You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.
Forum Discussion
Please don't block me from generating a link for a file that hasn't finished uploading
A new "feature" has been implemented where if I drop a new file in a DB folder, and then go to click on "Copy Dropbox Link", it simply won't perform the task until the file has finished uploading.
Apparently this is to "prevent 404 errors". The "error" page that comes up when you clicked on a link before it had finished uploading was actually a "Uh Oh! File hasn't finished uploading yet". This to me isn't an "error" page and shouldn't be treated as such. It's clear and communicates exactly what it needs to and doesn't warrant a restriction in functionality for the rest of the users.
The solution you've silently implemented has caused a monstrous delay in my daily workflow.
I work in a fast paced environment, generating new content every hour and sharing it with dozens of people in my team. The fact that I can simply drop files and right-click and "copy link" and THEN carry on with the rest of my tasks while keeping an eye out for the spinning icon in the tray and THEN send the copied link to my recipients, means that I am FLOWING.
When I have to do that dozens of times per hour, if you block me from generating a link as soon as I drop it in the DB folder, you're forcing me to having to RETURN back to DB a second time in the process. You've added a whole extra step, and it's absolutely killed my flow.
Hi everyone. We recently discovered a bug that caused this to break. It is now fixed. If you continue to have trouble copying a link to a file that is uploading/syncing please let us know.
It will be especially helpful if you can also tell us:
* What version of Dropbox you're using: Dropbox Windows, Mac, or Web
* The steps you're using to copy the link (e.g. right click, then choose "Copy Dropbox Link" )
Thank you for following up here. If there's any way I could also email the same tech support I would love to show them that this is happening on my machine as well.
Agreed - this was working again in August, but is now broken again. Can't believe I'm going to have to start from scratch with badgering support about this. Please Dropbox, can we just have our nice little features so we can go home to our families?
Thank you. I agree that this is infuriating. I'll bombard them with tickets too until this is fixed.
I had this issue and the feature has been reinstated, at least on my systems. Currently running v130.4.4978
I just tried it and it's not working here. Same version #.
Thanks spiresvideo this is great to know!
I'm on v131.3.3962, so I doubt it's even version related.
Are you 100% certain that the fix happens on actual files, and not just folders? Folders still work the old way, so even while its contents are uploading i can still generate a link for the folder. The issue is with generating links to actual files. Sorry just wanna be sure.
If that's the case, I wonder if you could do a solid for the team.... Could you make a video screengrab that shows a drag-and-drop of a 1-2gb file (large enough to take 2 minutes to upload), followed by an immediate Copy Dropbox Link? Just needs to show the "Link copied!" notification while the Dropbox icon still has the uploading spinner.
I would be able to then at least put it side by side with my own malfunctioning screengrab and send them both to support.
Finally got an official response from the dropbox Dev Team:
So there is a delay due to a change awhile back and it takes about 15 or so seconds for a link to generate if the file is still in the process of uploading. But, should still generate the link. The link itself won’t actually work though until the upload is finished.
I just tested a 3gb file and it seems like the 15sec delay is accurate, and it takes you to this page:
This is great news. I was not getting this behaviour before.
It's definitely not like it used to be, but a 15sec delay is much better than waiting til the entire file uploads.
At least they are acknowledging the change in functionality, unlike their very own Support Team.
this is really great! i just tested it and i was able to copy the link, paste it, while the blue sync indicator on the file wasn't turned to a green check mark yet. we'll just take the 15 secs, thank you! ^^edit: i have to make another render tonight and test it again because of isotropy 's comment. / just in case the system tricked me. the sync indicator on the file was blue, but the system tray Db logo seemed idle.
jakeviator Are you on Windows or OSX?
