You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.

Forum Discussion

CAB2k's avatar
CAB2k
Helpful | Level 5
3 months ago

Auto Backup on Windows 10

Hopefully this is the correct forum for this question.
I am now a PLUS user.
My Drop box has a local folder on my C: drive & a copy on the Drop box on-line so I can access my files from phone or tablet at any time & grant access to client of mine.
My working files are on a sub folder on my C: drive & I just copied & pasted the folders to my Drop box using Windows 10 file explorer.
Now I want to make the C: drive working folder(s) to automatically backup/sync to Drop box for others with a share link to get the latest files.
Do I need to use Sync or Backup from the Web version of Drop box & how?

I tried using the Fire Fox web browser, selecting the folder I want to automate but the Automate has no options to backup or sync.

  • Hello CAB2k,

    In addition to the solution offered by Rich of moving that folder into your local Dropbox folder, you can also sync it without having to move it. That can be done using a third-party product called Boxifier (Windows only, no such thing for Mac that I know of). The nice thing about it is that you also get the sync status icons and the Dropbox right-click context menu in Windows Explorer (just like if it were in the Dropbox folder), and it syncs without having to move it.

    Hope this helps,
    Andrew (DBoxTips)

    I am an individual contributor to the Dropbox Community forums, not affiliated with Dropbox. All opinions expressed here are my own.

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

    CAB2k wrote:

    Now I want to make the C: drive working folder(s) to automatically backup/sync to Drop box for others with a share link to get the latest files.


    That's not how it works. Dropbox will only sync the files that are located within the Dropbox folder on your local drive. If you've copy/pasted files into the Dropbox folder from another location on the drive, then you're duplicating the files locally, using twice the disk space.

     

    The idea behind Dropbox is that you MOVE your files into the Dropbox folder so they sync to the cloud, and the Dropbox folder becomes your working folder.

    • CAB2k's avatar
      CAB2k
      Helpful | Level 5

      Thanks for the reply.

      So in your scenario when the internet is unavailable you can not access those files?

       

      I need access to my files even if the internet is down.

       

       

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

        CAB2k wrote:

        Thanks for the reply.

        So in your scenario when the internet is unavailable you can not access those files?

         

        I need access to my files even if the internet is down.

         

         


        Dropbox is a folder on your device like any other, so, if you have the files stored locally (ie. offline access and not online only in the cloud) they'll still be available for you 🙂

About Settings and Preferences

The Dropbox Community is here to help if you have questions about your account settings and preferences. Learn and share advice with members.

Need more support

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!