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mcjayjay's avatar
mcjayjay
Explorer | Level 3
2 years ago

Can an application/program stored on dropbox be executed directly?

Can an application/program stored on dropbox be executed directly?

  • Mark's avatar
    Mark
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

    How exactly do you mean? 

     

    If you mean on a different PC to what it was initially installed on, no. Thats because the install usually creates things like registry keys and files elsewhere. This is aside from copyright issues. 

    • mcjayjay's avatar
      mcjayjay
      Explorer | Level 3

      Perhaps I didn't explain it well enough.

       

      I'm interested in having a standalone application (program) stored on Dropbox. As a standalone there are no registry entries.

       

      Since it is an application I wrote there is no copyright issues.

       

      Then be able to execute this app from any number of locations.

       

      • Megan's avatar
        Megan
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

        Hi mcjayjay, I hope you're doing well! 

         

        Feel free to check this Dropbox platform and let me know if it answers your question. You should be able to find the relevant info there, including the type of access you need for your apps, what they can do and more.

         

        I hope this helps!

  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

    mcjayjay wrote:

    Can an application/program stored on dropbox be executed directly?


    The Dropbox folder on your computer is like any other folder on your computer. There's nothing special about it. If you place a standalone executable file in the Dropbox folder and execute it, it will run just fine within the limits that Mark mentioned. There can't be any other other dependencies like Registry entries that don't exist on that PC, or DLL files that aren't registered/included with the executable, etc.

     

    Now if you're trying to run it on Dropbox itself, meaning in their cloud, no you can't do that. The file will need to be synced to the computer before you can run it.

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