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Forum Discussion
Is there a way to choose whether .zip files are previewing on the Dropbox website?
I'm a long time Dropbox user and today I went to check if some older links were still active that I had sent to a cleint. Most of the files are send out are zipped for various reasons.
It ...
I guess this is a new "feature" as of last week but IMO it's a TERRIBLE idea.
Being able to see the contents of a zip is only going to confuse the person on the receiving end.
We needd a simple big Download button and no previews of the zip file contents. Right now the downlaod button is not so obvious and clients are going be confused as to why they can see the zip file contents but not acess them without eventually noticing the Download button in the top right menu.
Jane
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffThanks for the info. This idea may seem good on paper I don't see the point in previewing the contents of a zip file if you can't also acess it directly. They have to downlaod it anyway.
Often times zip files are zipped for a reason, to keep a group of files together. Now I have cleints emailing me about why they can see the files within the zip, but can't actually open them. I have to explain that they need to find the no so obvious downlaod button and download it all first.
I does them no good to see inside of it. They and I both know what shoud be inside of the zip, that is why I made it.
For one file set in particualr, an audio DDP image, it only works if all the files are presnt so tempting people by to see and access the individual files in their browser is not helping and only adding confusion.
Do you have any news on this? It seems that many people do not like this new feature and it's actually problematic in some cases.
I really think it needs to be reverted to the old behavior ASAP.
If anything, if you want to see into a zip file, it should be a special harder to find feature but keep the old way of a zip file being displayed as zipped with a simple download button as the default method.This is causing daily problems for our company which is globally using dropbox with roughly 200 employees (over seperate office accounts) and our largest clients at 1500+ employees. This specific issue is simply intolerable and has now put in motion the debate of which alternative solution to switch to, abandoning the use of dropbox. If there is any intention to correct this problem (not manually changing last digits of the links from 0 to 1) or at least bringing back a prominent, obvious download button alongside .zip archive links within the browser, please let us know asap, thank you.
- Jane
Thanks for the update. I know this may seem like a good idea in principle but in a professional enviroment, it really dumbs down the Dropbox expereince.
Regardless of the industry, we zip files for a reason. It might be for integrity of the data, it might be so cleints can grab a bunch of files in one-click, or other reasons.But, I can think of nothing good that has come from this new behavior. I unfortunately have years of work and tons of data tied up in my Dropbox account and while I can explore the idea of using another service and threaten to leave Dropbox, it would be a tough thing to do since I really like the rest of the Dropbox expereince quite a bit.
I would much prefer if Dropbox found a way to revert to the old behavior and if there is really a demand to see within zip files for some users, this should be something that can be turned on by the user or found in a menu.
Right now, it's too easy for the average file recipient to just start clicking away and wonder why they can't download the main zip file.
This is anything but solved. The current UX for sending zip files is terrible. When I send a link to a zip file, I expect the receiver to see a single, big DOWNLOAD button to download the zip file. Not the contents, which is a total mess.
If some people want to see the contents - make this option configurable, or add a second parameter (akin to dl=1) so that this can be configured.
Thank you.
Thanks @supersv
I don't know why Dropbox is being so slow to correct this bad idea. It may look good in theory, or for amatuer users, but if I send somebody a zip file, I feel the same as you. This is amatuer hour.
Even though I've added a note for my clients about not navigating into the zip and getting lost, people still do it.
It's a shame because I LOVE the other new features Dropbox has been adding to the desktop apps, and there is nothing else that competes with Dropbox...But this zip file behavior makes me want to find an alternative way of sending files.
This is a terrible feature - when I zip files and upload to Dropbox it's usually because I want to share them as a single file with people, not have them go to the zip file contents and have to navigate through them.
Surely this should be a configurable setting on a file by file basis.
At least I can still share single zip files through Google Drive.
Thanks for your feedback. I coudn't agree more.
It seems that whoever thought this was a good idea doesn't have much real-world worklfow experience.
Hi Jane,
You really didn't respond to the OP's questions and concerns. I too require a one-click download process, and do not want my clients getting confused by folder hierarchy before simply downloading everything they need.
Please advise what we can do to work around this new "feature."
Thank you,
JLR
How is this useful? A link to a zip file should just be a download. Opening the zip file in the interface but not allowing the contents to be downloaded or viewed is as dumb as a bag of hammers.
Please make this work the way it used to. Does anyone at Dropbox actually use the service? Sheesh.
Thanks for your feedback guys. I can't believe this is still like this.
If anybody truly thinks this is a good idea or nessecary then maybe a smaller and more hidden button can be used to navigate inside the zip file.
But, it should not be first thing clients are tempated to do which it is now.
If I send a link to a zip file I want one thing, and one thing only to happen and that is for the client to see a HUGE downlaod button front and center which they click on, and the zip file downloads.
There is ZERO value IMO allowing cleints to navigate inside a zip file and then get confused about how to download it which they can't unless going back to the first page.For the love of god druidbox
Please fix this STUPID "FEATURE" that lets people see inside zip files.I'm tired of getting emails like this:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p45bgaljehyr4ei/screen%20shot%202019-07-29%20at%201.55.33%20pm.png?dl=0
