Support for Monterey/Ventura new location cloudstorage

[Valentinissimo]

Dear community members, I am asking a super basic question today, but nevertheless cannot find the information after all research I have done: I am using v161.3.4923 and I still have Dropbox folder in my Home folder (default location confirmed during fresh install, on new computer) and I was expecting to see the behavior change to the new location under library/cloudstorage as mentioned in macos-12-monterey-support.

This article mentions "November", but no reference to a year. 

I would like to know from which release onwards I can expect the new behavior described here: macos-faqs 

Best regards

V

[Rich · Accepted solution]

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@Valentinissimo wrote:

I would like to know from which release onwards I can expect the new behavior described here: macos-faqs 

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That's not how it works. Dropbox tends to roll things out like this in waves, often independent of the version number. Not everyone gets it at the same time. There are some whom have stated that one of their computers has the update while another identical computer on the same account and version doesn't.

You should get a notification in your Dropbox app when you're eligible for the update.

[lloyd1981]

I have somewhat the same issue as @Valentinissimo – but my issue really has nothing to do with the app’s folder location. Not sure what ‘Super User’ is supposed to mean in the parlance of the Community – can’t recall the exact date of my first major use of and reliance on Dropbox, but it was around 2013 or 14, after trying Box and a couple other apps. I have been a Mac user since 1984 and began working with Windows around 2004. Currently, I am an operations agent for the Broward County government department of Aviation, working at the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. I use the Mac version at home and on my Apple portables as well as the Windows version on my County equipment. I edit or create updated versions of forms and files almost on a daily basis.

The ongoing problems with Dropbox even staying up was, I was assured, taken care of to ensure compatibility with MacOS 12.5.x (I am on 12.6.2 at this time.)

This “... when you're eligible for the update” attitude should have gone out with the ‘one had to be invited to join’ back in the early 2000’s by Google for Gmail. It is almost DECEMBER, moving quickly from old November, and the problem has gotten worse. Let’s hope that ‘approval’ on an individual basis comes before 2023.

Thank you.

[lloyd1981]

Not going to go into great detail at this point, but I suggest you go to:

https://www.dropbox.com/download  

and download and install the latest release desktop version for Mac - 161.4.4923. Double-click on the downloaded file to run the installer, which will automatically overwrite the existing version. (I had made the mistake to check box the option on my online account preferences - general to update with the latest release, which happened to be a Beta, which should not have been an "auto update.")

I am running MacOS 12.6.2. To make sure - your Dropbox "folder" should now be in your Users/(your name/)Library/CloudStorage file. (My location is Macintosh HD/Users/(Name)/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox.)

Hope this will be of help.

[WJ_DA_NZ]

Even versions released later than that do not relocate into cloudstorage location It's regions and users slow painful rollout.

And that will bring a world of pain to users as dropbox are going to still use a user unique path breaking all links in every file they have saved into dropbox.

ie (My location is Macintosh HD/Users/(Name)/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox.)

Apart from a lot of links broken a lot of dropbox release dates broken promises to

Alot of customers and users are ready to move on...

[roverdb]

My experience was that I received a notification in Mac OS about a new Dropbox update being available along with an FAQ. After reading the document (which resembles this: https://help.dropbox.com/installs/macos-faqs) you can elect to proceed or not. It seems like early release users receive this notification more or less at random, possibly in order to keep sync traffic on Dropbox's servers to a manageable level. But you are given a warning and have to click a button to proceed with the move. It's not like you'll log in to your computer and suddenly find that your files have moved. I just wish they gave us an option like "ask me again next week" or something rather than "its now or at some other random point in the future". 

[Raphael J.1]

Hi all,

am I the only one who is NOT amused by the new location in the latest macOS? Why are we forced to change the location - and without any possibility of moving the folder to wherever we want?

Does anyone know what's the rationale behind this? Apple policy?

I liked the idea to treat the Dropbox folder like any other folder - only that it got synced to the cloud automatically.

Is there any way to NOT move the folder to the library?

Thanks for any reply.

Raphael

[Jay]

Hi @Raphael J.1, as part of the Dropbox for macOS update, to keep the Dropbox desktop app aligned with any requirements set out by an OS, the Dropbox folder must be located in ~/Library/CloudStorage. 

This along with other changes can be found in this article.

[Raphael J.1]

Thanks Jay, but my questions are:

1. WHY are we forced into this new thing? There is not a single benefit, along with a whole array of new hardships (see the link you posted: here everything is listed that does NOT work any more).

2. Can we still stick to the old system, and just leave the Dropbox folder in Documents?

I am on Ventura now, and so far nothing has changed, everything works fine as usual. Presumably, once I install the latest Dropbox App update, the changes will take effect. I would like to avoid that.

Raphael

[Megan]

Hi @Raphael J.1, thank you for sharing your feedback with us.

I understand that you are not happy with the Dropbox for macOS update. However, it is not possible to revert to the previous version of the app, once the change is universally made.

The updated Dropbox for macOS app has been developed to adhere to the requirements as set out by Apple therefore this update was introduced to ensure the best possible experience for our Mac users long into the future.

We’ll be sure to pass your feedback along to our Product team.

Thank you.