Improving Uploads

[KevinAtDropbox]

Hi everyone!

My name is Kevin and I lead a team that's looking to make it easier to upload files to Dropbox. We are looking at the Dropbox website and mobile apps (both iOS and Android) to try and make uploading better in the following ways:

• Reliability: less likely to fail
• Performance: speed things up so you wait less
• Usability: give more information during upload so you know how it's going
• And much more.

I'd love to hear from all of you about your experiences with uploading content. What is working well and what is not working well? What are some of the features you wish were available to make uploading easier? What frustrates you? Don't hold back. Here to listen and engage.

[ShanaLynn]

It would be really nice to FINALLY have the accessibility option to increase the thumbnail size in the iOS app. After uploading files, it's nearly impossible to organize them without this functionality. People have been asking for this forEVER! It's really a simple ask!!

[KevinAtDropbox]

Hi ShanaLynn. Thanks for your comment.

Can you tell me a bit more about thumbnail sizes and in your ideal world how this would work? Are you talking about Dropbox providing more mobile layouts you can toggle between? Or referring to specific screens where thumbnails are bigger? Or is it about being able to embiggen certain small thumbnails by long-pressing? 

[alitchfi]

Uploading is fine, I have no issues with it and Dropbox is used seamlessly across various platforms. I often need to take photos with my Android phone device and make them available for sending or embedding in files on several computers.

However, my Android Camera Uploads process is erratic and often only triggered when I manually upload an image via the Dropbox app from my Gallery container on the phone. Only then are the photo and video files uploaded to the folder, which can then be quite slow, even on a fast wifi network and with fibre (Gigabit speeds).

Also, I use WhatsApp a lot and images that are downloaded from there are automatically uploaded to the Camera Uploads folder on Dropbox and I would prefer to stop that from happening. I am guessing that WhatsApp is putting them into the Android Gallery containers, and that may be triggering Dropbox to automatically upload them.

Android version is SKQ1.211006.001 on a POCO F2 Pro. Android Dropbox version is 316.2.2.

As an aside, it is quite hard to update the Dropbox apps on the computers. Sometimes a message comes up that an update is available but then I cannot find anywhere to select to update Dropbox (the issue, of course, may be between my seat and the keyboard).

[KevinAtDropbox]

Good flag on the Android camera uploads. I'll see what turns up.

On the issue of your WhatsApp downloaded images getting backed up as photos when you don't intend them to, can you verify for me what folder those images are being saved into? If you're saving them into the same folder as the rest of your mobile photos, then that's why they're being uploaded. But if you're saving them into a completely separate downloads folder, maybe we can introduce some kind of option for you to designate what folder contains your camera roll. Anyway, can you confirm for me?

[alitchfi]

Yes, WhatsApp defaults to the Gallery and so far as I can see, Dropbox will only upload the whole Gallery.

[ShanaLynn]

I'm sorry, I responded in the context of improving usability in general, not in improving uploads specifically. In searching for an answer to my problem, it seems that there have been requests for an option for larger thumbnail view specifically in the app for over 7 years.

[JeffHolden]

Hello. I would like to be able to upload files to a folder and allow chat GTP to be able to access them to be able to extract information. Is that possible?

[Cubicle23]

Deselecting a folder in selective sync should mark it as ignored first, not remove it from windows explorer. This breaks functionality in many programs.

[Ru 1971]

This is what’s big working well if you are on a Mac. Nothing else really matters compared to the current disaster

https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Storage-Space/Disaster-Dropbox-removing-external-disk-support-for-Ma...