Sorry, this isn't historical but last night I entered my Dropbox folder for the first time in ages.  I spent a long time so I thought downloading some sound files to my computer so I can free up space in the Dropbox.  The first folder downloaded without a problem but the second one I got a .htlm copy of the folder and then when I tried to copy the individual files in the second folder I thought I'd been successful and then found they were .htlm also.  Does anybody have a clue why this might have happened?  When I worked full-time I was reasonably au-fait with changes in computers but I'm flummoxed by what has happened here.

I have moved this thread to the pub. As you say, it has nothing to do with history at all, let alone historical aspects to technology and human invention.

Audio and video files with codecs supported in Dropbox may not transfer correctly if the same codecs are not also supported on the device to which you are downloading, especially if you do a straightforward "move" or "copy" operation. You may require an mp3 converter or similar to be installed on the receiving device first and then use this to reformat the file as it is being transferred.

Audio files also may require to be transferred individually. If you move an entire folder that also contains some non-standard, non-audio or corrupt content within its contents then the entire operation may fail and leave you with a html error page citing where the exception occurred and which part of the transfer script could not be executed.

Fair comment, nordmann.  I'm a bit short on real life computer buff acquaintances - well my brother programs the things but he lives in London and I don't see him all that often. I really don't mean to abuse this site.

If you're transferring to Mac size can be a problem when transferring from Dropbox. Anything over 4GB may fail. Again, try transferring the files individually and see what happens.

If you're transferring to Windows then the process can still be confused, as said previously, by files of different formats in the source folder. Again the best way of testing is to try doing files one by one and see what happens.

If neither of the above is what's happening or fixes the problem then you would be better off installing an mp3 converter on your PC and use this to identify and transfer valid audio files in the source folders. If you're missing the correct codec (coder-decoder script) the error will at least tell you this outright and the converter may even install the scripts you're missing anyway. If size is the problem the converter will also be cleverer at spotting that you're transferring from an external source, splitting up the I/O packages, and buffering the transferring data in transit so that the entire operation can complete without crashing.

OK thanks nordmann.