Re-setting up Sync

[mstroz]

>>The problem: The system will not allow me to see or select local files & folders to sync to Dropbox. Below is a screenshot.

>> The backstory: My Dropbox local app seemed to be having issues for a long while.

The simplest solution (IMO) was to reset, so I renamed the e:\Dropbox directory to e:\OLD DROPBOX, and I moved the same files online into a single Dropbox ..\Old files before 202209. check to make sure all files were there. Then I deleted the local Dropbox app. Then reinstalled & rebooted.

Dropbox didn't like that I renamed its folder, but I got that worked out. Now the Dropbox app is seeing its new folder at e:\Dropbox.

Those two folders are the only to items in e:\Dropbox

[Walter]

Hey @mstroz, sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

Can you please let me know how you moved your folders and also send me a screenshot of the app's exact status as shown in your system tray? Is it up to date or still syncing?

How does your folder structure look like on our website? Do you see those actions in your events page perhaps?

Let us know what you find and we'll take it from there.

[mstroz]

Hi Walter,

The events page is showing that I deleted several thousand files yesterday. I'm still scrolling, trying to get to earlier results.

>>Can you please let me know how you moved your folders...

• Since 2018, all files were on my e:\ drive.
• Sometime in the past year, maybe longer, Dropbox local was no longer syncing to Dropbox.com
• Yesterday, I decided to fix it. To simplify the repair, I disengaged/turned off the local Dropbox app; then renamed the original e:\Dropbox folder to e:\DROPBOX OLD
• I then uninstalled the Dropbox app from my Win 10 computer.
• Downloaded the latest Dropbox.exe
• Installed the program
• Pointed it to e:\ and the program recognized that I had moved the files. I chose to update the location and the program wrote another e:\Dropbox folder (see screenshots).

After futzing around with the problem I got on this community board and asked for help. BTW, I didn't change or affect anything while futzing.

[Rich]

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@mstroz wrote:

>>The problem: The system will not allow me to see or select local files & folders to sync to Dropbox.

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That's not how that feature works. It's not for selecting the local folders that you want to sync to Dropbox. It's for selecting the folders in your account that you want to sync to your computer. The purpose of Selective Sync is to remove the local copy of a folder from your hard drive to save space.

If you have Dropbox reinstalled with a new Dropbox folder, I would COPY files into it from your OLD Dropbox folder and let them sync. Once you're certain everything in your OLD Dropbox folder has successfully sync to your account online, it will be safe to delete the OLD folder.

[mstroz]

Thanks for the response, Rich.

When did this change? I seem to remember being able to choose what directories I wanted synced to Dropbox across the computer it was installed on.

Also, it's ok for the Old Files directory to stay in the Dropbox cloud, instead of local, but I do have other dirs I would like to make available to other computers. Directories like shared notes and shared designs, etc.

[Rich · Accepted solution]

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@mstroz wrote:

When did this change? I seem to remember being able to choose what directories I wanted synced to Dropbox across the computer it was installed on.

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It hasn't changed. Selective Sync has always worked this way. Dropbox only syncs the files and folders you place in the Dropbox folder, and you can use Selective Sync (the window in your first screenshot) to remove the local copy of a folder while leaving it in your account online.

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... I do have other dirs I would like to make available to other computers. Directories like shared notes and shared designs, etc.

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Move those folders into the Dropbox folder and they'll sync to your other devices.

[mstroz]

You're right. I think my brain atrophied for a bit.