Dropbox to Roll Out Update With Full Support for macOS 12.5 by End of May

[Konigi]

Dropbox has been grabbing so much of my CPU recently, emptying my MBP battery. The saying goes like this: "Wow, the fans are spinning like hell and yet I'm not doing any hungry apps or doing heavy work. Must be Dropbox." It's pretty annoying. The first non-free tier is already so expensive, and here we have a very poor service on Mac.

 

[ignatius345]

I keep forgetting that despite having access to Apple's services (iCloud, paying for it via iCloud+), 3rd party options are still options none of the less. I take it the tradeoffs between the 2 are standard?... Apple's has excellent and seamless integration between Apple devices, while Drop Box has support for non-Apple devices and platforms?

Dropbox has gotten more and more bloated and intrusive over the years, and I've steered clear since the time a few years ago when iCloud Drive (mostly) caught up to its features. I did find myself installing it again recently because I have to set up a sync for Agenda on my work Mac that has a separate Apple ID. Unfortunate, but there was no real way around it.

All that said, iCloud Drive never did catch up with a couple of great Dropbox features like selective sync and file version retention. For the latter, I think Apple expects you'll roll back with Time Machine. Fair enough, but if a file is synced to iCloud Drive, I sure would appreciate restorable versions. As for selective sync, that's a huge miss for iCloud Drive. Your only option if your local storage is smaller than your set of iCloud Drive files is to pick "optimize storage" and hope for the best.

None of that is quite enough to make me want to pay for Dropbox and run its janky software, though.

Dropbox was great back in the day…

It truly was amazing. I still remember the first time I used it in earnest, collaborating on a design project with a couple other people. It really was just a magic folder, like a portal between two or more computers when such a thing didn't really exist yet otherwise.

I remember reading about how there was some question of Apple under Steve Jobs buying it but, the story goes, he considered it more of a feature than a product. I think that actually still holds true.

 

[sjsharksfan12]

I've been trying to move things out of Icloud since I don't want to pay the subscription. I've been using things like OneDrive (Since I have a subscription to Microsoft office 365) and Google Photos. I wish Apple would increase the basic Icloud storage space to maybe 20 GB. 5 just feels like Apple is giving you a nickel and saying spend it wisely. A nickel doesn't get you much these days.

 

[avkills]

The main problem right now is they are trying to be something they are not by adding useless features.

 

[svenmany]

Up till now, Dropbox has been perfect. I ignore the features I don't care about, I just have a Dropbox folder in my home directory and do some selective sync'ing. Other machines (Windows and Mac) do the same. It's been flawless. No high CPU load except during startup.

But, I have the Dropbox folder in my home directory. After the upgrade I expect I'll see the new ~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox. Some people already see that, but I have to assume they've been running the beta or somehow received some early release. I'm dreading that switch and hope it goes more smoothly than when OneDrive made it.

 

[MGrayson3]

This ~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox thing has me completely paralyzed with fear. I'm sure nothing can go wrong with several devices sharing a Dropbox folder, right? RIGHT? I am waiting a LONG time before I "upgrade".

Whoops. I just learned that this is an Apple thing. So they're trying to force everyone out of the file sharing space by constantly changing the rules. Reminds me of how Microsoft Word became the only word processor.

 

[svenmany]

I just got the update alert and I went ahead and applied it. So far, so good. I like having the little icons again next all the files and folders. It was a long process and my 2018 MacBook Pro's fans complained the whole time.

I now have OneDrive and Dropbox under ~/Library/CloudStorage. Dropbox was far more communicative about what they were going to do and how careful they were going to be. They seemed to run a lot of checks along the way to make sure all was good. OneDrive, on the other hand, just moved my files without telling me.

 

[svenmany]

Just a heads up...

Using Spotlight to open files that are in Dropbox doesn't work anymore. I've certainly read about others having this problem. I haven't pursued it yet. I will have to reindex I think.

