How to STOP Dropbox from deleting files on my computer if I delete them from DB?

Thank you very much for the reply, Walter, and the link.

I believe that I did enable the computer backup out of naïveté since I use the Mac’s Time Machine to do backups of my whole drive. I assumed that syncing on DB works the same way.

Yes, it is still syncing — and taking "forever" to do that. 

DB seems to have moved some files around. They are no longer in their regular place in the sidebar. That too is scary and damned annoying!

If I delete files from DB I do NOT want DB to remove those files from my computer as well. For example, from the time I had the free version, I have some old photos on DB that are shared with others. I would now like to remove those files without removing them from my computer. These are only a few files, therefore I simply uploaded them, not using the backup or syncing feature.

Today, while setting up, I opened “System Preferences” along with “Security and Privacy” and put DB in there, that is when the system warned me about the removals across platforms. At that point, I stopped giving DB “Full Disk Access.”

How would I set up DB to prevent such removal? If I delete files from my computer, I of course expect DB syncing to reflect that.

It’s really terrifying to think that I could “lose” important files because of this feature!

I am feeling rather foolish, like some sort of neophyte who is afraid of pushing a button on the computer and deleting things in error. I cannot understand why DB backing up seems so “complicated”? It’s not as if I haven’t read some tutorial articles.

Hi Jay:

Thank you for the reply.

Despite having watched and read reviews on DB, I seem to have misunderstood how it actually works.

DB has been “backing up” my computer now for several days and is nowhere near done. Using Mac’s Time Machine with a new external drive to back up the whole computer merely takes a few hours. After that, Time Machine syncs any changes. That typically only takes a few minutes. What Time Machine does NOT do is to remove or move files on my computer!

I guess I will have to rethink this whole thing, disable the backup feature, and manually upload files that I want in DB. The whole thing seems like a terrible hassle!

It will remain to be seen whether DB was worth the upgrade to me.

To say that I am disappointed is an understatement. 😟

Thanks for your help!

OK, Walter, Jay

I have disabled the syncing backup feature. However, all of my files show that these are in DB somewhere?

QUESTIONS:

1) If I move the files back to where they should be on my Mac can I cause erasure of the files?

2) If I delete the files from my DB account, in an effort to start over, will they then be deleted from my computer? If so, HOW do I stop that?

I chose to keep the contents on my computer Walter.

I still see virtually all of my files in a DB folder on my computer. However, I am not sure that they are actually still there. 

This is so terribly frustrating!

I simply want to keep all of my files on my computer and delete whatever DB has uploaded. Then manually upload important files to the DB cloud. 

Thanks for your help!

Thanks very much, Hannah. I appreciate the reply. 

What I simply DO NOT understand is why DB moved my files/folders in the first place. 

This seems like a really convoluted way to do syncing. 

My Mac Time Machine simply backs up the system—period. No fuss, no muss, no worries!

This is one heck of a hassle! Not to mention worrying about anything "missing" (as in buried somewhere) on my large drive. 

Thanks again!