Moving files from Dropbox folder on pc back to normal location

[jmarkcobb]

Apps I use like quicken have locations they wish to store data. I do not want to duplicate the file by leaving in dropbox, but when I take out of dropbox folder after uploading, it deletes the file from dropbox.com. How do I keep this from happening so I can continue to use the normal location for data files of each app, and be able to upload to dropbox? I use the free app provided with quicken.

[Mark]

You need to tell each program individually to save the files directly in to Dropbox - usually in preferences menu.

[jmarkcobb]

I do not want to rename data file locations in apps to dropbox. I read a help article a couple months back in how to allow this but cannot find article anymore. When I went in to accomplish the fix, the interface was different than what was in the post. There should be a way to allow this if I do not want continual updates on the file. In quicken, one gets a new data file update with each activity. Should be allowed to upload from the normal data location.

[Mark]

Dropbox as a program has never allowed you to sync files and folders from outside of the the \Dropbox directory. 

So the only way to do it - without a hack/workaround from unsupported sources (i.e. data integrity risks) is to move the saving location of the programs. Its usually dead easy to do inside the Preferences menus of the applications. 

[jmarkcobb]

I agree that to upload the file or synch it, it must be in the dropbox folder. However, I read a post saying one could go into a menu item in dropbox and allow you to move OUT of the dropbox the file you uploaded if it doesn't need to be synched in the future, WITHOUT deleting it from dropbox. I will keep looking for the post, but perhaps its been removed as I can no longer find it, and the screens to do it had items that did not exist.

[jmarkcobb]

I found the post I referenced earlier about how to keep a file on dropbox.com, but have it removed from the dropbox folder on the pc. The only problem is that when I went to perform this task, the screens didn't line up with the instructions.  Is this an internal synch problem with dropbox?

[jmarkcobb]

Settings in the sync tab

Selective sync

Selective sync lets you choose which folders from your Dropbox online account sync to the Dropbox folder on your computer. If you deselect a folder, it won't appear in your Dropbox folder, but it's still in your account on dropbox.com. We recommend you use selective sync for files you don't use very often. 

Problems is, it didn't work.

[jmarkcobb · Accepted solution]

The community article state that one could access the synch menu from settings on the desktop app. The problem is that one doesn't have that menu on the desktop app when one clicks their picture. They have to go to the online app and click their picture to get the preferrence menu. But the preference menu does NOT have a Sync menu which is supposed to contain the selective sync option. So I guess there is a disconnect with the instructions and the preference menu. So it appears the only options are to put in a shortcut for each app pointing to the desktop folder, or simply use the Microsoft One Drive app that I use for most other things (no problem with that app).