How can I delete a copy of my Dropbox folders on my C: drive without deleting them from my account?

GilbertX wrote:

When I try to delete these folders I get a warning ' Do you want to delete them for everyone on dropbox.?' Clearly I just want to delete these copies on C: ...

If you're getting that message then you're trying to delete the files from your local Dropbox folder. If you delete files from your Dropbox folder, they'll be deleted from your account, from any other device that you sync with, , and from any other people they may be shared with, if any, and that message is asking you to confirm that.

Did you copy these folders from one location in your Dropbox to another location in your Dropbox? Was it really a copy, and not a move? If so, just delete the new copy and confirm the message. The original folders will remain where they are and only the copy will be deleted.

GilbertX wrote:

I may want to restore deleted files to particular directory - say "Recovered Files" to inspect them, but I do not seem able to do this. Any views on this too ?

Files will be restored to their original location. That's the only option available.

Thanks for this info.  I still cannot understand  why when explorer copies dropbox folders to another device that there is not a facilty to detach (disassociate these files from dropbox). Eg if I copy  the folder myfiles  from my dropbox to C: I do not want c:myfiles to be considered a dropbox folder. So that when I delete c:myfiles in explorer I do not want dropbox to ask do you want to delete it everywhere on dropbox. This seems pretty fundamental to me. How can I dis-associate such copied folders from dropbox?

Hey GilbertX - I'm not sure I quite understand the issue here. Can you clarify what you mean when you say that explorer copies Dropbox folders to another device? Can you send us a couple of screenshots of the steps you take and how the folders you're deleting look on your end? 

A screenshot of the exact error you're getting would also help!

Hey GilbertX - have you had the chance to check my previous response yet?

If you still need any help feel free to reach out with the information i requested. If, on the other hand, your issue has been solved, let us know what worked for you!