Dropbox Location Change on MacOS 12.6

[OldMacGuy]

Just installed DropBox update v157.4.4808 on a MacbookPro 13,3 running MacOS 12.6.  DropBox location was moved by installer to ~/library/CloudStorage and alias moved from "Favorites" to "Locations" in sidebar.  DropBox support doc "https://help.dropbox.com/installs/macos-faqs" says new location due to change in MacOS.  HOWEVER, installed same DropBox version on an iMac 18,3 running MacOS 12.6 and the location did not change!  DropBox alias remains in "Favorites".

Anyone else run across this discrepancy?

Anyone have an idea as to cause of this discrepancy?

[benjackson]

This is all quite possibly the most egregious failure of communication by a company. College students could study this thread as an example of how not to run a company and communicate with customers. It’s quite legendary as an example of exactly what not to do. 

The number of times someone from the company has copy and pasted the same answers in is laughable, despite so many people asking specific questions and consistently and repeatedly saying those “form” answers are not helpful. Constant repeated questions by the user base being ignored. It’s just staggeringly bad. I am just flummoxed, even just as a business owner who has to handle customer service and getting and responding to feedback myself, let alone as a Dropbox high end user. 

To Dropbox: We KNOW that macOS has implemented a change. Stop repeating this. We get that you’re trying to pass responsibility for this change on to Apple. But as I’ve said previously in this thread, there are workarounds that you could enact for power users, because other sync services are doing just that. AND you should answer the question properly. Is Dropbox ever going to implement a workaround or are we supposed to read the repeated statement that this change implemented by macOS making it not possible to store the Dropbox on an external drive is a permanent thing?

If so, just say that!! That way, everyone who needs to store and sync a large set of files (like the people on this thread, music producers, artists, photographers, videographers) can cancel and find an alternative and move on from Dropbox. Own it. If that’s your decision (dumb as it is) as a company, then state it plainly. Stop the constant deflection about macOS changes and own the truth that you are refusing to implement a workaround. 

Or perhaps you are working on a workaround. Then say that. And state an approximation for the development time. 

We also have to ask the question why a change in macOS would have happened without there being pushback by sync companies. Why isn’t Dropbox fighting the change? Those who store a Dropbox on an external drive are the top level customers who pay the most. Even for self protection it makes no sense for Dropbox to just accept this change in macOS. All the most lucrative users will all be bailing on the platform very soon. Leaving all the free and cheap users who won’t notice that their Dropbox has moved locations. 

Sounds like others have discovered sync.com as an alternative that has a workaround. Owncloud would be another. Even cubbit could be an option very soon. I’m sure there are others!!

Sorry Dropbox, but the way you are handling this is just bizarre, obtuse and totally moronic. 

[discofuel]

I'd imagine that Dropbox made a decision that the cost of losing the minority of users who have their dropbox folder on an external drive, is less than the cost to support this feature in future versions of Mac OS.

That said, there may be a workaround. You could potentially create a symlink in Mac OS to your external hard drive.

You can either use a command terminal or this app - https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/10433/symboliclinker

[hikejo]

With the move of Dropbox to Locations my ability to use Sync Folders Pro to copy the contents of Dropbox to an external hard drive suddenly has become a giant pain. The task doing that used to be near instantaneous. Now, it takes forever. I don't understand why.

[dantdavis]

@benjackson - Your message about robotic responses from Dropbox reps and the refusal to even acknowledge the questions asked is spot on.

I'd been politely ignoring the "updates" for 2-3 months, knowing it "might" be coming, but feeling confident that some methodology would arise to support external drives, despite Apple's changes (symlinks, whatever - just a workaround) Now, of course, the "request to update" is becoming quite annoying, and caused me to look at a thread like this, and realize that Dropbox doesn't even seem to be pursuing this, and the robots seem to mouth "we don't even know why you think this is an issue..."

Glad I finally looked to see what the real situation is, before Dec 30 when my paid for subscription renews, or actually will NOT renew now.

Thanks for fighting the good fight, as it at least informs me and others to move on.

