Moving the Dropbox folder

[Chaim]

In the desktop app, it was simple to move the Dropbox folder to a different location (using Preferences). Now that it seems the desktop app is discontinued, I can't find any way to move the Dropbox folder at all. Is it possible? If so, how?! Thank you!

[Rich · Accepted solution]

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@Chaim wrote:

In the desktop app, it was simple to move the Dropbox folder to a different location (using Preferences). Now that it seems the desktop app is discontinued, I can't find any way to move the Dropbox folder at all. Is it possible? If so, how?! Thank you!

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The desktop app hasn't been discontinued; just the portion of it that allowed you to manage your files within the app. The app itself still very much exists and is accessible as it always has been. You'll see the Dropbox icon in your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac). Click it to get the Dropbox menu, or right-click it for the legacy menu (easier to access Preferences). Once in Preferences, you'll find the option to move the Dropbox folder on the Sync tab.

[swdirector]

Does Dropbox have any plans to restore the Dropbox app that allowed you to view your files within dropbox. Being able to quickly find starred files and to pin files to the top was useful. It also more resembled what you could to on the iPhone and iPad. Without this feature, I am not sure what the benefit is using Dropbox over iCloud or other cloud storage options. It is very unfortunate the that Dropbox team decide to drop a valuable feature.

[Chaim]

Thank you for your reply, Rich, but I don't understand it. You wrote, "The app itself still very much exists and is accessible as it always has been. You'll see the Dropbox icon in your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac). Click it to get the Dropbox menu, or right-click it for the legacy menu (easier to access Preferences)." However, the only effect of my left-clicking on the Dropbox icon in the system tray (using Windows) is opening Windows Explorer on the Dropbox folder. (This is the same effect of clicking on the Dropbox app in the Start Menu.) The only functionality this gives me is the regular file management of Explorer. Right-clicking has no effect at all. Either way, I see no way at all to access either the Dropbox menu or the Legacy menu, and I see no way at all to access Preferences.

[Chaim]

P.S. Thank you, Rich! Somehow, today (after rebooting), I was able to right-click the Dropbox icon in the system tray and access Preferences. I had the experience in the past that sometimes this worked and sometimes it didn't. The past couple of days, it fairly consistently didn't, so I figured it had to do with the elimination of the desktop app. Evidently, it's still hit and miss, and today it hit! Well, to be exact, it hit exactly once. I just tried right-clicking the Dropbox icon in the system tray, and again it had no effect at all. (And, again, left-clicking just opens Windows Explorer.) Weird.

[_ADM_]

THIS is why I'm here. Clicking the icon on my taskbar only opens File Explorer. Right-clicking gives me a chance to "unpin from taskbar but also shows me the Dropbox icon. If I click on it, I get a little-more detailed dialog box of Dropbox Properties. I thought I had it for a minute but there is no option for moving the folder there either. These are the tabs I have access to at this point.

[_ADM_]

I may have figured it out.

When the instructions on dropbox' page say "icon in taskbar", then I looked to the taskbar and didn't think about the "system tray" which is where you're required to look (and r-click)...

This youtube video may be of help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEjf4p_DXyY

[gwlgis]

The video was very helpful, I have a related issue.

I had Windows 11 installed by IT due to a 'necessary' upgrade for everyone on campus, and thus, they didn't install dropbox (I paid out of pocket).

In the process, they discovered my C-drive was failing thus installed a new one. (fine by me, I use the 1TB D drive for files).

I re-installed the software (on C) and Dropbox immediately set up the default NEW dropbox on my C drive, whereas I wanted it where it already was (and still is, on the fully functional D drive.

I tried to use the methods above (thank you for the help) to 'Move' it to the D drive location I prefer, however Dropbox is saying "There is already a folder by the name of 'Dropbox' there. (No kidding, hence my reason for wanting it THERE!)

Is there any way that you experts know of to easily tell dropbox to connect to the folder I want?

In the time I've spent finding solutions to my "where the heck is ..... in Windows 11" Drop box has automatically created the full Dropbox folder on my C drive.

I guess I could delete (eeeek) my current dropbox on D and THEN 'move' it, and wait for 16 GB of data to transfer, but it seems like there should be an easier way to do what I want to do.

Thoughts?

Thanks in Advance...

Gregory

[Hannah]

Hey @gwlgis, thanks for the nudge here.

Since the Dropbox application has created and synced all your files to your C drive, I would definitely recommend just deleting the old one and then using the Dropbox preferences to move the Dropbox folder to your D drive.

It won't take as long to move the files, as they won't have to resync.

Just make sure your new Dropbox folder is up to date with your old one, has the same files, etc., before you delete the old one.

[gwlgis]

Thank you Hannah!

That is exactly what I did, although I had a stopgap step in there.

I renamed the old dropbox folder C:'Dropbox' to 'Dropbox_old', then used the function to change the folder from C to D.

Once I verified that everything was in D:Dropbox I deleted the C:'Dropbox_old'.

Gregory