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Forum Discussion
Where is the gear icon on my Dropbox desktop app?
Anyone know where to find the gear icon on Dropbox?
I have Windows 10 and finally, finally found the gear icon and preferences. I agree that finding this should have been easier -- it should appear when one clicks the DropBox icon on one's desktop. But it doesn't. I created a very quick and dirty set of 4 screenshots that shows, in a very simple way (which is how I can understand these things) how I got to it. It starts with (1) the "show hidden icons" button that looks like an up arrow, on the lower right-hand corner of my screen (the area known as the "systems tray" - then (2) I clicked the DropBox icon (has a little check-mark on it) - then (3), a little box opens (labeled, "up to date" and lists "recently changed") and, lo and behold, the blasted gear icon appears in the upper right corner of it, so (4) I clicked that and got a dropdown menu that included "preferences." My very amateur set of screenshots is here:
I have Windows 10 and finally, finally found the gear icon and preferences. I agree that finding this should have been easier -- it should appear when one clicks the DropBox icon on one's desktop. But it doesn't. I created a very quick and dirty set of 4 screenshots that shows, in a very simple way (which is how I can understand these things) how I got to it. It starts with (1) the "show hidden icons" button that looks like an up arrow, on the lower right-hand corner of my screen (the area known as the "systems tray" - then (2) I clicked the DropBox icon (has a little check-mark on it) - then (3), a little box opens (labeled, "up to date" and lists "recently changed") and, lo and behold, the blasted gear icon appears in the upper right corner of it, so (4) I clicked that and got a dropdown menu that included "preferences." My very amateur set of screenshots is here:
thank you so much for this valuable information, i was like where the hell is this gear wheel, it's just not user friendly, screen shots worked a treat
Thanks for unraveling the mystery. I needed to move the files to another drive and couldn’t do it until I read your post.
Dang brilliant Alicia E. !!! How did you ever find that blasted little "gear"? Good job!
Thanks,
Ward Overall
May I ask more help... what if there is no folder that has the up arrow icon, in the system tray? I'm on Windows 10 too, on a Microsoft Surface... and I can't find the Dropbox icon at all and can't change my preferences/ selective sync... so now it is syncing everything !
So mine had a really simple solution that I'm almost embarassed to post but thought to close the my own loop. Turns out my new surface was on tablet mode, even if, the keyboard was connected. And so, on tablet mode, no gear icon really appears. Switch back to PC mode, and icon found, problem solved. Ooops. New hardware adjustment issues.
Thanks. I checked, but am on PC, not tablet. Am going to try the suggestion re: changing resolution. Frustrating.
I thought this was going to be the solution, but when I go to the dropbox icon in the system's tray, it doesn't have a check, and shows a box with Up to Date and the version number, but I don't get the recently updated box (or any box) with the gear in it. Does anyone have a solution to this? I already re-downloaded the desktop icon and that didn't work. I am running out of space on my hard drive and need to use selective sync. I' also on a Microsoft Surface, running WIN 10. No gear anywhere.
- Rich
Super User II
judyc wrote:
when I go to the dropbox icon in the system's tray, it doesn't have a check, and shows a box with Up to Date and the version number, but I don't get the recently updated box (or any box) with the gear in it.
If you single-click that icon you should see the Dropbox window appear, with the gear in the upper-right corner.
Also, the check mark no longer appears on the Dropbox icon. The screenshots shown in previous replies are out of date.
Try going to "Account". The gear is top left
When I open my app, I only see my files, no icons or menus with preferences! help
2019 update - to get to preferences, for me it was selective sync, things have changed. Now,
1) You need to click on the 'hidden icons' arrow at the bottom, like the screen shot
2)Click on the dropbox icon once and this opens a new pop-up window
3) In that pop-up window, you have to click on your account profile (three vertical dots) in the upper right corner
4)Click on preferences
5) Click on "Sync"
6) Click on "Selective Sync"
I am tied into my school's shared Dropbox. But within a week, I was getting notices from Dropbox that I needed to pay for upgraded space. This is because every single grade level was syncing to my personal account, when I was only concerned with one. My guess, as a cynic, would be that this feature is well hidden so people get frustrated enough to purchase the upgraded storage from Dropbox. It should be accessible when I log into my DB account. Not burried through a hidden icon, 5 levels deep.
That did not help me. The gear box is still not visible. I would like to add a screenshot but screenshots only land in Windows 10 clipboard and are rejected because of lack of space. GR
