OS X packages under Box.com

January 19, 2014 9:40 AM

Is there an incompatibility between Box.com and data files that are stored as packages under OS X? If I have a package file, say a .vpdoc data file for VoodooPad, I can transfer it to Dropbox in a short time, but if I try to upload it to Box.com using its uploader, it usually takes several hours for the upload to complete. I did a quick test using an 18.2 mb package. It's still uploading, but my calculation is that the upload rate is about 21 mb per hour. (I am on a fast cable internet connection.) I'm a long-time Dropbox user but new to Box.com, so I'm wondering if there is something I am missing.
posted by yclipse to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

Try compressing the same file into a ZIP before uploading it. If it uploads faster (barring any time difference that could be attributed to simple file size differences), then there's your answer. And that will also give you a tidy piece of information to send to Box's tech support folks.
posted by bcwinters at 12:38 PM on January 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Dropbox files that have been uploaded by anyone in the past don't have to be uploaded again. If someone else has uploaded the exact same file, which is certainly possible for installers, then the upload will complete once it is matched. Box.com does not work like this so each file is uploaded no matter what.
posted by ridogi at 1:20 PM on January 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Try compressing the same file into a ZIP before uploading it.

Right. Note that you can zip an object in the Finder just by selecting it and choosing "Compress" from the toolbar menu that looks like a gear. Or by using the contextual menu.

Packages are actually folders containing a bunch of stuff and often other folders. The Box uploader might be treating the package as a folder hierarchy to sync, not just a chunk of data to upload.
posted by w0mbat at 1:57 PM on January 19, 2014

Something definitely isn't right.

I doubt this has anything to do with the Dropbox phenomenon ridogi mentions.

I wonder if The VoodooPad vpdoc package has a lot of symlinks that Dropbox handles properly and Box treats as separate files.
posted by Good Brain at 2:09 PM on January 19, 2014

Response by poster: Thank you for the responses. I zipped the same 18.2 mb file and uploaded it in 35 seconds.

I will want to follow up with the technical people. I wonder if a folder containing 18 mb of data under a standard Windows folder would encounter the same problem. Time for more testing.
posted by yclipse at 8:17 PM on January 19, 2014 [1 favorite]