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Forum Discussion
How do you get Dropbox back into Locations in the sidebar in Finder on a Mac?
Something happened all my sinking icons disappeared... It happened after I decided to change my location for Dropbox to my username folder on a Mac. So I need your help please as I think it's becaus...
Thank you for the explanation.
More importantly, the steps to do it.. We will try it and let you know if it works.
If it does then we will resolve this string... as a fix and if not we will reply again.
The good news is on the laptop deleting out of the dock the Dropbox blue app then quitting using the the clock icon and then double clicking the app in the app window in Finder did the magic trick and after one disappearance it has been working well. I can see back at the office they are adding files - even 3 minutes ago so that is synching jut no clock icon and still no icons on any folders on the office computer...
Hannah
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHey quangtam159, thanks for the info in your replies.
So, to recap, your laptop has a greyed out Dropbox icon and no syncing icons on the files.
The agent you spoke with through chat, was right, there have been some reports about a greyed out Dropbox icon, which shouldn't affect the functionality of the app.
However, the fact that you dragged and dropped the Dropbox folder to a different location, is probably why syncing is not working and why you don't have syncing icons.
If your Dropbox folder was previously in Locations, I'd suggest you drag it back there, to see if that helps resume syncing.
Try that and let me know how it goes.
Hi Hannah -
I think you are right that the drag and drop causes problems even though it showing in Preferences>sync>location\ "user" folder within the Dropbox icon.
My two question remain unanswered and were why I started his chat:
A. On my M1 laptop: Default location for the Dropbox (syncing) folder?
1. What is the default location of the Dropbox folder (syncing folder) in the sidebar of Finder on a Mac?
2. I think it is favorites not locations but I don't know. 🤔I am hoping you can tell me: What is the default location of the Dropbox folder (syncing folder) in the sidebar of Finder on a Mac? Please provide what is the default location.
3. On the Dropbox site it clearly warns not to drag and drop but to use the Dropbox icon in the clocktray>preferences>Sync>location... then use that drop down menu (location) as the recommended method to move theDropbox folder (syncing folder) .
Using that recommended method (above) how do you get Dropbox folder (syncing folder) back to ____________ (the default in the sidebar of Finder on a Mac for the Dropbox (syncing) folder. Please include steps within "location" to be able to select and move to the _______ (default) location the Dropbox (syncing) folder.
B. On my computer: Missing Icon in the clock tray and more...
1. On this M1 computer the location of the Dropbox folder (syncing folder) in the sidebar of Finder on a Mac is under Favorites. Is that the default?
2. Should both the laptop and the computer using my Dropbox account have the Dropbox folder (syncing folder) use the same location in the sidebar of Finder on a Mac as it is Favorites on the computer so should my laptop be on favorites or - it doesn't matter.
3. This computer was (like the laptop) working great then suddenly the icon is missing in the clock-tray - how do we restore that icon in the clock-tray? - without having to lose all our files... ? Nothing was ticked (no moving... no nada)... Nothing. The files are there but no icons. Also the same intense blue Dropbox icon showed up in the dock which also shows the Dropbox folder.
4. The Dropbox folder (syncing folder) in the sidebar of Finder on a Mac is under Favorites and was always in Favorites but all its icons disappeared. Gone not different - the files are there just no icon next to them.
With all due respect to the chat support, I was bored so I "quit" the newly appeared icon in the dock (app tray)- bottom of your screen), suddenly Dropbox started synching 4,000 files, the clock-tray Dropbox icon went black and suddenly my missing icon reappeared and all were green with a check mark... Why? I have no idea and it had nothing to do with chat support.
5. In your reply you to my question to tell me the default location and provide the steps to move the folder back to its default location , you write : "If your Dropbox folder was previously in Locations, I'd suggest you drag it back there, to see if that helps resume syncing". However, your site clearly states not to do that.
