Sometimes Dropbox “injector” decides not to inject into a new Finder process instance when Finder gets suddenly restarted (maybe Finder crashed on your machine?). I think quitting whole Dropbox via menu-bar icon and starting it again helps. But give it a minute or two to inject. You should see some dropbox messages in Console.app when it. Make sure 1Password is up to date. Update 1Password on your all your devices. This is important. The new version of the Dropbox desktop application gives you the option to disable the Finder integration. Disabling this integration means that you won’t be able to get sync status icons next to your files, or access Dropbox menu options by right-clicking on files.
To ensure that your files sync correctly, first verify three things:
- That your computer, phone, or tablet is connected to the Internet
- That you’re signed in to the same Dropbox account on those devices
- That the file or folder is in the Dropbox folder on your computer
If you verified that your computers are online and in sync, but a file still isn't appearing where expected, then there may be an issue with the name of the file itself. Files with a bad filename can sync to dropbox.com, but might not appear in the Dropbox folder on your computer, or work properly on incompatible operating systems.
If you find that you have a bad file (or files), there can be a few possible explanations. Below are some common causes of bad files.
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.
- / (forward slash)
- (backslash)
To prevent sync problems in the future, try to avoid naming your files with these characters as Dropbox can't sync them on some platforms.
Note: Some emojis can also cause sync issues.
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.
- < (less than)
- > (greater than)
- : (colon)
- ' (double quote)
- | (vertical bar or pipe)
- ? (question mark)
- * (asterisk)
- . (period) or a space at the end of a file or folder name
To prevent sync problems in the future, try to avoid naming your files with characters incompatible with the Windows file system.
Reserved filenames in Windows
Windows has a set of reserved words that can’t be used as valid filenames. If you create and name a file or folder from dropbox.com or a non-Windows device that includes a reserved word, then the file will not sync to your Dropbox on Windows computers. For a complete list of reserved file names, please see the Naming Conventions section of Windows Developer Network.
Ignored files
Some small system files aren't synced over Dropbox. These include:
- desktop.ini
- thumbs.db
- .ds_store
- iconr
- .dropbox
- .dropbox.attr
Max character length
If you're having trouble syncing files and your file name is over 255 characters, the easiest solution is to shorten the name of the original file.
Notes:
- Some applications—such as Microsoft Excel—have shorter limits (218 characters).
- Windows counts the file path as part of the name. For example, Windows counts the below file name as 142 characters:
C:UsersPandaMy DocumentsDropboxCreative NonfictionMy AutobiographyFavorite ThingsFavorite FoodsBambooFamily RecipesFresh Leaves.doc
Max components in a path
File paths with more than 300 components won't sync. For example, the following file path contains 7 components:
Creative Nonfiction › My Autobiography › Favorite Things › Favorite Foods › Bamboo › Family Recipes › Fresh Leaves.doc
Beginning characters on Mac and Linux
Files or folders that begin with a period (e.g. .myfile.doc) will sync properly to the Dropbox folder on your computer. However, Mac and Linux operating systems will regard filenames that begin with a period as system files and hide the files automatically. You won’t be able to see the files without modifying advanced settings on your computer. Instead, you can sign in to dropbox.com and rename the files or folders (e.g. _myfolder).
Trailing characters
Files and folders that end with periods (.) won't sync properly between operating systems. If a file ends in a period, like file.txt., the file won't sync.
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:
- Name begins with ~$ (a tilde and dollar sign) or .~ (a period and tilde)
- Name begins with a tilde and ends in .tmp, such as ~myfile.tmp
Dropbox Not Showing In Finder
Dropbox doesn’t sync these temporary files on any operating system.
Metadata and resource forks
Avoid syncing files that use metadata (or resource forks), including Mac aliases or Windows shortcuts. These types of files typically only work on the operating systems they were created on.
Junction points
Dropbox will follow Windows junction points and sync the files or folders they link to. However, any changes to those files or folders made from the Windows operating system will not sync again until the Dropbox desktop app is restarted. To get around this, move the original folder to your Dropbox and add a junction point from its previous location to link to its new location in the Dropbox folder.
Reparse points
In some rare cases, Windows may append a certain type of extended attribute, called a reparse point, to files or folders. The Dropbox desktop app cannot sync files or folders with this attribute.
Dropbox Not Showing In Finder
If you see a red 'X' on files or folders, it’s possible the cause is a reparse points. To correct this for an individual file, create a new file of the same file type, then copy the contents of the file that can't be synced to this new one and save it. To correct this on a folder, create a new folder and then copy and paste the contents from the folder that can't be synced to this new one.
Note that you may have multiple files and folders with reparse points. If this is true, you’ll need to apply this workaround several times. If you continue experiencing this issue, contact Microsoft support for more help.
A warning regarding metadata and FAT32 drives
Some documents have file attributes, or xattrs, in data attached to the file. We call this data metadata. Operating systems use metadata in many different ways: storing the icon, labeling your documents, attaching information to the file, permissions, and so on. Dropbox supports xattrs on all platforms. However, thumb drives and portable drives that use the FAT32 file system do not support metadata. If your Dropbox folder is on a FAT32 drive, unfortunately it is impossible to retain metadata when the file is moved or renamed.
Monitoring more than 10,000 folders on Linux
The Linux version of the Dropbox desktop app is limited from monitoring more than 10,000 folders by default. Anything more than that is not watched and, therefore, ignored when syncing. There's an easy fix for this. Open a terminal and enter the following:
This command will tell your system to watch up to 100,000 folders. Once the command is entered and you enter your password, Dropbox will immediately resume syncing.
Turning on extended attribute (xattr) support in Linux
Dropbox Not Showing In Finder Mac
Some Linux distributions have extended attributes (xattrs) turned off by default. If you're running a Linux distribution with an ext3 or ext4 file system, it's possible to turn on xattr support, typically through your /etc/fstab settings file. Please refer to your Linux distribution's documentation for instructions.
Dropbox Not Working In Finder
Using referenced files in Dropbox
Dropbox Not Showing In Mac Finder
We strongly recommend against methods that add referenced files (symlinks, junction points, or networked folders) to the Dropbox folder. Using reference files can cause high CPU usage, poor syncing performance, permissions issues, and quota usage disparities.