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.

Installation Errors

If you receive a Windows Error message referencing 0x80070643, this is a Microsoft error related to your .NET Framework installation.

You can resolve this issue by simply rebooting your system, and then try the install again. If you still receive the same error after rebooting, download the .NET framework Repair Tool from Microsoft and run it.

One other possible cause of this error is antivirus software. When we've seen this in the past, it has been triggered by Avast antivirus software. Users have found that they can temporarily turn off Avast, complete the install, then turn Avast back on.

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. You may see an error message such as "The operation can't be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code 0)" when you are trying to create files or folders if the user doesn't have enough permissions on that 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.

Invalid File or Folder Names

Invalid file and folder names are usually caused by limitations of the underlying operating system being used. Operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and Mac each have their own specific restrictions for which characters can be used to name a file or folder. Additionally, 3rd party service providers can overlay their own restrictions. It is not practical for Files.com to maintain a database of all restrictions that may apply.

If you see issues with invalid file or folder names, we recommend you modify those names to remove the restricted characters.

Some examples of restricted characters are:

• < (less than)
• > (greater than)
• : (colon)
• " (double quote)
• / (forward slash)
• \ (backslash)
• | (vertical bar or pipe)
• ? (question mark)
• * (asterisk)
• # (hash or pound)
• % (percent)
• & (ampersand)
• @ (at)
• ^ (caret)
• $ (dollar)
• ! (exclamation)

Invalid folder names, such as . and .., might be allowed by some object storage solutions but will cause incompatibility with Files.com. Rename or remove these invalid folder names to restore compatibility.

Some systems may also restrict the length of the file or folder name. Common length limits include 160 characters and 255 characters.

Bear in mind that some systems calculate the total length as being either just the file or folder name, including any extension or the sum of the whole folder path + file name + extension + temporary suffix.

To resolve this issue, shorten the name of files and folders so that they are below the length limits of the system.

On the Files.com side, the path limit is 550 characters for the sum of the full path, including folder names.

Issues with Mounting the Files.com Volume

Users logged into the Files.com Desktop app are tied to the login domain of your site. If you've recently switched to a custom domain or updated your subdomain, desktop users may see an error message with the title Listing directory / failed. As a result, users cannot mount the Files.com volume in Windows Explorer or macOS Finder.

To resolve this, it is recommended to delete the account from the Files.com Desktop app by clicking the tray icon, selecting the account, and choosing Delete Account. After deleting the affected account, sign in again so the Files.com Desktop app can connect to your site's current login domain.

Cache and Disk Space

The Files.com desktop app locally caches files you've opened or previewed, with a default cache size limit of 5 GB. The cache content is dynamically purged, purging files that have not been accessed in the last 30 days.

The desktop app locally caches files you've opened or previewed, with its default cache size limit as 5 GB and the cache content gets dynamically purged.

Desktop app maintains its cache in a temporary directory under your system's user profile directory. If a cached file has a new version created on Files.com, the desktop app discards the locally cached version and downloads the latest version of that file.

When you are downloading a large number of files or large-sized files from your Files.com account to the local disk, the desktop app may temporarily use the local disk's free space to complete the download. Once the download operation is complete, the temporary cache will be purged. It is recommended to have enough free space on your local disk before downloading a large set of files.

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.

Files.com Shortcut in macOS Finder Sidebar

Due to a known issue with macOS 14.4+, the Files.com shortcut under Locations is missing from the macOS finder sidebar. We are waiting for a fix from Apple for this. In the meantime, you can still access your Files.com account under Favorites in the macOS finder sidebar.

Desktop Application Logs

On Windows, the desktop application logs are located at C:\Users\ [USERNAME]\AppData\Roaming\com.files.desktop\. On Mac, the logs are located at ~/Library/Logs/Files.com/.

Debug Logs

You can troubleshoot issues with the Files.com desktop app, such as upload/download issues, authentication issues or any unexpected behavior by enabling the debug logs. However, enabling debug logs should only be done when absolutely necessary for troubleshooting.

Debug logs won't be created automatically; you'll need to activate debug logging by selecting the Enable debug log option from Files.com Pinwheel icon -> Preferences -> Help -> Log. You can view the logs location by clicking the Show in Finder or Show in Explorer button in the Log section.

Our running log file is named files.com.log. Log files are rotated at 100 MB intervals, and once the running log file reaches 100 MB, it is archived. We maintain a maximum of five archived files alongside the running log file, all stored within the same folder. This prevents your log file from becoming excessively large. It is important to collect the debug logs as soon as the actual issue is reproduced.

If you are sending the debug log files to our support team, we recommend zipping the entire folder called com.files.desktop located under C:\Users\ [USERNAME]\AppData\Roaming\ on Windows (or Files.com folder under ~/Library/Logs/ 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 Files.com Pinwheel icon -> Preferences -> Help -> Log and unselect the Enable debug log option.