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Dropbox - Unity Library Folder / Ignored Files

Feedback on the new desktop app "ignore files" feature.

jvasileff
Helpful | Level 6

@Daphne that's great news! I look forward to trying it out.

But it would also be nice to have a configuration file, like ".dropboxignore", to list paths or patterns to exclude. The reason is that extended attributes are tied to the actual file or folder, and will be gone if the file or folder is deleted and recreated.

The common use case for this is a software build folder that gets deleted and recreated on clean builds. Under xattr system, the "new" build folder would sync to Dropbox even if the "old" build folder had the necessary com.dropbox.ignored xattr.

100 Replies 100

hardcodet
Helpful | Level 6

The Powershell hack is completely broken, at least for developers. You just go to another machine and create that ignored folder (e.g. by building), and you're in a world of pain again.

 

Still can't understand that developers themselves wouldn't just add the .ignore file option as the initial and trivial solution. Gotta be honest: next time I'm taking on a software development project where I use Dropbox along with Git, I'm off to the competition...

Darda1ja
New member | Level 2

I will weigh in on this: Please add a .gitignore (or .dropboxignore) file that will instruct dropbox to ignore files and folders similar to GIT

digiwombat
Helpful | Level 6

@DaphneAny possibility of an update on this feature?

 

The file locking and indexing headaches are really starting to become enough of a pain point that I'm considering cancelling my subscription and moving to another service.

Sam_Buss
Helpful | Level 6

Just to state the obvioius: The "solution" being beta tested, see https://help.dropbox.com/files-folders/restore-delete/ignored-files,  is completely inadequate.  Do we really need to type long mysterious shell commands to ignore files or directories? A far, far better solution would be simplistic wildcard filters on file names or directory names that can apply globally.

 

In addition, a *big* use for the feature is for large work files that are repeatedly created and deleted by programs such as Visual Studio or WinEdt and that cause problems because Dropbox briefly locks them.  There is no way to use this ad hoc command line solution on files that are being constantly created automatically by software such as Vusual Studio.

 

 

 

ccd1
Helpful | Level 6

For anyone else who is sick of it and has the option, seafile handles this issue very elegantly. Wish I had made the change months ago.

Daphne
Dropbox Staff

Hey again everyone, thanks so much for sharing all your feedback on this with us here!

 

Just wanted to let you know that this has all been shared with the developers and we'll let you know as soon as possible in regarding any updates on this feature.

 

In the meantime, please feel free to send along any other feedback you have and I'll make sure to keep our devs updated too.

 

I hope you all have a great day and stay safe!


Daphne
Community Moderator @ Dropbox
dropbox.com/support


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Paul_T
New member | Level 2

I use Dropbox together with Unity projects. Dropbox gives a lot of conflicts when the folders created by Unity "Library" and "Temp" are synchronized on the server.

 

Recently I found this article that solved this problem:
https://help.dropbox.com/en-US/files-folders/restore-delete/ignored-files

 

But, it would be great if you put a new option in "Selective Sync" through which we can ignore sync for some folders from dropbox. I wish I could choose a file/folder to be "Local Only" directly from Dropbox, without having to write some lines of "code" in PowerShell (to keep some folder "Local Only" .. not "Online Only").

 

This problem is common in those who use Dropbox with Unity projects.

 

antico
Helpful | Level 5

this can do it by terminal. If there was a way to do it simple it will be fantastic!

Yehuda D.
Helpful | Level 6

Hi Daphne,

 

From the help page (https://help.dropbox.com/files-folders/restore-delete/ignored-files), it seems that you can right-click on a file/folder in the desktop app and click "Don’t sync to dropbox.com."

I'm running 99.4.501 (latest stable version as of 6/24/2020), but I don't see any such option for the files and folders that I right-clicked on. Was this help page updated prematurely?

 

I'm not a business user (which the help page says it doesn't work for yet).

 

Thanks!

XionicFire
Collaborator | Level 9

Sigh... and if it wasnt bad enough... now this:

https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Dropbox-files-folders/The-ignore-folder-feature-is-not-working/td-p/...

 

It seems even if you do manage to set the folder on ignore, dropbox doesnt "really" ignore it, it just does not "upload/sync" it, but it still indexes it and tries to read/sync any files in it.

 

So say, if you have a folder called "GITHUB TESTS" and set it on ignore, then dump 750,000 files in there, to test something out, your dropbox will take 3-7 days or more to "index" them all, meanwhile blocking any meaningfull or important syncs from happening until its done

 

And if any of the files in there is an exe or dll, or anything that the OS locks, then good luck, because that file will cause dropbox to "hang" saying "unable to sync XX file, its in use" and hanging your entire queue until you unlock that file, also preventing any further files from syncing.

 

Soo.. were back to square one negative selective sync.. and the fact this issue has been known for 6 months snd has not been addressed even tho its probably a simple fix does not bring me any confort.

 

Cmon guys were trying to be loyal, but you are not helping us here... Dropbox keeps getting worse.. not better, its trying to become easier for "normal" people to use, while forgetting its the sys admins of the world that make the purchasing desicions, if i wanted it more "dumbified" id just switch to google drive, the only true "upgrade" to dropbox in the past 3 years was it doesnt take 3 days now to show all the files in selective sync but other than that you have added a ton of features that do not make this better.

 

Here in my office all my users keep complaining and asking why are we still hanging with dropbox and not moving to onedrive like "normal corporate people" and every time I keep defending dropbox because its a "real" advanced hard drive syncing service vs just a file/folder syncing service but every day it gets harder to defend it.

 

Were paying $1250 a month here, my users are angry, at some point the dam is going to break, its unsustainable, please help us help you, if you just "ignore" us for 6 months, and we just "ignore" them as well hoping someday you guys will fix it, I will be the one replaced and dropbox along with me in short order.

 

Just wanted to put this out there.

 

If we had never had this feature in the first place i would understand it, it wouldnt be a problem but since it was working fine before with selective sync remove and now it does not, my users here are up in arms, you cannot remove a service breaking feature for a user without providing a suitable replacement, or at least a workaround, its just bad customer care.

 

lll hold on as long as I can and hope you make a fix soon, but if it does not come soon enough i do think this will definitely be a deal breaker here for my users and they will force me to switch services, i know you hear this a thousand times here, but im just trying to state a fact, im not being melodramatic.

 

Thanks for reading all of this, i hope it explains a little bit why some of us are frustrated with this.

 

 

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