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Forum Discussion
Multiple Computer Accounts but Single Dropbox account
I want to have multiple accounts on my PC to allow for different i-Tunes libraries but allow dropbox to sync the same location on the drive. Is this possible?
Ex: c:\dropbox is synced via the same ...
Don't bother to move the installation files, the auto update feature puts each new version in the user profile anyway.
Additionally and more importantly it also uses the user profile location to house its local database of what its up to for that user.
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On the local DROPBOX folder, This can be migrated to a common location for multiple user accounts, you are only facing a "your dumb Im cleaver prompt", once you have the folder at C:\DROPBOX (example) on the 1st account, shut that account down, and proceed to the 2nd account, RENAME the C:\DROPBOX folder to C:\DROPBOX-OMGWHYDOIHAVETODOTHIS! and then point the 2nd user accoutn DB app to use C:\DROPBOX, and then once established, SHUT IT DOWN. Go back to the C:\DROPBOX folder (which might have a few files in it by now) and REMOVE the folder, then rename C:\DROPBOX-OMGWHYDOIHAVETODOTHIS! to C:\DROPBOX, then start the DB app up again.
It will tell you all types of wonderfull things about what its up to, but it will really just index the files it found and compare them to the cloud copies, find they are the same and eventually say "UP TO DATE".
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WARNING WARNING WARNING > READ THE FOLLOWING
Do NOT use selective sync on either of the machine accounts, the other account doesnt know what you are doing, so if you selectively sync a folder out of dropbox with account 1 when account 2 starts up, it thinks the folder has been erased, and syncs that erase into the cloud.
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If you must use it then COPY the folders out of Dropbox first, unsync them, then MOVE the copy back in (it wont sync on that account now), then go to the second account (which wont see them as gone since you moved them back in) and then unsycn them from that one as well.
(this is asking for it tho!)
@Mark Mc:
I'm trying to do the same thing (have a common Dropbox location on the PC for multiple users). I noticed that in addition to creating the Dropbox folder under each user's profile, it also created separate "program" locations for each user (again under each of their profiles). And there seems to be no way to modify these behaviors when installing the Dropbox application. I did manage to move the Dropbox programs to a common location (under Program Files) and re-point the shortcuts to the new common location. And I managed to move one of the user's Dropbox (files) location out from underneath their profile to a common (C:\Dropbox) location. But I can't "move" the 2nd user's Dropbox (files) location out from underneath their profile to the same common (C:\Dropbox) location, because Dropbox says that the C: folder already contains a Dropbox folder and refuses to point the 2nd user's Dropbox (files) location to the common folder. So I don't think you can do what you suggest. Have you actually done this? Or do you know of another way to accomplish this?
Thanks in advance for your assistance,
Paul Chadwick
