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David W.136's avatar
David W.136
Helpful | Level 6
7 years ago

"The file has been changed by another application."

Over the past couple of weeks, both of my Macs have been telling me that files cannot be autosaved because "The file has been changed by another application."    This occurs in multiple applica...
Error Messages
Mac
Preview
Sync
  • Norah's avatar
    Norah
    7 years ago
     
    Hi David W.136, thanks for checking in with us!
     
    To help isolate this issue, try quitting the Dropbox app by using the following steps:
     
    • Click the Dropbox icon in your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac/Linux)
    • Click on the gear icon in the Notifications panel and select "Quit Dropbox"
     
    If the issue persists when Dropbox is completely closed, this suggests that the cause is related to something outside of the Dropbox application. You may want to check other applications or components of your Operating System that could be causing this.
     
    Let me know if the issue is resolved when Dropbox is completely closed!
  • David W.136's avatar
    David W.136
    7 years ago

    As I'd mentioned, the error stopped when I paused Dropbox syncing. But over the past couple of days, I've turned syncing back on, and I am not getting the error.

     

    So, it seems not to be related to Dropbox...especially since it seems from this board that no one else is having the same issue.

     

    Thanks for the reply.  If the problem starts up again, I'll quit Dropbox and see if that makes a difference.  

Norah's avatar
Norah
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
7 years ago
 
Hi David W.136, thanks for checking in with us!
 
To help isolate this issue, try quitting the Dropbox app by using the following steps:
 
  • Click the Dropbox icon in your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac/Linux)
  • Click on the gear icon in the Notifications panel and select "Quit Dropbox"
 
If the issue persists when Dropbox is completely closed, this suggests that the cause is related to something outside of the Dropbox application. You may want to check other applications or components of your Operating System that could be causing this.
 
Let me know if the issue is resolved when Dropbox is completely closed!
  • David W.136's avatar
    David W.136
    Helpful | Level 6
    7 years ago

    As I'd mentioned, the error stopped when I paused Dropbox syncing. But over the past couple of days, I've turned syncing back on, and I am not getting the error.

     

    So, it seems not to be related to Dropbox...especially since it seems from this board that no one else is having the same issue.

     

    Thanks for the reply.  If the problem starts up again, I'll quit Dropbox and see if that makes a difference.  

    • Norah's avatar
      Norah
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      7 years ago
       
       
      I’m glad the issue has been resolved! Feel free to let me know if you have any additional questions.
       
      Have a great week ahead!
      • jessekinsman's avatar
        jessekinsman
        New member | Level 2
        5 years ago

        I am having the exact same issue on OS X Catalina 10.15.3. Only really happens in Numbers for me. Does not happen if Dropbox is not paused.

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