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Henrik K.3's avatar
Henrik K.3
Explorer | Level 3
8 years ago

Dropbox is Changing the file name to UPPERCASE letters

Sometimes filenames in my Dropbox folder(s) are changed to UPPERCASE letters. Seemingly random, but probably isn't :)   I can see from the version history that the file has been renamed (changing f...
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  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    8 years ago
     
    You may keep in mind that Dropbox supports case-sensitive file names, but Windows pcs don't. While it may appear that you can have mixed case file names, they both don't at the file system level. Consequently, you can’t have two files named "temp" and "TEMP" in the same folder on Windows operating systems.
     
    Thus, there is no event that Dropbox can send to a Windows or Mac client that says "rename temp to TEMP" because that's not possible. This will work on Linux, and specially configured Mac OS, because they support mixed case.
     
    What you can do to work around this issue is rename the file twice, like this example:
     
    1. rename "temp" to "tmp"
    2. rename "tmp" to "TEMP"
     
    Hope this helps you clarify, let me know if you need more details about it in your reply! 
Henrik K.3's avatar
Henrik K.3
Explorer | Level 3

I have not changed the case myself in any of the cases. I have switched between Mac and Windows on this file, but I am not sure when this was. 

 

However I have seen other files that have changed case too, and they were never opened/saved on the Mac. Only Windows.

Jane's avatar
Jane
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
8 years ago
 
You may keep in mind that Dropbox supports case-sensitive file names, but Windows pcs don't. While it may appear that you can have mixed case file names, they both don't at the file system level. Consequently, you can’t have two files named "temp" and "TEMP" in the same folder on Windows operating systems.
 
Thus, there is no event that Dropbox can send to a Windows or Mac client that says "rename temp to TEMP" because that's not possible. This will work on Linux, and specially configured Mac OS, because they support mixed case.
 
What you can do to work around this issue is rename the file twice, like this example:
 
  1. rename "temp" to "tmp"
  2. rename "tmp" to "TEMP"
 
Hope this helps you clarify, let me know if you need more details about it in your reply! 
  • Henrik K.3's avatar
    Henrik K.3
    Explorer | Level 3
    8 years ago

    Weird thing, but I will have to stick to the workaround then. Thanks!

    • Jane's avatar
      Jane
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      8 years ago

      Hey Henrik K.3, 

      Great, this trick will help you organize your Dropbox files! :tools:

      If it's not too much trouble for you, would you mind taking a minute of your time to fill out a survey sharing your experience using the Dropbox Community? You can access it here: http://bit.ly/2lNKIxT .
       
      [ Please feel free to get back in touch here at any time if you have any other Dropbox questions or experience any issues in the future. ]
       
      Hope you have a great rest of the day! :coffee:
    • ben p.11's avatar
      ben p.11
      New member | Level 2
      6 years ago

      Hi all,

      I just had yet another file case changed by Dropbox, however this time I'm absolutely sure it was changed by Dropbox, because the file is part of a script, and is referenced by a piece of code with its original name.

      I filed a ticket under Ticket #9720408

      The chat assistance was not helpful, this is all really scary and I'd like to get a feedback from you guys other than "Dropbox won't do that".

      I'm absolutely positive that it happened, and if you cannot demonstrate why and how it will quickly be fixed, I'll have to let go of your - otherwise very helpful - service.

      • Daphne's avatar
        Daphne
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        6 years ago

        Hey there ben p.11,

        Just to note, I've merged your post here as it seems your issue is similar to the one discussed here.

        To start off, could you please just let me know what OS systems you're using when accessing your Dropbox files via the desktop app? Also, if you check the version history of the file and are able to locate where the rename took place, can you see which device this change was made from?

        Let me know what you find and we'll go from there - thanks!

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