Also re your comment about the greying out of the clock-tray Dropbox icon not being a problem conflicts - your owns site states that a grayed out icon is an indication of no connectivity or syncing (see Help Center> fixing synching issues article (Fix syncing problems in Dropbox | Dropbox Help) . Like I said while I waited for the chat support member to look at my screenshot and provide some support, I deleted the newly appeared Dropbox icon in the dock which only seemed to be a short cut to the Dropbox folder located under my user name so I didn't need it and I deleted it. Suddenly synching started up (not an internet connection problem as chat stated) and all my icons appeared and the Dropbox icon went back to black. Since then it is black but the icons come and go not blue not red not green - gone. why did the newly appeared Dropbox icon in the dock appear? why did deleting it significantly alter the information on the the clock-tray Dropbox icon from "all your files are up to date) to asking if I wander a folder deleted everywhere then synching over 4,000 files and also asking again and again about deletion I did days ago? Then why did the icon go black?
I check the Finder regularly and it's like taking my pulse all the time. Uh oh yesterday the clock-tray Dropbox icon was black... now it is grey. The Dropbox folder (syncing folder) shows a blue synching but all the subfolders are green check marked and clock-tray Dropbox icon says your "file are up to date" and all the synching was yesterday....
I hope to have answer provided as that's why I started this chat. I have put a lot of time into this and I need some help here to fix this... obviously the greyed out icon is a problem. If every folder is green checked and the Dropbox folder has a blue synching icon and the clock-tray shows no synching and it is all up to date... there is a problem. That's just on my laptop... on my computer everything was great, nothing was changed all was good and green checked then WHAM - the Dropbox folder (syncing folder) folders are there but with no icons... the clock-tray Dropbox icon is gone (not grey out - gone), the folders are under Dropbox folder (syncing folder) in the sidebar of Finder under Favorites on the computer but no icons at all next (to the right) of the folder names and no icon next to the Dropbox folder (syncing folder) . Obviously there are problems that need to be addressed as this is abnormal and variants of abnormality within the same Dropbox Plus account on a laptop are different that the computer (n the same Dropbox Plus account). Can I get someone to work with me on this or do you not have tech support for Dropbox Plus members? This is why I had my own VPN and servers as the "Cloud" is just using the internet to store on someone else's servers... it's fine but not when it is not - either because there is a problem with the servers and\or the synching software is not working.
- Hannah
To answer your question about the default location of the Dropbox folder, it's /Users/<yourUserName>/Dropbox (such as /Users/Hannah/Dropbox).
Your Favorites isn't an actual location, it's just a place where all your most used apps appear.
Do you know the current location of your Dropbox folder? What is the folder path, is it like the one above, or was it changed due to the drag and drop?
As for your computer that's missing the Dropbox icon in the menu bar, have you tried reinstalling the Dropbox app on it, like Megan suggested?
Hannah
Thank you...
So if I understand correctly it should be In the disbar in Finder on a Mac it is under my user name (which is in Favorites) and not necessarily in Favorites outside the user folder but must be a subfolder of my user name (Elizabeth).
If that is correct that is good to know... as many chat support said I must drag it out of user name and drop it into Favorites.
I thanked Megan for her suggestion but, again, as I understand it, if we uninstall the app and reinstall ,we lose all our synching which took about 5 days. Also I did not see any step-by-step instructions on how to uninstall the app correctly and reinstall. With all the issues I did not want to create more problems.
Also if that is the case (losing all your synched files), I'd prefer a less radical approach and hope you have a more moderate suggestion.
My file path on a Mac..... Macintosh/Users/Elizabeth/Dropbox
Again thank your taking the time so at least now I can know the file is in the right place.
- Megan
Hey quangtam159, if you uninstall the app, then re-install your files shouldn't be affected.
Essentially you just affect the app, not the files in the Dropbox folder. As for the steps, you can see more about it, here.
Also, you can find more details on how to find your Dropbox folder location here. Another way to check would be for you to open the app's preferences, and check under your Sync tab.
