine. Though I would rather keep it always syncing therefore I would like to get this resolved.
- David G.155New member | Level 1
Same problem here as everyone else. "One or more objects in this drawing cannot be saved..." It doesn't happen every time that I click save. The only thing that is consistent is that when I pause syncing AutoCAD saves just fine. I don't want to do that every time I save or save as. This problem has started within the last week or so. Until now Dropbox has served as a backup for several years without any issues at all.
- Ashley S.20New member | Level 1
Same issue as all others, same exact error message. We're a design firm with 3 people constantly using drop box and saving our CAD files - 2 people use AutocadLT 2015 and have this error message often; 1 uses LT 2012 and has yet to get the error message. This started appearing a few weeks ago and is very frustrating and hurting our productivity. Dropbox, please advise asap.
- RichSuper User II
Cross-linking the two related threads regarding this issue. Note that multiple applications are affected by this.
https://www.dropboxforum.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/201612939-Temporarily-pause
- Joe E.4New member | Level 1
I don't think you understand. The *.tmp files are created and saved to my Dropbox folder because Autocad was 'unable' to save the original file, which is on Dropbox, in the first place. A .tmp file is created and stored to Dropbox when this happens. Usually, but not always, after the second save attempt, the file saves to Dropbox. I stress, not always because sometimes, I have to try to save 3 or 4 times before it actually saves the original file. In the mean time, after each failed attempt, a .tmp file is created and stored in my Dropbox Folder. Autocad doesn't have this problem saving my files anywhere else. Take for example, if I work on a file that is stored on my Hard Drive or on our Company Network, Autocad never, I repeat, never has a problem saving the file, never gives me an 'unable to save' error message, and never creates a .tmp file because it was unable to save the original. On the other hand, working on a file or files that are stored in my Dropbox Folder, numerous times throughout the day, after trying to save the file or files, I get this error message. And since Autocad couldn't save the file to my Dropbox Folder, a .tmp file is created and stored to Dropbox. So why would you consider this an AutoDesk (the maker of Autocad) problem? Isn't Dropbox supposed to be an extension or similar to an external hard drive? In the mean time, my Dropbox Folder is filling up with these .tmp files which I have to manually delete at the end of the day. The only solution I have to remedy this situation is to work on the file locally, then save it to my Dropbox Folder at the end of the day. But that doesn't do much good when I make numerous changes to the drawing throughout the day, yet the other 6 trades I'm collaborating with don't see those changes till the end of the day. I guess it's the best I can ask for until a real solution to this problem can be discovered. But I doubt Autodesk will have the answer. This, I can almost certainly say, is a Dropbox problem. Here's another example, from software that is not created by Autodesk. Cadpipe is software that I use to draw 3D Piping Systems for large buildings. Cadpipe uses a Database that it loads at startup for it's pipe dimensions, fitting dimensions, what type of material the pipe is made of, such as copper, cast iron, pvc, etc. This Database is critical for Cadpipe to properly work. The Database File I point Cadpipe to load through it's .ini file is stored on Dropbox. Cadpipe can never load this critical database file directly from Dropbox. It gives me an error also. Yet I'm looking at the file right now. It's there. The only way I can get Cadpipe to load this database file is to copy it from my Dropbox Job Folder over to a folder on my local Hard Drive or my Company Network Job Folder and load it from there. The Problem with this is, when I work at home, I don't have access to my Company Network, forcing me to save the file locally at home also just so Cadpipe can properly work. Are you going to blame this one on Cadpipe? As with a lot of software companies I've dealt with over the years, when I point out a bug or flaw, it never seems to be their problem, it's always the other guys problem so it never gets looked into, therefore, never fixed. We shall see if I have these same problems if I were to start using Box.Com or Wuala.com, or Google Drive, Sky Drive, or Team Drive or any of the numerous other alternatives that are out there.
- Tony K.16Helpful | Level 6
I'm having the same problem with dropbox version 13.4.21 and it's over a year after this thread started. It's with completely different apps than other people mentioned. Altium Designer and Xilinx ISE are the tools that are giving me errors when the files are on dropbox. If I enable PAUSE, then it's ok. This needs to get fixed!!
[This thread is now closed by moderators due to inactivity. If you're experiencing a similar behavior, feel free to start a new discussion in the Dropbox Community here.]
- RichSuper User II
I've started having this issue in the last month or so while working in Photoshop. I've used the same process for nearly three years, which is to open a PSD file from a Dropbox folder and do a "Save As" and a "Save" (first to save as a TGA file, then to save the PSD) as I work on it. I do this every few minutes or so. This process has worked fine with no errors for years, but I'm now getting a message (randomly, but very often) that Photoshop is unable to save the file. When this happens the original file that I'm saving over is deleted from the folder. If I pause Dropbox syncing this does not happen and I'm able to work on the files like I always have.
- Clint H.8New member | Level 1
Running ACAD LT 2014, Windows 7 and 8. on different machines in our office. I direct the .dwg file to my local hard drive where the dropbox files are kept and synchronized. Sometimes, randomly, ACAD will not save, it just sits there and chews on it for a while. Maybe 15 seconds. Sometimes it kicks out an error message, sometimes it will go ahead and save. Not very confidence inspiring.
Yes we need a solution for this.
I believe it is dropbox because we also work out of files directed to a NAS server and we never have this problem.
- MarkSuper User II
Please find a relevant thread Muhammad or start a new one.
- Aarón__Dropbox Staff
Hi Joe,
It seems that those files are automatically generated by another application, not Dropbox. If that's the case, I would recommend you to contact directly with the support organization of that application to ask for further instructions about how to prevent those files from being created or how to make the application to store them in a different location.
I hope this helps!
- Dave A.9New member | Level 2
I am having the same problem with Office applications. As of 7 days ago, all save operations from Word or Excel to a dropbox folder on my harddrive fail. Office does not create tmp files in this case - it just prompts you to save somewhere else. Something is locking the file in the folder, preventing the application from saving. It could be dropbox, it could be windows search, not sure. Google has not turned up any ideas.
This is happening for both my corporate and personal dropbox folders. I'm running windows 8.
Strangely, I CAN save wordpad or notepad documents to the same folder. This only is affecting Office documents.
I thought that perhaps dropbox is putting a lock on the file, so I did a file/Save As from word to a different filename in the same folder - it still fails. It creates a 0 byte file, then prompts me to save somewhere else.
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