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No Option to "Make Available Offline."
Honestly, this seemingly late "bringing to the forefront" (I guess you'd call it) of the whole "Online Only" vs. "Make Available Offline" thing has been more of a headache than a help, if I may offer my opinion.
I purchased a new ultra-portable Windows computer which has a 256GB SSD on board, but I plan on using my Dropbox files with it, and I have well over 256GB worth of stuff in my Dropbox.
The thing is that I'm often in situations in which I need offline access to my files.
So I purchased a 1 TB microSD card, which will never leave its slot in this machine. Heck, I can't even retrieve it, it seems.
I mounted it so that it isn't considered "Removable Media" by the computer, and then I proceeded to install Dropbox on the computer, with the intent of using the 1 TB card exclusively for Dropbox content...offline.
I left my machine to sync overnight, and what do you know? Everything has a stupid cloud next to it.
I have no option to "Make Available Offline," either in the file/folder context menu or in the Dropbox application > Preferences > Sync menu.
If this is by design, it's a pitifully stupid design.
I'm going to whatever lengths I can to make this work the way I envision, but I'm going to be awfully disappointed if Dropbox doesn't respect use cases that might not necessarily conform to a narrow definition.
If it's an issue with a recent update to the application, then please bug the developers posthaste.
Not sure if this is okay to share but in the interests of keeping everyone in this loop up to date...
Update: My Dropbox context menus are back. This solution works. Fingers crossed it stays that way!!
I have been exchanging emails with a very helpful Dropbox engineer and he has stepped me through a few options. Most didn't work. This latest one does, but it's a step back to a previous stable version of the app.
I was told that Dropbox are working on an updated version of the app that will bring back the context menus as they are aware of the problem. However, this may take a week or more. In the meantime, he suggested I roll back to an older version of the app that still works with the context menus on the latest version of Windows 11. You can find the download link to the install file here: https://www.dropbox.com/downloading?build=158.4.4564&plat=win&type=full&arch=x64
Now, a few things to note:
1. You do not need to uninstall the existing app. Just click and install this older version on top of it. It will override the existing version.2. Give it time. It takes a bit after the install to click online. Check that the older version of the app has "taken" by hovering over the Dropbox app icon and checking the app version. It should be 158.4.4564.
3. After the install is finished, Dropbox will sync and will re-index all your local files on your hard drive in the Dropbox folder. That will take a while, depending on how many files you have and how big the total storage space is. Be patient.
4. Your context menus will slowly come back online in Windows Explorer when you right-click as each file and folder finishes syncing and indexing. If you right-click and the Dropbox context menu isn't showing, it probably means it is still syncing and indexing. Again, be patient. Once that's finished, your context menus should be back for all your files and folders in Dropbox.
5. VERY IMPORTANT. You need to DISABLE the auto-update for Dropbox until the new stable version is installed (when it eventually comes out) and you stay on this version. 158.4.4564. To do that: open Task Manager (CTRL+ALT+DEL) and go to the PROCESSES tab. Scroll down to BACKGROUND PROCESSES and keep scrolling until you get to "Dropbox Update Service (32 bit)" and click on that to highlight it. Then right-click and select "End task." That will disable the auto-update TEMPORARILY.
NOTE: if you reboot your computer, the Dropbox auto-update task will enable again, so each time you reboot, you will need to disable the auto-update process. Just repeat STEP 5. There is no real way to turn it off permanently, and there's a whole Dropbox thread about it. If you want to read about it, it's here. https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Apps-and-Installations/How-to-disable-DropBox-Update/td-p/199292 I wouldn't recommend it anyway because you do actually want the auto update to work, and it's part of Dropbox's policy. I wouldn't mess with it anymore permanently. If you are in contact with a Dropbox engineer via email as part of this issue, they will be able to turn it off for you on their end, but you have to ask.
Good luck.
Shout out to the Dropbox engineer helping me. He was super helpful and very responsive.
125 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
- Megan Dropboxer - i never received a reply back with a solution for fixing this ongoing issue. please advise.
- Nancy - Dropboxer - please stop repeating steps that we have all tried and are not fixing the issue. your replies and other dropbox staff are clogging up this thread with needless info that is not relevant.
