MacOS 13.0 Ventura, and Dropbox follows OneDrive in forcing the folder on the system drive

The instructions answer this:

• Important: We assume that your Dropbox folder is in the default pathway. If you have placed your Dropbox folder in a custom location, replace all ~/Dropbox with the full location of your Dropbox folder in quotation marks. For example, if you have your Dropbox folder in the path /Volumes/DifferentPlace/Dropbox, you need to replace ~/Dropbox from the following instructions to "/Volumes/DifferentPlace/Dropbox".

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Michael S.197 wrote:

The instructions answer this:

• Important: We assume that your Dropbox folder is in the default pathway. If you have placed your Dropbox folder in a custom location, replace all ~/Dropbox with the full location of your Dropbox folder in quotation marks. For example, if you have your Dropbox folder in the path /Volumes/DifferentPlace/Dropbox, you need to replace ~/Dropbox from the following instructions to "/Volumes/DifferentPlace/Dropbox".

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It looks to me as if these are instructions for the old version of Dropbox, not the new version.

You can still run the old version of Dropbox on Ventura, but who knows for home much longer this will be possible?

I was thinking the same.

And this method with the old software would still lack the automatic sync of offline files when linked within an Adobe InDesign or Illustrator file.

And once the newer version of DB rolls out, this trick will likely explode in your face when the mandatory library location is enforced.

I made this with a fresh installation of Dropbox when I changed computers in November, which prevented me from making a symlink. So I'm quite sure it's the new version. It took me two to three hours with applecare and a lot of digging around to find it, but this is what I came up with and it worked.  I suggest trying it first and then making that judgement call.

Michael S.197  As just published again by Dropbox in a statement (see below screenshot) and confirmed by my own experiences, you cannot force the switch to the new folder location. As long as you did never receive a corresponding notification from Dropbox and as long as your Dropbox folder was not moved automatically to ~/Library/CloudStorage, you are most definitely on the old structure, independently from the stable version number you use. Only joining as a beta tester will force the change of the folder location. 

source: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Apps-and-Installations/Recent-Dropbox-Mac-12-3-Monterey-support/m-p/652000#M49412

I did notice a BETA tag on the Dropbox logo on my specific app shortly after reading about this "issue" and I'm still not convinced that this was the right way to handle this dramatic a change. I don't even remember checking BETA auto-install anywhere in the app. Still, this is a horrible update and change if implemented. I'm curious what everyone else's experience is with this - did you know this was a supposed BETA install? I just came home and noticed my entire Dropbox system wiped out.

To clarify, my Dropbox wasn't wiped out. It was just "re-referenced" to the OS-drive level structure mentioned in this thread and all of my files had to be "rereferenced" and relocated. Upon searching the forum and google for this particular issue, I was shocked to find the plans to not support external drives. So here we are. To Martin, who pointed out the BETA software, I just noticed the option to opt out of BETA in the app and I'm re-connecting the drive now.... but not without a huge re-install and re-copying everything OUT of and back into the original Dropbox folder. !!! Thank you for pointing this out!!

To repeat, I hope Dropbox isn't going to implement this change. What a nightmare!!!

One more thing - on a REFORMAT of my hard drive last nite, I did a fresh reinstall of Dropbox. And, actually, it did install the latest version on its own. So there wasn't any action on my part to disallow the overwriting of the original fresh install (which was the NON-BETA version.)

Anyone else have this issue - it would seem this change is, in fact, being implemented/rolled-out without having to opt-in to anything.

question is how or where you downloaded the installer. Only here you can decide whether you install the latest stable version or a beta one. If you do a regular download from the website, you (hopefully) won't get a beta version.

Downloaded directly from Dropbox public download link. Perhaps if you "opt-in," even the stable version remembers and "overwrites" even your latest fresh install directly downloaded from the standard "Download Dropbox" link? 

My External SSD is currently chugging away in the background re-syncing as we speak. Thank you for pointing out the ability to roll-back with the opt-out checkbox. Hopefully it won't auto-overwrite again!

