Need to see if your shared folder is taking up space on your dropbox 👨‍💻? Find out how to check here.

Forum Discussion

dropitlikeitshot1's avatar
dropitlikeitshot1
Helpful | Level 7
11 months ago

Moving files on my desktop to the trash deletes them immediately instead.

I am running Dropbox Backup. On MacOS, when I drag a file on my desktop to the trash, it is deleted automatically. In other words, it does not appear in the trash in case I want to recover it later. I get a warning that says "This item will be deleted immediately. You can't undo this action."

When the same file is in any other folder or location on my computer besides the Desktop, and I drag it to the trash, the behavior is normal - the files goes into the trash where I can see it and recover it if need be.

I am running Dropbox Backup on Sequoia 15.2 on a 2020 M1 Macbook Air.

Any thoughts?

Delete
desktop
Dropbox Backup

17 Replies

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    11 months ago

    Hi dropitlikeitshot1, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

    Does this occur for any other file in another folder used for Dropbox Backup when you attempt to delete it?

    This will help me to assist further!

  • dropitlikeitshot1's avatar
    dropitlikeitshot1
    Helpful | Level 7
    11 months ago

    Hi Jay! All other folders are behaving normally. If I drag a file to the trash, it appears in the trash. It's only when I drag a file from the desktop to the trash that it is deleted immediately.

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    11 months ago

    Hey dropitlikeitshot1 - thanks for clarifying that for us.

    Can you also let us know the version of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your menu bar?

    Also, are you able to move the files normally via the backups page instead? 

  • dropitlikeitshot1's avatar
    dropitlikeitshot1
    Helpful | Level 7
    11 months ago

    215.4.7202

    I've never used the backups page before. But when I delete a file from the desktop on the backups page, it does not go into the trash, it is deleted immediately. 

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

    Hey dropitlikeitshot1, I hope it's okay for me to jump in here.

    Just to test things out, if you quit the Dropbox app and try to reproduce the issue, does it persist while the app is closed?

  • dropitlikeitshot1's avatar
    dropitlikeitshot1
    Helpful | Level 7
    11 months ago

    Interestingly enough....... when I quit the Dropbox app, it works normally. Files deleted from the desktop up end up in the trash. 

    When I relaunch the Dropbox app, the issue is gone! Files deleted from the desktop up end up in the trash.

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

    Sorry to hear that, dropitlikeitshot1!

    I'm assuming closing the Dropbox app and then re-launching it, doesn't do the trick this time, right?

    Can you also let us know which version of the Dropbox app you're using now?

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!