Troubleshooting

We strongly recommend keeping both your desktop app and operating system up to date by installing the latest release versions, as well as ensuring your operating system is on the latest patch or version to avoid potential issues.

For guidance on resolving common problems, follow the troubleshooting steps outlined below. You can also refer to the logging section to learn how to enable or retrieve debug logs for deeper analysis.

Permission Issues

First, make sure that your user has the proper permissions to use the Desktop app. This is enabled by default for most sites (though Site Administrators can turn this off).

If you're unable to log in, you may need to contact your Files.com site administrator, and request that they enable access in your user account's settings for protocol access.

If your files are not uploading to Files.com server while you are online and have no network issues, it is possible that your account lacks write permissions for the corresponding folder.

Authentication and Connection Issues

The Files.com desktop app uses port 443 (HTTPS) for outbound communication, and should operate behind most corporate firewalls.

The Desktop app requires that your default web browser and the app share the same IP address for a successful connection. As a Site Administrator, confirm that your Desktop session lifetime is not causing connection issues, and check that Desktop session IP pinning is set to Do not require users to log in again if their IP address changes.

The connection between the Desktop app and Files.com server will fail if your default web browser is using a proxy or VPN. As a result, you may encounter authentication issues, repeated login prompts, or problems with mounting the Files.com volume in Windows Explorer or macOS Finder. If you encounter any login authentication errors or connection issues, please contact your system administrator to disable any proxies or VPNs in your web browser that may be causing the problem.

Problems with 2FA Methods

If you are having trouble authenticating with your usual 2FA method, try enabling Use default browser for authentication in the Desktop App under Preferences on macOS or Settings on Windows.

Troubleshooting Locking Issues

If you're having trouble opening a Microsoft Office document locally for editing and are certain that no one else is using the file, try the following steps. Check for and delete the ~$ temporary file associated with the document. Restart your desktop editor or your computer to release any local locks, and then close and restart the Desktop App before attempting to open the file again.

Issues Specific to Windows Desktop App

Mounted Drive Appears as Disconnected in Some Applications

Some applications may show the Desktop App Mounted Drive on Windows as a disconnected network drive when you browse it from within that application. The Mounted Drive continues to work normally in this situation.

This can happen when an application, such as 7zip or PaperScan, is built for a different processor type than your computer. For example, applications built for Intel processors may show the Mounted Drive as disconnected when used on a Windows ARM device.

If the Mounted Drive continues to operate while the status shows as disconnected, you can ignore the status. To correct the status, make sure the application you are using matches your processor type.

Problems with WinFsp

Files.com Desktop App uses a 3rd party module called WinFsp to enable Drive letter mounting on Windows. WinFsp can sometimes be incorrectly installed by other applications.

We are working on automated tools to resolve some of these issues. In the mean time, to troubleshoot issues with WinFSP, please provide the output of the following commands to our support team, and we can help you reset your WinFSP installation:

reg.exe query HKLM\Software\WinFsp /reg:32
sc.exe query winfsp
sc.exe qc winfsp

Issues Specific to macOS Desktop App

Disk Access Permissions on macOS

If any application attempts to modify contents in the Files.com mounted folder on macOS, it requires Full Disk Access permissions. If you encounter disk permissions-related issues on macOS, we recommend checking the access permissions of the corresponding app in macOS security settings.

For example, the macOS built-in Archive Utility app might display an error when unzipping or decompressing zipped archives directly from the Files.com mounted folder. If this occurs, enable Full Disk Access for the Archive Utility app as an Administrator via System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Full Disk Access. The Archive Utility app can be found at /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications/Archive Utility.

Unsupported File or Folder Names

In the macOS Desktop App’s mounted drive mode, file and folder names containing certain unsupported characters will not be displayed in Finder. These characters are not currently handled by the Desktop App in mounted drive mode.

• : (colon)
• " (double quote)
• | (vertical bar or pipe)
• > (greater than)
• < (less than)
• ? (question mark)

Desktop Application Logs

Using the Desktop App, you can view the realtime logging if the Show Logging option is enabled in Settings or Preferences. Enabling this will display the logs at the bottom of the app's UI.

On Windows, you can view the logs by browsing to %UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Files.com\v6\Desktop-v6.log.

On macOS, you can view the logs by navigating to ~/Library/Logs/Files.com/v6/Desktop-v6.log.

Debug Logs

You can troubleshoot issues with the Files.com desktop app, such as upload or download failures, authentication problems, or other unexpected behavior, by enabling debug logs. Debug logging should only be enabled when absolutely necessary for troubleshooting. Debug logs are not created automatically; you must activate debug logging by setting the Logging Level to Debug in the Desktop app’s Settings or Preferences.

Our running log file is named Desktop-v6.log. Log files are rotated at 25 MB intervals, and once the running log file reaches 25 MB, it is archived. A maximum of five archived files are maintained alongside the running log file, all stored in the same folder. This prevents the log files from becoming excessively large. It is important to collect the debug logs as soon as the issue is reproduced.

If you are sending the debug log files to our support team, we recommend zipping the entire folder named v6, located under %UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Files.com\ on Windows, or the v6 folder under ~/Library/Logs/Files.com/ on macOS, and then sending the zipped file.

If you encounter issues accessing files through a third-party application (such as Adobe, MS-Office, AutoCAD, etc.), we recommend collecting the relevant logs, screenshots, and version information from the respective third-party application and submit them, along with the actual debug logs from the desktop application, to our support team.

Once the issue has been analyzed or resolved, you should disable debug logging. Debug logging can reduce the performance of the application. To disable the debug logs, go to the Desktop App's Settings or Preferences and set the Logging Level to Info.