The "SUDO" Method with the extended reinstall of Dropbox will (i guess) only work for the "old" behaviour. As i pointed out, you cannot force the ~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox Folder to be anywhere else. Errors appear and it only works when Dropbox / macOS creates the folder in your actual home directory library.

So no chance with SymLinking the complete Dropbox Folder, or even the CloudStorage Folder to an external storage.

I think the only way (when already working with the new behaviour of dropbox) is to move the home directory. And that's a complete Nightmare for some setups.

This will make Dropbox loose a lot of business customers

I contacted pCloud and Sync.com to ask why they are still NOT using ~/Library/CloudStorage and if they probably use an own API instead. The reply by pCloud reads as follows: "...Although I do not know the exact deliberations of the development team, we are indeed not beholden to that change, as we make use of the MacFUSE software as File Provider. We are looking at elimination this additional piece of software, this this will happen further down in the future...".

Indeed pCloud creates a virtual folder in the user directory instead, but I have no idea if this complies to Apple's requirements on a long term.

However, using Fuse might be a solution for those Dropbox users who need their Dropbox folder somewhere other than ~/Library/CloudStorage. This could probably also be achieved using Cloudmounter.net. Just mentioning this as an additional input...

Feedback from Sync.com will follow...

Feedback from Sync.com regarding the implementation of Apple's new API requirements: "...We are aware of this on our end, and an update is on our roadmap as we monitor further updates from Apple..."

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Martin R.19 wrote:

Only joining as a beta tester will force the change of the folder location. 

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I have the new version of Dropbox (the one where everything is forced to be in ~/Library/Cloud Storage/Dropbox) and I never signed up to be a beta tester. I installed Dropbox on my new Ventura computer and initially I got the old version. But then almost immediately was presented with a request to for Dropbox to change me to the new version. The message I was presented with said that this is how Dropbox would be going forward and it would be "better" or something along those lines.

If there was anything about being a "beta tester" it was in the fine print, and everything I was presented with made it seem that I would have to make this upgrade sooner or later, and so I might as well do it sooner.

You guys are pretty impressive how angry you are about the system change that you insist I must be working under different conditions, or made up this method somehow, and don't attempt the workaround.  And that you are so insistent that I cannot have found a workaround that might work for you too, without just trying it out.

FYI, I was *forced* into the new system much earlier than you new guys in this thread, back in November, because I bought a new laptop, and had to do a fresh install, just as Dropbox was changing its policy and system. No "reverting" possible for me, I was forced into this Dropbox folder on my system drive.  I searched around for hours, and had apple care on the line over multiple calls over a couple of days trying to work this out, and got this answer in a thread, proposed to my by a dropboxer - someone within the company - not some rando.  It is from the old system, but it works under the new system because it doesn't use Symlink, it uses Sudo.

I've been using it for 2 months now without at hiccup, once I got the backups running properly.

So next time you want to tell someone what you think about about their problem, perhaps think twice.  And perhaps try it out to see if it works or not before coming up with opinions out of thin air.

nessus42 then you are located in a region/area where Dropbox already proceeds with the change while users like me are waiting for that still...

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Michael S.197 wrote:

I've been using it for 2 months now without at hiccup, once I got the backups running properly.

So next time you want to tell someone what you think about about their problem, perhaps think twice.  And perhaps try it out to see if it works or not before coming up with opinions out of thin air.

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I'm happy to hear that you are happy, but personally, why would I invest in a solution that Dropbox has said in no uncertain terms that they are phasing out?

Me, I'm not particularly angry. It just means that Dropbox isn't suitable to meet my needs enough to pay for a subscription. I'll use the free subscription that I currently have, and I'll live with that.  I'll use other solutions where I need to sync more data. Dropbox is not the only sync-fish in the sea.

Though I would happily pay for a Dropbox subscription if they weren't moving to this new model, where all synced files have to reside on the internal drive.

