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How can I see all the files that I deleted?
I recently deleted many files with the knowledge that my files could still be restored if I needed them. However, when I looked at "Deleted files" what I saw to my surprise were lines that read, e.g.,
[name of file] and 3283 more files
(and there were many such lines!)
What happened to the folders and structure within the folders? Do I really have to restore all of these files to find the one I want? (And it's not a question about searching for a specific file name; it's about restoring entire folders!)
Thanks for your help on this.
Hey Karen! Due to security reasons, we can’t click on any external links, I’m afraid.
However, if you open the folder in question, you should be seeing a gear icon right next to its name. Try clicking on this button and go to “Folder settings” > “Show deleted files”; any files that have been deleted from this folder should appear with a little trash can icon on their filename.
After that, you can click on the ellipsis button (the one with the 3 dots) on their right hand side and choose the option to restore them.
Let me know if that helps.
10 Replies
- Mark
Super User II
Thats how it works if you delete in bulk I'm afraid.
A work around to this would be to go to the location where the files were initially, click on 'Show Deleted Items' and then restore the folders individually
Thanks, Mark, for answering my question.
Where is a button/link "Show Deleted Items"? I don't see that on the page. It's a folder that was shared with me (with editing ability granted, so I can delete things) if that makes a difference. In my case I want to restore just one of the files, but when they are lumped together like this in the Deleted Files area, it seems the only option is to restore them all.
- Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey Karen E. - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.
The button to show your deleted items should be showing when you navigate the folder that the deleted files are/were located in.
Have you tried doing it via the events page instead perhaps?
I know how to navigate to the folder where the files previously were, but where on that page do you see such a button? And yes, I tried the Events page - that's no better. See four captioned screenshots here: https://imgur.com/a/9fgtScb
- Nancy
Hey Karen! Due to security reasons, we can’t click on any external links, I’m afraid.
However, if you open the folder in question, you should be seeing a gear icon right next to its name. Try clicking on this button and go to “Folder settings” > “Show deleted files”; any files that have been deleted from this folder should appear with a little trash can icon on their filename.
After that, you can click on the ellipsis button (the one with the 3 dots) on their right hand side and choose the option to restore them.
Let me know if that helps.
Thanks, Nancy! I don't know why Mark or Walter couldn't tell me where to find it - two levels deep in a menu from a gear icon is much different from "...go to the folder...click on..." or "...should be showing when you navigate the folder..." Previously I did try clicking on the gear, but I didn't go any deeper because none of the top-level items sounded relevant and I was expecting it to be readily visible, not buried.
Yes, after Nancy gave me the clue of where to look for the secret menu item everyone else thought was obvious. I clicked Like on her post - I can't mark it as a solution because I'm not the OP, and another post has already been thus marked anyway.
