Folder name change issue

[slstewart249]

I am a member of folder that is shared with several others.   I changed the name of the folder and on my Mac it shows as the new folder name.   All other members of the folder still see the old name of the folder.   They are seeing the updated content of the folder.   How can I fix it so all members see the same folder name?

[Rich · Accepted solution]

You can't, and this is by design. Anyone can rename a shared folder in their Dropbox without it affecting other members. This allows them to name it something meaningful to them. For instance, if I created a folder called Stewart and shared it with you, the name wouldn't mean anything to you. You could rename it to "Rich" so you know what the share is for.

Also, any new members you invite will continue to receive the folder in its original name. The only way to force a rename for everyone is to create a new share with the appropriate name, move the files into it, and invite everyone to the new folder.

[slstewart249]

Can an administrator change the name of a folder so that it is seen consistently across the company?   How can a firm maintain control over its folder names and keep them consistent?

[Sanchez]

Hey @slstewart249, 

As Rich mentioned, renaming shared folders doesn’t affect the other members of those folders. However, renaming Team folders is an action that is reflected across all team members’ accounts. Here’s a bit more info. 

Cheers!

[chekaldin]

This answer basically yields Dropbox to be of no use to organizations with more than 10 people.

We recently tried to change names of several Team Folders. The owner of these folders made the change only to discover at the next day's All Hands meeting with 60 employees that No One is seeing the change.

Can anyone give a step by step of what needs to happen so that when the Owner of a Team Folder changes the name or does ANYTHING else inside that folder, the company sees the changes when they are synced?

[NathanStuffel]

The only solution I've come up with is to Unshare everyone from the folder.  

1) From the dropbox website -> Share -> Gear wheel -> Unshare folder. 

(I did not check the box  "Let removed members keep a copy of this shared folder" so users don't have multiple copies of the folder with different names)

2) Then change the name of the folder.  Wait for it to update.  I noticed that there will sometimes be two folders with the same name on the screen.  

3) Once the folder has updated, reshare the folder with your team. 

[JerryMartian]

That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard! How the hell am I supposed to coordinate things with my remote team if file names aren't updated?! Who ever proposed this idea at dropbox needs to get fired. The whole point is to have a unified drive with employess all over the USA no matter what computer they are on. Leaving google drive for dropbox has been a mistake! 

[JonBuz]

I agree, this is completely counterintuitive.

I've just changed the name of a folder and re-shared it with the same email addresses but still it comes up with the old name.

Might just move to Google Drive. This is pretty rubbish.

J