Backup your projects.
From the Windows side, move them out of the Dropbox folder.
Allow Dropbox to sync. This should remove everything from the iOS device.
Move one project back into the Dropbox folder.
Allow Dropbox to sync. If that one project syncs correctly, move the others back in, one at a time.
This will either get things unstuck, or help you to find the source of the problem.
Will do! Thanks! (This is vaguely ringing a bell. I think I mightāve had to do this once a few years ago. Hopefully it will work again!)
Thanks so much for your help. I am still on the battlefield. Hereās the update:
On my desktop computer I moved everything out of the Dropbox folder.
Result: No change. All files still showed in the app and sync didnāt do anything.
Soā¦ I deleted the app. Turned off the iPad. Turned it back on. Re-installed the app.
Result: All the files are gone. But it still wonāt syncānot even to the empty folder. The spiney wheel just turns and turns. I tried adding one very small file to the dropbox folder. Same.
One unexpected thing: When I reinstalled the app, it claimed to already be linked to dropbox. Which seemed odd. I unlinked, turned it off again, and then linked. No change
The fact that it was already linked to dropbox makes me suspicious that the app had not been completely removed from the iPad, but I canāt figure out anything else to doāshort of wiping the whole iPad. The app doesnāt show in the app library when I remove it. I tried again and double checked.
Really appreciate any additional ideas.
Is the Dropbox app installed on the iPad? If so, does an ordinary text file sync correctly from the PC to the iPad? If not, itās a Dropbox issue and you should contact them.
Yes, the Dropbox app is installed, and I can view all kinds of files through it just fine. Can also view dropbox files through the files app. Tried adding a new file to dropbox on my desktop and I can access it fine from the iPad.
Please open a support ticket, here:
https://www.literatureandlatte.com/contact-us
UPDATE: Finally found a workaround. Create a new folder in Dropbox. Unlink the iOS app from Dropbox. Then re-link, but choose the option to select a folder besides the default one. Choose the new folder. That works.
The default folder simply would not work anymore. Even when I deleted it and let it re-create. No go.
Sharing this here in case it helps somebody else.
Iām facing a sync problem between my Mac and iOS (I get Invalid Project and something about not containing the binder file). I already tried everything in the Knowledge Base, plus the workaround shared by Priscilla_G above.
I did finally figure out where my problem is: Dropbox isnāt syncing/uploading the files inside the .scriv file, despite marking the .scriv file as uploaded.
I donāt face the same issue when I create a new .scriv file and save it straight to Dropbox, but transferring existing files into Dropbox causes the errorāat least for me. I canāt seem to upload the relevant files straight to Dropbox either, because I donāt get that option when I right-click the files.
Hopefully this issue gets resolved, but it really is more of a Dropbox issue than a Scrivener issue. My workaround for this has been to open each of my existing projects and hitting Save Asā¦ straight into the correct Dropbox folder on my Mac. That said, it grates my brain a little to see the wrong date in the Date Created field, but whatever worksā¦
Sharing this in case someone else has the same problem and needs it, too.
We actually do address this in our Knowledge Base. The most common cause of this error is incomplete synchronization. Dropbox (or another service) āhelpfullyā āoptimizesā your disk so that part of the project is stored exclusively on their server, where Scrivener canāt access it.
More information and what to do next can be found here:
https://scrivener.tenderapp.com/help/kb/cloud-syncing/errors-opening-projects-stored-on-dropbox
Yup, Iām aware. That was one of the first things I tried, however it wasnāt fixing the issue on my end.
A thought. Have you given Dropbox on all devices sufficient time to complete the sync? Network delays?
Yeah, I gave it 10 mins in between attempts, then a couple of hours, then overnight just in case.
I actually have to correct myself re: the workaround though. Seems like I attributed the fix to the wrong part of my process. Save Asā¦ is hit or miss, but copying and pasting files from one Dropbox folder to another (and with the settings provided in the Knowledge Base) seems to be more consistentā¦
Iām really not sure why this is the case. Especially since this issue pops up only for Scrivener files Iām transferring into Dropbox on my Mac, not new files Iām saving straight to Dropbox from either platform.
Another update: itās the drag and drop transfer into Dropbox thatās screwing me over, apparently. Tried it with the copy-paste function, and it synced perfectly fine.
I do not do that. I keep Scrivener project files in the Dropbox folder /dropbox/apps/scrivener with no āsave asā ever as that leads to confusion. this approach is automatic and avoids manual intervention.
What are your iCloud settings? If iCloud is allowed to āoptimizeā your hard disk, the files might not actually exist locally when you drag and drop the project to Dropbox.
Iām looking at my settings now, and I donāt seem to have that feature enabled. Thereās a cloud icon beside the internal files that failed to sync with Dropbox (vs the green check mark), but my understanding is that that specific icon means that itās stored both in the cloud and locally, since it doesnāt have the downward arrow on it.
Either way, I think my transfer issue only affects the initial setup. When I used the copy-paste method, the internal files uploaded/synced to Dropbox and it now seems to work automatically as itās supposed to.