Backup folder name change

[the_ood]

Hello! I have 2 macs, one personal and one for work. Both had backup enabled and when I went online, I saw both computers' backup directories. The directories were both in the format of "My Mac (computername)" However, recently I disabled the Dropbox backup on my work laptop because I didn't think it would be wise to backup my work stuff to Dropbox. But I was subsequently told it was OK, so I re-enabled the backup. While everything was uploaded to Dropbox just fine, the name of the work laptop backup directory is now simply "Mac (2)". I would like to rename the folder to the "My Mac" format I previously had, but it is not letting me rename the folder. Any assistance would be great. Thanks in advance.

[Hannah · Accepted solution]

Hey @the_ood, thanks for the post and happy Friday!

I'm afraid that the name of the backup folder cannot be changed currently.

I will, however, pass this along to our devs team for consideration!

If you need anything else, make sure to let us know.

[the_ood]

@Hannah, I guess I don't understand why it named my backup directory "Mac (2)". Before I stopped the backup, the folder was called "My Mac (compname)". If there is an easy way to get that back, let me know. That way I don't need to worry about renaming it in the first place. Thanks.

[the_ood]

@Hannah any advice on my last response? Thanks.

[Hannah]

Hey, sorry for the delay here!

So, it seems this is a change to help simplify things, but the folder name cannot be altered.

The first computer to get connected to the account is the one named 'Mac' and then the next one 'Mac (2)' and so on.

I will however, pass your feedback about this to the dev team.

If there's anything else you'd like to ask, just let me know!

[edo_dragon]

This would indeed be very helpful. I've seen a couple others requesting this, especially Business users who's employees are all confused with the naming of the folders. I've also tried to fix this and only came upon this discussion in the Dropbox forum with no solution.

It would be great to be able to assign a name to the backup folder when turning on the Computer Backup feature, if it is not possible to change it after the feature is already turned on (although that would be even more convenient).

PLEASE consider adding this very simple folder-naming step to future releases. It would make managing/navigating backups much easier and more professional-looking.

[Avaruuskettu]

Hi @Hannah,

As it is currently set up, the naming convention is confusing and inconvenient and it is in a critical place of the software. Distinguishing computers from each other is a challenge even with small numbers and there seems to be no way of identifying the computers except for comparing files.

We need a renaming function that works without removing the computers, I would go so far as to call it broken in its current state.

Add me to the feedback list and additionally try to alert someone in the dev team to this.

All the best,

Samuli

[the_ood]

I think it goes without saying that this is an issue that needs to be addressed soon. Since I posted this back in July I now have a PC(6) and a PC(8) as directory names, and what is particularly unnerving about this is the numbering sequence doesn't even make sense.

@Hannah would be great if you can pass this along again and let the PMs and developers know this is something that would be needed. 

In the meantime, are there any workarounds that can be made to change the directory names?

Thanks.

[Hannah]

Thanks guys for the nudges here.

I'm afraid there's currently no way to change the names of the backup folders.

You're welcome to post an idea about this on our idea board, though, for others to upvote.

[Avaruuskettu]

I'm sorry, but the idea board concept is a dead end. It only attracts specific demographic and severely distorts the view that a company gets from its userbase. I have seen it multiple times and it only acts as a graveyard for great ideas.

Please submit this subject as a severe bug, as that is what it really is.

Best regards,
Samuli