On 3/30/21 11:05 PM, Leif Halvard Silli wrote:
The file browser of XXE does not work particularily well with Dropbox directories.

Dropbox operates with two 'modes': One "both sides" mode where all files are stored locally, as well as in the "cloud". And another "single side" mode where only 'dropbox aliases' are stored locally, and the real files are stored in cloud so that they only get downloaded 'on the fly' as you need to work with the files.

I - or we - use both modes. But for Dropbox directories which contains XMLmind related files, I find it best to use the "both sides" mode. This is due to the fact that I use XInclude a lot, and XMLmind opens files very slowly when the embedded - or xincluded - files has do be downloaded from Dropbox before they are displayed in XXE.

No, XXE does not "open files very slowly". It's DropBox. Reading "DropBox files" using a basic read method seems to be very slow.




I can live with this issue.

However, there is another issue which is more difficult to live with, and that is the fact that when I use the XXE File Browser to brow a Dropox directory, then this triggers a download of the Cloud-only files.

XXE does not attempt to download the files, just to obtain their most basic properties: is it a file or a directory? last modified time? size? That's it.




This should absolutely not be necessary. In fact I do not think I have any other program which has the same issue.

XXE does nothing fancy with your operating system's "normal files" and this includes "DropBox files". Therefore we don't see what we could change as it is already as simple as possible.




To avoid this problem, I would have to make the entire content of my Dropbox account locally stored. And this is not an option.

To replicate the issue, do this:

1) You need to have a local Dropbox directory. Inside this directory, there should be several sub direcorys where some of them should contain cloud-only stored files and others should use both local and cloud storage.

2) Now, open the XXE file browser panel and try to browse a directory that contains both locally stored files as well as cloud-only stored files. (The goal of this process is meant to be to navigate yourself to a folder where the files are stored locally, but to reach that goal, I must browser other directories where some files are stored in the cloud - Dropbox labels this 'smart sync'.

Expected result: It should be quick. And you should immediately see the content.
Actual result:  You must wait for Dropbox to dowlload file ...

It is simply unbearable.

Workaround: To use the XXE browserwer, I must first navigate to a file using the Mac OS file browser, and the open a file there, in XXE. Then I can use the Command-Shift-O shortcut of the XXE file browser to go directly to that directory.

Can this be fixed? If not, think I must rethink, once again, how I use Dropbox.


I'm really sorry but we don't see how this can be fixed. XXE does not make a difference between normal folders and "DropBox folders". You seem to describe an integration of DropBox with your operating system (may be a fancy, asynchronous, integration) which does not play it well with basic Java programs such as XXE browser tool.

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