 

[nebojsak]

From the Dropbox forum:

This isn't Dropbox's doing; it's a new restriction put in place by Apple. Changing the location of your Dropbox folder is no longer supported by macOS.

Still haven't got the update alert, I have my DB folder on a separate drive with 2 TB plan, and it's critical for my workflow. Might easily be the final alert for me to switch to Windows :/

 

[svenmany]

Just a heads up...

Using Spotlight to open files that are in Dropbox doesn't work anymore. I've certainly read about others having this problem. I haven't pursued it yet. I will have to reindex I think.

I reindexed, but it didn't fix it.

Dropbox has now joined OneDrive in my CloudStorage folder. Documents from both providers don't open from Spotlight. Also, cmd-space on such items does not open a Finder window on the files folder.

There is another thread in these forums discussing the same problems with OneDrive (I can't find it right now), so it's some issue with Apple's framework for 3rd party cloud providers. I can't find the thread at the moment, but they did discuss tweaking the spotlight exclusions for the CloudStorage folders.

I see the problem reported on the Dropbox forum and a support person asking to work with someone via email. So, they are aware of it. https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/App...k-to-Files-in-Dropbox-in-macOS-13/td-p/633406. In this thread some people discuss tweaking the spotlight exclusions. Some others mentioned that reinstall of Dropbox fixes it.

For now, my workaround will be to just use Finder's search to find files. It's a bit less convenient for a quick search, but more powerful.

I'll be getting my new computer on 2/7. I always set up a new computer without restoring from an old computer. I'll be able to see if fresh installs of OneDrive and Dropbox have the issue.

 

[DailySlow]

Just a heads up...

Using Spotlight to open files that are in Dropbox doesn't work anymore. I've certainly read about others having this problem. I haven't pursued it yet. I will have to reindex I think.

Me too UGH

 

[stev01]

Unfortunately, iCloud is incredibly slow & prevents permanent local copies. Whenever I really need a file, it's somehow guaranteed not on my Mac and I have to sit around and curse until Apple decides to sync it -- if I'm lucky enough to not be on a plane and in wifi reach ... Never had that problem with Dropbox. All files are on my computer. Now Dropbox gets slowly forced into the (online-default) iCloud straightjacket.

Been with Apple for 15 years. Owned about 20+ Macs (company sponsored, i.e., university sponsored) and 15+ iPads. But this may unfortunately be the end of the road for me. I need access to my files when I need them. Not when Apple decides I can have them.

I never thought I would say that but "I'm looking into buying my first Windows machine in more than a decade". (I used to build these myself. Maybe I can do that again . )

 

[MauiPa]

Unfortunately, iCloud is incredibly slow & prevents permanent local copies. Whenever I really need a file, it's somehow guaranteed not on my Mac and I have to sit around and curse until Apple decides to sync it -- if I'm lucky enough to not be on a plane and in wifi reach ... Never had that problem with Dropbox. All files are on my computer. Now Dropbox gets slowly forced into the (online-default) iCloud straightjacket.

Been with Apple for 15 years. Owned about 20+ Macs (company sponsored, i.e., university sponsored) and 15+ iPads. But this may unfortunately be the end of the road for me. I need access to my files when I need them. Not when Apple decides I can have them.

I never thought I would say that but "I'm looking into buying my first Windows machine in more than a decade". (I used to build these myself. Maybe I can do that again .

nah, doesn't happen like that. Works great for me. Anytime I hear a comment like this that is just the opposite of what happens, I always ask what can they possibly be doing to cause this? But good luck with Windows, I'd never use that POC again. But many people do

 

[svenmany]

nah, doesn't happen like that. Works great for me. Anytime I hear a comment like this that is just the opposite of what happens, I always ask what can they possibly be doing to cause this? But good luck with Windows, I'd never use that POC again. But many people do

The problems I've had that come to mind seem to arise because I use iCloud Drive from multiple devices regularly: two macs and an iPhone.

