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norm3's avatar
norm3
Helpful | Level 5
6 months ago
Solved

Should I upgrade to File Provider on my second Mac?

I have been using Dropbox for a good number of years. However, I'm still an older, make that mature ;) LOL, beginner in Dropbox and many tech matters. On my main desktop Mac, I see in Dropbox Prefe...
desktop
Mac
  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    6 months ago

    Hi norm3, thanks for messaging the Community!

    Dropbox on File Provider utilizes Apple's updated File Provider API to more deeply integrate with Mac OS. 

    It is usually available for newer Mac devices and OSes, and it doesn't matter if another device on your account isn't using File Provider. 

    You can see some of the changes that come with File Provider on this page, and it is entirely up to you if you do want to upgrade to this version.

    If you need any further assistance, please let me know!

norm3's avatar
norm3
Helpful | Level 5
6 months ago

Thank you very much. Very helpful.

All of my files are in HD/Users/Norm/Dropbox

So if I like where my files are located in the Finder, I should not use File Provider on my new computer. Correct?

If correct, the install selected File Provider but provided a link to opt out. I assume that is not a problem to do so?

And for the paranoid, as I add my new travel Mac to Dropbox is there any possibility that one can lose their Dropbox files?

Thanks again.

 

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

That's correct, it's better not to upgrade if you like where the files are currently located in Finder.

The link to opt out should work fine the way you described, or you can follow these steps as well.

Regarding losing files on your Dropbox account, there is always a possibility that one can lose their files, since the Dropbox folder is just like any other folder on your computer.

However, you should be able to recover them within your version history, provided that they weren't permanently deleted from your account.

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