Forum Discussion

allenvor's avatar
allenvor
New member | Level 1
10 months ago

Accidentally deleted some documents, is there any way to recover them?

Yesterday I deleted some old Dropbox folders locally from my computer but somehow this also deleted my Documents folder from my Mac, which I had not actively uploaded or backed up to Dropbox in 4 years. Now the folders are visible on Dropbox but there are no visible files or recovery options that I can see, including back ups, deleted files, or Rewind options. My guess is I've somehow corrupted the files and they're likely lost but any last ditch efforts are greatly appreciated.

9 Replies

  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
    10 months ago
    allenvor wrote:

    Now the folders are visible on Dropbox but there are no visible files or recovery options that I can see, including back ups, deleted files, or Rewind options.

    You've checked both the Deleted Files and Events pages?

  • allenvor's avatar
    allenvor
    New member | Level 1
    10 months ago

    Yeah. Nothing shows up in either of those pages

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    10 months ago

    Does this mean that you see the desktop folders that you deleted, but they're empty?

    What does the "show deleted files" option show?

  • allenvor's avatar
    allenvor
    New member | Level 1
    10 months ago

    Hannahthat's correct. nothing inside the folders and nothing shows up when I selected Show Deleted Files. I redownloaded/restored the files onto my computer and that was empty too

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    10 months ago

    Thanks for checking, allenvor.

    Can you check your "All files" page on dropbox.com, to see if you can find your Documents and Desktop folders there?

    Also, on the computer you deleted the folders from, can you check if there's a "Files in Dropbox" or "My files in Dropbox" folder anywhere in finder?

  • allenvor's avatar
    allenvor
    New member | Level 1
    10 months ago

    HannahUnder All Files, I can see the folders but it takes me to my backups and there is nothing in them (like in the screenshot). I also cant find a Dropbox folder on my computer. I've sort of accepted that I won't be able to recover my files - let me know if you have any other ideas. Thanks!

  • Nancy's avatar
    Nancy
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    10 months ago

    Hey allenvor, have you also checked the Trash folder on your Mac device, and there’s nothing there? 

    Do you see any “Files on my computer" or "Files in Dropbox” shortcuts on your local device that redirect you to your missing files?

About Delete, edit, and organize

Solve issues with deleting, editing, and organizing files and folders in your Dropbox account with support from the Dropbox Community.

The Dropbox Community team is active from Monday to Friday. We try to respond to you as soon as we can, usually within 2 hours.

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X, Facebook or Instagram.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!