I've encountered a problem once where a file version conflict could not be resolved; I had to rename one copy of the file to get it sorted out. I think it happened because I modified the file on the iPhone. Then, thinking the file had been already updated on the Mac, I edited there. Unfortunately, the update to the Mac took too long, so that introduced a conflict. The Mac was completely opaque about the problem; it just refused to sync, without an explanation.

Often iCloud refreshes are slow-ish. Sometimes, when I save a file onto my Mac's Desktop from my iPhone, the file will not appear on there, on the Mac, without my intervention, no matter how long I wait. The way I trigger the refresh is by creating a new empty folder on the desktop: the missing file then immediately shows up.

Even now, on my iPhone's Files app, next to the iCloud Drive main entry, there's an exclamation point with a sync circle around it. That indicates some kind of failure, but I can't find any way to learn what the failure is. It really doesn't inspire confidence. Other people have reported this and suggested various fixes, which I've yet to pursue.

There are lots of variables and iCloud is kind of fragile. If only 1% of iCloud's users have problems, then almost every user will have none (lucky you and them). But 1% of all iCloud users is an enormous number of people.

 

[ackmondual]

Unfortunately, iCloud is incredibly slow & prevents permanent local copies. Whenever I really need a file, it's somehow guaranteed not on my Mac and I have to sit around and curse until Apple decides to sync it -- if I'm lucky enough to not be on a plane and in wifi reach ... Never had that problem with Dropbox. All files are on my computer. Now Dropbox gets slowly forced into the (online-default) iCloud straightjacket.

Been with Apple for 15 years. Owned about 20+ Macs (company sponsored, i.e., university sponsored) and 15+ iPads. But this may unfortunately be the end of the road for me. I need access to my files when I need them. Not when Apple decides I can have them.

I never thought I would say that but "I'm looking into buying my first Windows machine in more than a decade". (I used to build these myself. Maybe I can do that again . )

I hear building your own Windows PCs are easier than ever!

And no fret with the commitment. You can always go back to Mac if need be (or consider yet other alternatives)

 

[Konigi]

I started to use the latest version since yesterday. There are a couple of things I dislike, such as the distinction between "available offline" and "available". Too iCloud-like, including for reasons others have mentioned. For me, I especially hate when it takes away files from the drive without asking me: of course, it will happen that I need those files when offline. I had the habit of managing my files with these two options: cloud-only or both-cloud-and-my-laptop.

Also, during the transition to the latest version compatible with 12.5 or higher, it decided on its own to make available more than 20Gb of files that were previously only "available online only". It's a trouble to find them bring them back to off-my-computer again.

I hope it's all more stable and more power efficient. I guess I'll get used to it.

 

[DailySlow]

The problems I've had that come to mind seem to arise because I use iCloud Drive from multiple devices regularly: two macs and an iPhone.

I've encountered a problem once where a file version conflict could not be resolved; I had to rename one copy of the file to get it sorted out. I think it happened because I modified the file on the iPhone. Then, thinking the file had been already updated on the Mac, I edited there. Unfortunately, the update to the Mac took too long, so that introduced a conflict. The Mac was completely opaque about the problem; it just refused to sync, without an explanation.

Often iCloud refreshes are slow-ish. Sometimes, when I save a file onto my Mac's Desktop from my iPhone, the file will not appear on there, on the Mac, without my intervention, no matter how long I wait. The way I trigger the refresh is by creating a new empty folder on the desktop: the missing file then immediately shows up.

Even now, on my iPhone's Files app, next to the iCloud Drive main entry, there's an exclamation point with a sync circle around it. That indicates some kind of failure, but I can't find any way to learn what the failure is. It really doesn't inspire confidence. Other people have reported this and suggested various fixes, which I've yet to pursue.

There are lots of variables and iCloud is kind of fragile. If only 1% of iCloud's users have problems, then almost every user will have none (lucky you and them). But 1% of all iCloud users is an enormous number of people.

Same here driving me bonkers.