You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.
Native macOS Dropbox App vs. Maestral
I stopped using the native Dropbox app a couple years ago because it was so resource intensive. I've been using Maestral since to view and sync my Dropbox content due to lighter footprint. I have a M3 MBP with 36 GB memory, running macOS 15.1 (Sequoia). Any feedback with use of current native Dropbox app? Happy with use and performance? Thank you.
Old Laptop with Old Dropbox-- how do I transfer files?
Hello Hive Mind! I recently fired up my old laptop (OSX 10.9.5, late 2009) and I cannot transfer files off of it. I have tried gmail, messages, airdrop, apple mail application, old flash drive... the works. Then I noticed that I had an Dropbox icon. It has Dropbox v1.1.35 and had my hotmail email as the account. It looks like it is working on the old laptop, and I uploaded a 253 KB .png file. However, when I go to my current laptop, and log into the browser Dropbox, it appears that I had to make an account with the same hotmail address. And I cannot find my files in the browser Dropbox. 1) Is v1.1.35 hopelessly outdated and should I just give up? 2) Do you have any suggestions about how to transfer these files off of my old machine?
How do admins of orgs using Dropbox for Business support end users with syncing issues?
This is a general question for admins in organizations using Dropbox for Business. How do you support users who are having Dropbox syncing issues on Windows endpoints? I have been creating a screen sharing session where I can investigate syncing issues on the endpoint. It seems to me that Dropbox for Business is missing some kind of telemetry from endpoints that gives status on sync health back to the admin console. Something that reported back every 15mins would be better than flying blind. I would even take a log file saved into the AppData folder that logged sync status when it wasn't "finished". It seems like a reasonable feature.
Dropbox Free - desktop, docs, pictures sync across devices
Hi folks, years ago, I could install dropbox on three of my devices, turn on desktop backup and what not, and my icons would appear on the desktop of all three devices. Just like onedrive. But these days, I can't seem to see the option. Sure, I can enable backups of desktop/pictures/documents, but all this seems to do, is create different folders within the dropbox section of file explorer. So I get PC1, PC2 and PC3, and all the folders in there. I don't want this though. For a start, it's difficult to work out which device is which. Has the feature I need been removed, and only available in "paid for" plans now? Thanks in advance!
Remove "available offline" in finder under folders and files
Hello, Does anyone know a way to remove the “available offline” phrase in Finder under files and folders? First of all, the phrase seems completely useless considering it can be there along with the cloud icon that indicates that a file/folder is not actually offline but needs to be downloaded to be opened. Second, this useless phrase takes away the ability to show item info in Finder. I used to be able to see the number of files in a folder, the resolution of a photo, or the file size (if it’s an archive), but for some reason, Dropbox thinks that “available offline” is more useful than that. I am surprised I could not find anything on this. It seems like I am the only one concerned with this issue. Maybe there is a simple toggle somewhere in the settings that I am missing. Unfortunately, today I found out that your files can be marked “available offline” but still be in the cloud, and that is a deal-breaker for me. However, my annual subscription just renewed, so I’d like to find out how to remove this annoying “available offline” phrase and see my file/folder info until I find a replacement.
Arch Linux Dropbox Gnome app indicator drop down menu
I use Arch Linux as well as many other Linux flavors. Often on Arch with Gnome desktop I had trouble getting the Dropbox drop down menu to look and perform properly. I searched the Internet but really found nothing addressing my problem. I actually gave up on it for a few months. While trying to correct another problem with the app indicator panel I installedlibappindicator-gtk3. It solved the other problem I was working on but I got an added bonus in that the Dropbox drop down menu suddenly started working perfectly as it does on Linux Mint Cinnamon, Debian Gnome and MX Linux Xfce. So just a tip if the Dropbox drop down menu is not performing properly on Arch Linux Gnome, try installinglibappindicator-gtk3 from the Arch repositories. It is in the Arch official extra repository. I think it's possible that this solution could also help on any Arch based distro such as Manjaro,EndeavourOS, etc. if the Dropbox drop down menu doesn't look or perform correctly. I also had the same problem on Fedora Gnome but I don't currently have a free test partition to try this with Fedora.
Sync ETA and incoming syncs feature removed by Dropbox - Any workarounds to make the app usable?
Keen to hear any tips/tricks/workarounds to make Dropbox usable again after all the recent downgrades: Someone at Dropbox finally confrimed that the ETA on sync files has been intentionally removed from the service. Incoming syncs also disappeared entirely last year. So the desktop app is now just an events list of outgoing files and only live info is a vague visual progeress bar. What a downgrade! The app was always a bit quirky and vague but with these core features removed, I'm trying to figure out how to actually share anything in an active work environment. Made feature requests of course, but since support tickets only get cut-n-paste responses and the core features were apparentlyremoved intentionally, I'm guessing Dropbox isn't planning to bring back full service any time soon. Wondered if anyone in the community has any workarounds to make Dropbox usable again: Maybe plugins, 3rd party tools, or ways to get the previous UI+features back? Alternatively, curious to hear: How do you use Dropbox without being able to see incoming syncs and ETAs? Naturally, now looking into moving to another platform but some clients will innevitably stick with Dropbox out of familiarity so I hope to find a way to keep it as a workable option. Thanks kindly!How to free up space with online and offline file options
Storing and saving your files is important, and making sure your files are available where you need them can help with that. So, let’s figure out if you need to have your files available online or offline. Why should I make my Dropbox files available offline? Whatever device you’re using with Dropbox, whether it’s a computer, tablet, or phone, you can make your files and folders available offline. This is similar to downloading your files, except it also keeps them in Dropbox. This way, your files are saved offline on your device as well as online in your Dropbox account. So, whether you’re on the move, or you have wifi that drops, you can make your files available offline and keep on working. While you’re offline, changes made to your offline files won’t “sync”. This means that the changes you make offline won’t sync between your offline device and everywhere else you access your files in Dropbox. Once you are back online, Dropbox will sync the changes you made to your offline files everywhere you access them in Dropbox. How do I make files available offline? The short version of it is, within your Dropbox folder in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac), find the file you’re looking for and right-click on it, and then simply choose Make available offline. Easy! For more info, you can head over here. What are Dropbox online-only files? As the name suggests, these files are available only when you’re online. Since this frees up space on your computer or your hard drive, it is the perfect option if your laptop is at capacity, but you still want to access your files. If you set a file or folder to online-only, you’ll still see the file or folder in the Dropbox folder on your computer, but it’s just a placeholder. You can only open it if you’re connected to internet. Dropbox removes it from your computer’s hard drive, so that it only takes up space in your Dropbox account online. How to make a file or folder online-only: To set a file or folder to online-only manually: Open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac). Open the Dropbox folder. Right-click the file or folder you’d like to set to online-only. Under Quick Actions, click Make online-only. If you’d like to save your file or folder back to your computer’s hard drive, repeat this step and click Make available offline. So, now you know the difference between online-only and offline files and when each one might suit better. So, why not look at your files and folders and see if you can free up some space? Do you separate your files depending on where and when you need them?