[widensteynie]

I couldn't agree more! I really liked Dropbox but they have just laid a massive EGG of **bleep**ing **bleep**E! I could SCREAM. F***! I have literally wasted hours with this. And why is the Dropbox Folder now going in the Library Folder? This seems VERY invasive, I always thought that Folder is reserved for Mac System and should be left well alone! Not even iCloud Folder is in there. And why is the folder now dated 1. January 1970. Now I can't even delete that Folder from my Mac, if I want to stop using the DB app. I use Monterey and won't be moving to Ventura for a very long while. Glad I haven't upgraded. Shame. Also, I NEVER set up or asked for 2-Factor Authentification. Now when I try and log in via browser it takes 40min for the 6-digit code to arrive. Jesus f... Christ. This is pure vandalism.

[Karen_S]

Hi Hikejo,

I'm just wondering how you got Sync Folders Pro to work?

All I want to do is copy stuff out of dropbox onto my desktop, but I end up going around in circles trying to give Sync Folders Pro Full Disk Access.

[hikejo]

I’m not sure I know!!! But, after several days of what seemed like inordinately lengthy sync times it’s back to its normal self with near instantaneous syncs. I do this, syncing Dropbox to an external hard drive because, heaven forbid, there should ever be a problem with internet access, my work is preserved. I date back to pre-personal computer days, so I take nothing for granted. 🤓

[michaelriley]

I’m adding here, because, as a big Adobe Bridge fan, I wanted to call out a feature that recently became problematic regarding Adobe Bridge + new DropBox folder location. I posted this in another thread... but it seemed relevant here too.

The latest version of Dropbox is now in the Library folder, which is invisible to the Folder tab in Bridge. 

Users/Shine/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox

The Adobe Bridge Folder tab with twirl-down is the most helpful feature in my opinion, and I’m disappointed this is now not possible. Folder Tabs and the folder twirl-down feature are more useful than Content Tabs. The Folder Tab is the most useful hub for viewing files. Designers and Photographers use it constantly. I am disappointed that feature is no longer usable now that DropBox is located in Library.

I believe Apple is the only entity that can fix this (not DropBox or Adobe), because they are requiring DropBox to live in Library. Please correct me if that's not accurate.

Below is an example of how the classic folder twirl-down feature does not work on Library. The twirl-down no longer works with DropBox.

[dantdavis]

As a 40 year I/T professional (yes, I apologize for my credentials, but you wanted "someone to correct you"), the concepts are about yin/yang.
If you want to require something within your own O/S - you risk having others say "screw you" and not support your O/S.

If you get to be a big enough dog (Windows/Mac/Linux), then you bite the other dog that might say "screw you".

The bigger dog controls the smaller dog. It is not up to the bigger dog to "fix things" anymore, they don't care.

It is up to the smaller dog to find ways to make themselves continue to work - or then they die.

Though this is software, this is the way the world has always worked.

[iantho]

I agree - this is not a good user experience at all. I upgraded to macOS Ventura about a week after it was released and am currently running Ventura 13.1. I'm also running the latest stable release of the Dropbox app (v163.4.5456) thanks to the auto-update. However, my Dropbox folder is still located in its previous location, in my '/Users/<username>' folder. I only became aware of this forced relocation of the Dropbox folder earlier today, when I was updating my Wife's MacBook after a couple of weeks of no usage and I saw the Dropbox dialog saying her folder was being relocated to the new default location.

I don't like the lack of communication about this issue, both from Dropbox and Apple. I also don't like the non-deterministic approach of the gradual rollout. I'm running the same version of macOS and Dropbox as my wife, but my Dropbox folder has not yet been relocated, and I don't know when to expect that to happen. I also noticed that my Wife now has some spurious notifications about "updated" files in her Dropbox activity list, all timestamped today at the time her folder was automatically relocated. That kind of thing makes me nervous, when important files are marked as "edited" when they haven't actually been changed (at least not by the user!).

This whole thing leaves a bad smell. I'm not happy about it, even though I can just about fit everything I need from Dropbox into my internal HDD with the use of the online-only option for things I don't need regularly. I'd like to see Dropbox take ownership of this issue, share some clear comms, address the specific questions already asked, and look into the phased approach to relocating everyone's Dropbox folder which is creating more confusion...