Dropbox client lacks ability to sync folders to specific directories.

[dylanwolters]

I'm hoping to switch cloud platforms this year and was considering a number of options. I am currently exploring Dropbox, but I am somewhat shocked by the desktop syncing client lacking such basic functionality. It gives me the option to sync only to a single Dropbox folder. Traditionally, in every other cloud service I have used, I can map remote folders to various locations on my computer. This way I can have, for example, my Documents folder always in sync with the server without having to disrupt my operating system's traditional folder structure.

Given how old Dropbox is, this is a glaring oversight when it comes to feature compatibility. I know that the API is robust enough to handle such a thing (I can achieve similar effect with rclone). Are there any solutions for these limitations? I would like to work this out before I commit to this platform.

[Rich]

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@dylanwolters wrote:

It gives me the option to sync only to a single Dropbox folder. ... Are there any solutions for these limitations?

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Dropbox will only sync the files and folders located in the Dropbox folder. It's not able to sync folders located elsewhere.

[dylanwolters]

Alright. On my end, I can think of two workarounds for this (in case anyone stumbles upon this in the future). I have decided to use rclone, paired with a user systemd service & timer to automatically sync every five minutes. Alternatively, a simpler solution would be to have dropbox sync to its folder. Then symlink those folders to the ones they're meant to replace.

[Mark]

As long as the symlinks are not inside of Dropbox it will work fine 🙂