Michael,

I wanted to say THANK YOU for offering the tip on how you used TERMINAL to SUDO and install pointing to your custom path. I did actually read through it and I'm just timid. I really just want Dropbox to tackle this head on! I was one of the earliest to post on the original app incompatibility with Apple M1 Silicon early on so I am well aware of how you felt. I think I speak for a number of people on here when I say thank you for offering a solution. I have to tell you, I just really don't want to edit anything related to Dropbox in terms of config - at all!!! Reinstalling an earlier build regarding this other issue I had about two years ago was scary enough! 😭

Will this "new Dropbox" be forced onto Monterey users at some point (and if so, how long), or are we safe if we just don't upgrade to Ventura?

The "advanced reinstall" or here called "sudo" method (sudo is just "running as admin in terminal") sounds like it is just the setup process we know from the old version of dropbox, where we can select external storage for the dropbox folder?

And this method via terminal / sudo works for the new ~/Library/CloudStorage Version of Dropbox to move it to external storage? Can someone confirm this?

Wait wait wait. The new Dropbox does allow you to keep your Dropbox folder on an external drive with that "advanced reinstall" thing? All this hubbub is unnecessary? The Dropbox support article stating that "changing the location of your Dropbox folder is no longer supported by macOS" is not fully true?

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pollen wrote:

Wait wait wait. The new Dropbox does allow you to keep your Dropbox folder on an external drive with that "advanced reinstall" thing? All this hubbub is unnecessary? The Dropbox support article stating that "changing the location of your Dropbox folder is no longer supported by macOS" is not fully true?

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It is my opinion that whoever is asserting this is incorrect. It is my understanding that the "new" version of Dropbox for Ventura does not support storing Dropbox-synced files on an external drive.

This doesn't mean there aren't ways to back out to an older version of Dropbox that still supports syncing files on an external drive, but it's not clear for how long Dropbox is going to continue to support this.

There finally seems to be a life after/without Boxcryptor and Dropbox, as I have found two cloud services that offer a perfect combination and alternative for less than what I was paying for my monthly Dropbox Plus plan. Of course, Dropbox deleted my recommendation here in the community immediately, even though it solves all the problems most people are facing due to the changes at Dropbox. They don’t want to solve your problems that they caused! I also complained about Dropbox's poor and unprofessional communication. If they had done a better job and didn't ruin their product with bad decisions and strategies, like Microsoft once did with Skype, they wouldn't have to censor discussions about competing products simply because Dropbox was always better and no other product could compete. But then Dropbox screwed up and failed to implement Apple's API requirements in a timely and professional manner. As if that did not cause enough problems, they then bought Boxcryptor, which killed that product and left all Dropbox users without zero-knowledge encryption out in the cold. I don't know what has kept the people at Dropbox so busy that they haven't had time to make the API changes and implement zero-knowledge encryption in time while their competitors have. Don't get me wrong. Buying Boxcryptor is a great decision, but they should have planned everything in a professional way with continuous open communication. So far we don't know which paid plans will get Zero-Knowledge encryption and when it will happen. What do these amateurs at Dropbox expect? That we will just wait and see what happens to our unprotected data? Forget it, and now that they are not even willing to accept criticism, it just confirms once again that this is not the company I should be trusting with my data. I have already moved my data to a new zero-knowledge encrypted cloud service from Germany and it is working fantastically. Next month I will be switching from my paid Dropbox Plus plan back to the free 2GB plan, but I will of course continue to follow the discussion and monitor the upcoming changes.

This is getting really confusing now.

Some people say "advanced reinstall / sudo method" works with the new Version of dropbox, and you can move your Dropbox Folder from ~/Library/CloudStorage to external storage

Then people say it does not work...?

I have tried alternatives for this now. Maestral is super slow with huge dropboxes (ours is way over 30TB). Even when I only sync a small 500MB Folder, it indexes all our 3 000 000 files and is slow in getting folder changes etc.

GoodSync always analyzes the whole folder, taking 6 hours to do so for one sync (at least it looks like it analyzes every time the task is running).

Syncing a local folder to a NAS (for example Synology) and then syncing with Dropbox from the NAS (Synology CloudSync) gives a lot of problems because of double syncing a folder in with 2 different directions (causing files to be deleted and so on)