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Forum Discussion
zephyr707
6 years agoHelpful | Level 6
Best practices for using symlinks (symbolic links)
Hi there,
I use dropbox on linux with symlinks, but am not sure which is the best/preferred way to use them. Is there a best practice for using this type of configuration?
Currently I use symlink...
- 6 years agoHey there zephyr707,I would strongly recommend sticking with the current configuration you currently have, which would be having the actual files in the Dropbox folder and having your symlinks in the home directory. In this case, it wouldn’t have any affect on the files syncing as the actual files are within the Dropbox folder.Issues occur with syncing when the files are located elsewhere and the symlink is within the Dropbox folder instead. This can cause performance issues and high CPU usage when trying to sync the files. In some cases, the desktop app may even just sync the symlink file itself and not the referenced file. This will mean the actual file won’t be synced to your Dropbox account so you wont be able to access the actual file via the web or other devices your account syncs to.Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions - Thanks!
niazy
Helpful | Level 6
Hi there,
I've had this setup (linking my Desktop to the a ~/Dropbox/Desktop for years now. However, I just bought a new Macbook Pro running OS X catalina. Everytime I create the symlink to the Dropbox, it initially works, but then the OS restores what seems like a default folder and deletes the link.
Any ideas?
niazy
6 years agoHelpful | Level 6
I have found a workaround that may help you guys at Dropbox provide us with a more elegant solution. After creating the symlink to my Dropbox desktop folder, I locked the link file by displaying its info and checking the 'Locked' checkbox. That seems to do the trick. I checked that I can still write and save to my desktop. I have also restarted my machine (this step previously resulted in my link deleted and a new Desktop folder created) and everything is intact.
- malikjfernando6 years agoHelpful | Level 5
Thanks niazy would like some guidance on how you removed the existing desktop folder from the Mac Catalina home directory. I don't seem able to. Did you create a new desktop folder in Dropbox folder and move that locked symlink to the Mac home folder? After a restart would that delete the original desktop folder in the home folder? I'm nervous to experiment too much!
- malikjfernando6 years agoHelpful | Level 5
Terminal didn’t allow me to create a symlink from the newly created Desktop folder in Dropbox to the home folder saying Desktop exists. So I created a link to my desktop and tried to drag it to home folder. It didn't allow me saying - “Desktop” can’t be modified or deleted because it’s required by macOS.
- Marcelo46 years agoNew member | Level 2
Dear Niazy,
I am trying to implement your suggestion, but I find that upon creating Desktop as a symbolic link, when I bring up "Get Info" the "Locked" box, as well as everything else, is greyed out and not modofieable. Have you experienced that? I have Catalina too.
Thank you,
Marcelo
- lopesgui5 years agoNew member | Level 2
Dear Marcelo4,
I had the same issue with the greyed check box. I solved it by locking the folder where the symlink is inside. In my case, I locked my user folder. So far it's working. After restarting the system it stoped deleting my symlink and messing things up. I just hope I won't have problems by locking my own user folder on Mac. lol
Hope it works for you too.
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