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Internazionale's avatar
Internazionale
Explorer | Level 3
2 years ago

Temporary files are created for Office files only in the Dropbox folder

good morning, I need your help.

 

I use dropbox for job, from the account that my boss created for us, we have shared dropbox, so if I change o cancel a file, every people see that changement of cancellation.

 

it's been a few days that every time I edit an excel or word file, it creates a lot of temporary files and this, creates confuzione for all the other collegues and I have to cancel all of them by hand. my collegues see tha changes and the sharing is correct but it continuosly creates temporary files and I dont' understand why. I absolutely have to solve it. I'm waiting for your help.

thanks

  • Christine2024's avatar
    Christine2024
    Explorer | Level 3

    Hi, I m using Windows OS. Recently a temp file will be created every time I save a Microsoft office file and it needs to be manually deleted.

     

    At first I thought it was MS Office's error, so I contacted MS office 365 support. However, after running several tests, we found that temp files will be created only when: 

     

    1. The document is created within Dropbox environment

     

    2. The document was initially created on other directories like Desktop, Documents, etc., and then moved into Dropbox. Even if they are moved out of the Dropbox later, they will still create temp file when saved

     

    The temp files do not have any content. According to MS support, they were created for AutoSave function, but should be invisible or automatically deleted after the documents were saved and closed.

     

    What is possibly the reason behind? And how can I fix it so that there is no temp file seen in Dropbox?

     

    Thanks, 

    Christine

     

    • Hannah's avatar
      Hannah
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hey Christine2024, thanks for reaching out to us.

       

      I moved your post to a thread that has some info relevant to your query.

       

      Can you try Walter's workaround above, to see if that helps?

      • Christine2024's avatar
        Christine2024
        Explorer | Level 3

        Hi Hannah,

         

        Thank you for your quick reply!

         

        I have tried Walter's method (pausing syncing - editing / saving document - resuming syncing). The temp file will still pop up after the syncing is resumed. And since I am using Dropbox for work which requires short turnaround time, it's not easy for me to perform those steps every time I edit files.

         

        I understand that temp files are created by MS office apps instead of Dropbox, but this issue only happens in my Dropbox. There's no temp file created after saving files on Desktop or OneDrive. 

  • hilwood's avatar
    hilwood
    Explorer | Level 3

    Everytime I saved my word document in dropbox folder. A ~WRDxxxx.TMP file created and will not be auto cleared even i quit the Microsoft office.

    • Hannah's avatar
      Hannah
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hey hilwood, thanks for reaching out to us today.

       

      This looks like Word is creating some temporary files in your Dropbox folder.

       

      This isn't specific to Dropbox, you can read more about it here.

       

      If you try Walter's workaround here, I believe you should be good to go.

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

    Hi there Internazionale, sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

     

    In this case, I'd suggest pausing syncing or quitting the Dropbox desktop app when working on those files and resume syncing or relaunch the app once you're done with your edits.

     

    This should help avoid the issue you noticed.

     

    Let me know of any updates!

    • Internazionale's avatar
      Internazionale
      Explorer | Level 3

      Hi, thank for the answer, but it is impossibile for me do this, because I work everyday with a lot of file with my colleagues too, so I need to have the syncing in time. so, the fact is that is a problem only mine, e there isn't  a problem for my colleague, I need that dropbox works like before and like all the rest of the office, my boss pay for it, so I need someone who solves my problems in a rush.

      thanks,

      have a nice day

      • Mark's avatar
        Mark
        Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

        If it works on all other machines but not yours there is something on your machine that is doing this. Note that it is not Dropbox - Dropbox cannot do it, there is a process or something on your device which is causing the issue. You need to work out whats different between yours and the rest 

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