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zephyr707's avatar
zephyr707
Helpful | Level 7
7 years ago
Solved

Best practices for using symlinks (symbolic links)

Hi there, I use dropbox on linux with symlinks, but am not sure which is the best/preferred way to use them. Is there a best practice for using this type of configuration? Currently I use symlink...
Create
desktop
Linux
sync
  • Daphne's avatar
    Daphne
    7 years ago
    Hey there zephyr707,
     
    I would strongly recommend sticking with the current configuration you currently have, which would be having the actual files in the Dropbox folder and having your symlinks in the home directory. In this case, it wouldn’t have any affect on the files syncing as the actual files are within the Dropbox folder.
     
    Issues occur with syncing when the files are located elsewhere and the symlink is within the Dropbox folder instead. This can cause performance issues and high CPU usage when trying to sync the files. In some cases, the desktop app may even just sync the symlink file itself and not the referenced file. This will mean the actual file won’t be synced to your Dropbox account so you wont be able to access the actual file via the web or other devices your account syncs to.
     
    Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions - Thanks!
siamesekitten's avatar
siamesekitten
Explorer | Level 4
6 years ago

I'm a Mac consultant and I've been using the below excellent directions from ZDNet to sync Desktop and Documents folders across multiple computers via Dropbox for years. Also works for single computers, of course. Works perfectly and uses the method Dropbox recommends/supports. I've got literally dozens of clients using it. If you have a problem with the symlinks getting deleted, lock them, as mentioned earlier in this thread. 

 

https://www.zdnet.com/article/beyond-icloud-syncing-your-desktop-and-documents-between-macs-using-dropbox/

 

 

numan's avatar
numan
Helpful | Level 6
6 years ago

thanks - i will try this. the article does not mention this working witt Desktop folder. Have you been able to do that?

  • siamesekitten's avatar
    siamesekitten
    Explorer | Level 4
    6 years ago

    Yes, I always do both documents and desktop folders. They work exactly the same.

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