moving download folder to dropbox in Windows 11

[b_in_vt]

I long ago moved my downloads folder to dropbox when I had Window 10. I just got a new laptop with Windows 11. I followed instructions I found with google, but nothing worked. 

thanks in advance.

[Walter]

Hey @b_in_vt, sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Can  you please go through the exact steps you take to do this and send us a screenshot of the last screen you can get to or any errors you might be getting?

Have you maybe considered enabling the Dropbox Backup feature for your computer's Downloads folder perhaps?

Let me know how you get on and we'll take it from there. 

[b_in_vt]

Thank you very much for responding. 

I will try to reconstruct what I did.

I was setting up my new computer, which came with Windows 11 home version.

On my old Windows 10 computer, I had the downloads folder located in Dropbox for a long time and it worked perfectly, regardless of what I was downloading. 

I googled how to move the folder to Dropbox and came up with instructions found here:

How to Change the Default Download Location in Windows 11 (lifewire.com)

I followed the instructions and found the locations tab in properties and clicked on move and identified my Downloads folder on Dropbox as the new location. I thought  it had worked. However, the next time I downloaded something (I am still installing some software), the download went to a downloads folder on my C drive. This was even though I wasn't showing a folder called "Downloads" before I did that download.

So I went back to the properties folder of the download folder. But this time, there was no tab for "location" and, in any case, since it didn't work the first time, there is no reason to think it would work if I tried it again.

Here is what the properties screed looks like for the current download folder that was created on the C drive: 

 Thank you!

[Megan]

Hi @b_in_vt, thank you for clarifying! 

It seems that you were utilizing our Backup feature on your old device. All you'd need to do would be to enable it again for your Downloads folder on your new device, and you should be set.

Can you give it a go? 

[b_in_vt]

I don't think I was using the backup feature of Dropbox on my old machine.  I had the Dropbox desktop app installed so there was automatically a copy of my files stored in the cloud. Are there additional features when one uses the Dropbox "Backup"  option?

[Hannah]

Hey @b_in_vt, if your 'downloads' folder was synced to Dropbox on your old computer, you probably had enabled the backup feature.

Dropbox backup allows you to back up your desktop, downloads and documents folders to Dropbox, without manually moving them into the Dropbox folder.

You can read more about the feature here.

[Eric E.10]

I have the same issue.

On my old Windows 10 and 7 computers, I had the downloads folder located in Dropbox for a long time and it worked perfectly, regardless of what I was downloading.  A few upgrades ago it stops working, and have been impossible for me to get that functionality again.  I upgrade my plan and things get worse; now they appear as backups and to see the files I have to log to https://www.dropbox.com/backup/all.

[Hannah]

Hey @Eric E.10, thanks for the nudge here.

When you say that you had the downloads folder located in Dropbox, do you mean that you had previously manually moved it there?

[Eric E.10]

I don’t remember exactly how I do it, but it used to works flawlessly. One was named PC(2) and the other PC(1). I downloaded a file to the PC and it appears in Dropbox automatically. Same when a file was deleted.

[Walter]

Hey @Eric E.10 - sorry to jump in here, but have you tried setting your backup anew since you installed the desktop app?

If not, you can adjust your settings through the app's preferences, under the Backups tab.