Add .dropboxignore directory to exclude folders without using selective sync

[Tom_M]

Please please please can you add a feature that allows folders to be excluded from the Dropbox account (on windows and mac). For sure I'm not the first person to request this, but I'm yet to find a good explanation of why it's not there. A quick google search reveals loads of people also looking for the same feature. I really like the workflow I have with dropbox, but it's getting to the point where I might switch providers in order to allow better selective sync.

I've seen hackish solutions using selective sync, but it would be great if this could be done in one of the following ways:
- global pattern matching eg "node_modules"
- a marker file in the directory like .dropboxignore
- a simple right click context menu "Ignore this folder"

Other than that, keep up the good work. Cheers.
Tom

[Emma]

Hi folks, 

Thanks for your feedback on this.
While ignored files delivers for some of the use cases here, I appreciate it does not for all. 
We'll be taking another review of this thread to isolate use cases for a .dropboxignore file feature in particular.

I've updated the status and we'll take this to the product team.
As a side note, it would be helpful for us if you could outline the gap between what ignored files offers, and what a .dropboxignore file feature would add to your workflows.

Thank you.

[Viktor F.1]

+1
.dropboxignore PLEASE

[Mats P.2]

+1

[M. Wu]

+10086

[M. Wu]

[Jeremy B.]

I've been dealing with a Dropbox that is very slow, and very abusive of my CPU for a while now. I have a web project with large folders like node_modules, and tmp, containing many symlinks, hundreds of thousands of files, etc. 

I have deselected problem folders using Selective Sync, however the problems remain.

I recently spent a few weeks talking with Dropbox support, and trying to figure out why it's still slow. I was escalated to higher levels of support 5 times, and found out a few pieces of information that may help people here, if only to help them to decide to finally move on, as I am.

It turns out, even when a folder is deselected using Selective Sync, Dropbox will still scan the entire folder unnecessarily. This has been confirmed by one Dropbox support member named "Benjamin".

It also turns out that Dropbox will blindly follow symlinks and cough and splutter it's way to a halt, and chew your CPU indefinitely. Again, confirmed by Dropbox support.

I voiced a few obvious suggestions to fix these issues such as "Don't scan folders unnecessarily", "automatically ignore symlinks", and "check out this thread about .dropboxignore". The support member I spoke to merely said that he will "pass this onto our engineers".

This is where the news goes from bad to worse. This is not the first time I have heard this from one of their support people, with the first instance being more than a year ago. I'm fairly certain this means my/our suggestions will not be heard or considered by anyone capable of influencing change at Dropbox, let alone actioned.

I politely asked if there was a way I could follow progress, to which I was declined.

I am one of the most optimistic people you will ever meet. But I'm sorry to say that I'm beat.

Once upon a time I loved Dropbox as a company. I used to shout Dropbox from the rooftops. I loved Mailbox too. I'm disappointed to say those days are gone.

[Mats P.2]

@jeremy B:  Sad to read your comment.  I too was "shouting about Dropbox from the rooftops" starting in 2008. Without exaggeration I have personally referred a few hundred Dropbox users over the years, and I have paid since around 2009/10 if memory serves me correctly.

Sadly, it seems Dropbox have developed a culture of real arrogance towards their paying customers and users.  

A good example of this arrogance, apart from all the unresolved complaints, is their refund policy. See [ Will I receive a refund if I cancel my Dropbox Pro subscription? ] which states the following:

 "In most cases, canceling your Pro subscription before it expires means you’ll finish your current subscription without receiving money back."

Why would any organisation not offer a refund, except in countries where they are forced by law to do so?   Arrogance and dishonesty are two possible reasons that comes to my mind. Perhaps someone knows of other reasons?

I sadly paid for another year this January, but I will ensure Dropbox won't get another single cent from me or many of my clients who are also paying Dropbox.

This long-winded Wired article "The Epic Story of Dropbox’s Exodus From the Amazon Cloud Empire" gives a few clues to their current problems and their coming failure.

  "The danger is that as Amazon and Google and Microsoft [and Apple] expand their own services, they will restrict the growth of Dropbox. In that case, the company’s move into its own data centers could become more of a burden than a blessing."

The absolute keys to Dropbox's survival are:  Customer Satisfaction  & Quality of Service.

Both of which they are seriously failing at currently, and unless there's complete change of their priorities I see little chance of them improving things.

Customer loyalty can save a company (ie: Apple) from certain death when the management is bad. But I very much doubt Dropbox have a great amount of customer loyalty and good-will stored in their "account" among their paying customers.

Dropbox may have attracted 500 million users, but many of those are free accounts, with very little stuff inside.  As Apple, Microsoft & Google offer better file syncing alternatives baked into their OS many of these free users will rapidly fall away.

It will be paying customers that will keep Dropbox alive in a more competitive world.

But many of us are already switching to other solutions that are better and/or cheaper, including free open source solutions that are rapidly improving.

Mark my words, unless Dropbox Management wake up and smell reality, there is a rude awakening heading their way faster than most of us will even imagine today.

Pride (arrogance) always comes before a fall! 

[tomasz k.]

+1

[Tyler H.10]

+1

Also switching due to this issue

[Kyle P.13]

+1

.dropboxignore would solve so many problems

[Mateus M.]

+1