New problems for Dropbox affecting the Apple ecosystem, as it seems the latest change introduced by macOS to the way the file provider API works is forcing cloud applications like Dropbox to end support for external storage drives.
In fact, it emerges that some users of the cloud service are experiencing problems with the configuration of the external drive on Mac, and specifically in systems with macOS Ventura installed. The company has understood this and as it clearly specifies on the help center page (in SOURCE) this is due to a change to Apple’s file provider API which requires cloud storage service providers to place system files at inside the path ~/Library/CloudStorage.
This Dropbox malfunction could cause several losses to the company and has come as a surprise to users who rely on local external storage for projects synchronized with the popular cloud service.
Complaints abound on the forums and more than one user fears the possibility of quickly switching cloud services in order to continue working as before. But there’s some doubt about that too, as it’s unclear how this change will affect other third-party cloud storage providers. In fact, any app that uses Apple’s File Provider API will need to adopt the new system folder.
For its part, Dropbox can do nothing but share details on how the changes will affect the use of the service.
- Changing the location of the Dropbox folder is no longer supported on macOS.
- Due to the changed location of the Dropbox folder, previously linked files in some third-party applications will need to be linked again.
- Storing the Dropbox folder on an external drive is no longer supported by macOS.
- Your Dropbox folder in the Finder will now be in Places instead of Favorites.
- Individual folders can be moved from the Dropbox folder to Favorites for quick access.
Unfortunately, the update cannot be avoided and once the automatic installation is finished, users will be faced with the new “limited” version of the application. At the moment Apple is silent, but it remains to be seen whether the problem risks spreading to other realities as well.
