We're making changes to the Community, so you may have received some notifications - thanks for your patience and welcome back. Learn more here.
Forum Discussion
Editing PDF or JPG files in my macOS Dropbox folder creates a copy
Hello,
System: MacOS 12.7.4, Dropbox 198.4.7615
All files are stored locally in Users>Username>Library>CloudStorage>Dropbox
Issue: When I open a pdf or jpg file in my Dropbox folder to make a change (rotate, delete a page, annotate) the file opens as a copy.
If I stop Dropbox sync, the same thing happens, it opens as a copy.
This issue does not occur with txt, rtf, docx, xlsx. They can be edited without a copy being generated.
If I pull the file to my desktop (out of Dropbox folder) it edits without a copy being made.
I have another system (MacOS 10.14.6, Dropbox 198.4.7615) all files stored locally in Users>Username>Dropbox that does not have this problem.
Can anyone clarify if this is a MacOS or Dropbox issue and how to fix it?
Thanks for your help.
- Nancy
Dropbox Staff
Welcome back to our forum, sfemet! Hope all is well.
Can you also clarify the syncing status of your Dropbox app on that device?
I’d also like a screenshot of the syncing icons you see next to the PDF/image files that keep being opened as a copy instead and one more screenshot of the copy you see later on.
Keep me posted for more updates.
Hi,
The syncing status is "Your files are up to date"
All the files match on both devices and online.
There are no syncing icons for any file in my Dropbox folder on either computer, I disabled the Finder extension a long time ago, I never used the Quick Actions.
After I re-enabled it and restarted both computers, only the 10.14 files are marked with a green check. No green checks on the 12.14 system.
When I edit a PDF or JPG, I see a message at the top of the Preview window:
"The original document can't be changed, so a duplicate with your changes has been created."
When I save the changed file, it saves it to my desktop.