Jay - Dropboxer - yes it is, i already stated this.
I was able to see the Dropbox context menu options in Windows 10 but now that I'm on Windows 11, they seem to have disappeared. Tried rebooting and reinstalling the app but no luck. Any ideas out there?
I'm running Windows 11 Pro.
Hi - I may be incorrect but the Dropbox context menu only applies to folders you have already uploaded and synced on Drop box.... If you havent uploaded anything from the 11 PC, that may be why...
Thats a problem because one drive and Google drive are currently more critical for business than Dropbox, although personally I preferred Dropbox until it started to compete with those applications, with a less intuitive interface. All I want dropbox to be is a safe place to store files that I may want to access in the future from different platforms, or to share with other selected people. It used to do that really well. If this limitation is the case currently, then I would have to discontinue Dropbox, after 15 years of use, except it now threatens to wipe out all my files, and I already fear deleting anything because they disappear from everywhere else.
What doesn't make sense is that this was NOT a problem about a month ago. What happened that suddenly made this a problem? I always had OneDrive installed so it could be anything relative to that. And Dropbox is still showing mostly in the top 15 -- are you saying that ALL dropbox references have to be in the top 15 in order for that one menu item about "Make available offline" to show up? I think Windows may have gone through some kind of update -- that's the only thing I can think of that would've caused this problem.
- Nancy
Dropbox Community Moderator
I can understand your frustration on this, TERRACE_87. However, we need to make sure that all users have tried the same steps, as they may actually help with their issue.
If you’ve already followed these steps with no result, I can most definitely open a ticket for you and have our support team look into your account directly.
papabear_2, welcome to the forum!
Can you let me know what’s the current syncing status and app version of your Dropbox app?
Also, can you give the above steps a try (the ones I’ve linked) and let me know if you see any difference?
Not a solution. Again.
This appears to be the canned solution that anyone getting contacted via email and getting a support ticket is getting. I've tried it, and I believe LUNARWAVE tried it and it doesn't work.
Dopbox support seem to think that it's a permissions issue with an incorrect installation of the Dropbox app. That is not the case for me because the context menus were working BEFORE the latest Windows 11 update. It STOPPED working AFTER the latest Windows 11 update and the support people do not seem to be able to get that through their noggins. It is clearly a Windows 11 issue with something in the latest update that's stopping the context menus from working. Stop telling us to uninstall and install the app. That's not fixing anything.
Seriously, I feel like right now, I am on repeat and just saying the same thing as others over and over and no one at Dropbox is actually listening.
I'm including their solution to me (which didn't work) if anyone wants to try it.
***
So this issue is likely related to an incorrect level of permissions when the Dropbox application was installed.
To correct this, use the following steps:
Note: Please be sure to take note or take a screenshot of any Selective Sync settings you may have applied prior to re-installing in case you need to re-apply these settings upon re-install.- Verify that the Windows UAC levels are set to default levels. This can be changed in your Security settings in the control panel.
- For more information about UAC levels please see the following link (the instructions on the website are also applicable to Windows 11):
- Uninstall the application using the steps in the following article. Please note that you do not need to remove the Dropbox folder or any files from the Dropbox folder:
- Download the newest version of the Dropbox application by visiting the Dropbox website:
- Once you have downloaded the install file, double-click on the file to run the installer. Please do NOT launch the installer by right-clicking on the file and selecting "Run as admin" as this will lead to incorrect install permissions.
- During the installation process, you may be prompted for the Admin username and password of your computer.
- Please be sure and provide the username and password of your Admin account on your computer.
- Finally, when prompted, enter the email address of the Dropbox account you are using on this computer and if needed, check the advanced preferences to apply any Selective Sync settings.
Once you have attempted the steps above, if you still experience the same issue, then please reply to this message and confirm whether you have recently upgraded the devices Operating System (Windows 10 ➜ 11) and can you hover your mouse over the tiny Dropbox icon in your taskbar and tell me what version of the application it states is installed.
***- Verify that the Windows UAC levels are set to default levels. This can be changed in your Security settings in the control panel.
