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dunlapjs's avatar
dunlapjs
Explorer | Level 4
2 years ago

How to recover files I removed from drop box Mac

I wanted to save my files to an external drive.

So I drug them out of drop box and onto my mac.
Then I drug them to an external hard drive.
Now I find out I can't open the files on my external drive.

I get this message: ... is an online-only file. To open it, first move it into your dropbox folder.

I have not renewed my drop box

Can somebody please help my figure out what to do. I am scared I won't be able to open any of these files any more.

Thanks in advance

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    2 years ago

    If they're available locally and you can open them as normal, yes.

     

    They will of course get deleted from Dropbox, but you can move them to any location you prefer.

  • Mark's avatar
    Mark
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

    When you were using them in Dropbox did you turn them back to local files BEFORE moving them out of Dropbox? That is what you need to do. 

     

    You may need to put them back in to Dropbox and see if you can redownload them to offline access. 

    • dunlapjs's avatar
      dunlapjs
      Explorer | Level 4

      Thank you so much for the reply. I have renewed my subscription to make all of this easier for now, ad less stressful!

      I am currently restoring my files. 

      Once this is completed I would like to do what you are explainging.

      Can you describe the process more clearly? (Turn them into local files)

      And then remove them?

      Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it

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