Trying to rename a folder, but get "Too many files. Please use the desktop application."

[MyaLwin]

I'm trying to rename a subfolder, which contains tens of thousands of files, in my team folder, and I'm getting the "Too many files. Please use the desktop application" message. 

When I first tried to rename said folder (let's call it "clients") in the desktop app, what ended up happening was the Dropbox created a new folder with the new name (let's call it "CLIENTS").  The new "CLIENTS" folder was automatically populated with just the files and sub-folders from "clients" that I had selective sync turned on for, and subsequently, those files and sub-folders went missing from "clients". 

Considering that the old "clients" folder has tens of thousands of files, I'm not about to sync all of them to my desktop just so that I can rename the folder.  I feel like this should be a change that I can make on the web version of Dropbox.

Please help!

[Jay · Accepted solution]

Hi there, as the message says, if there’s too many files in that folder, then it won’t be possible to rename it on the Dropbox site, and you’ll need to allow it to sync down to your machine to rename it.

Regarding the name change, are you only changing the case of the folder (i.e from clients to CLIENTS), or is the name different in some way?

Thanks in advance!

[MyaLwin]

Hi Jay, I'm changing the name itself. 

[Jay]

Thanks for the clarification. In order for the name change to be successful, you’ll need to allow the folder to sync to the machine and make the change from the file explorer.

[MyaLwin]

If I want to allow the entire folder to sync to my computer in order to make the name change, can I sync the folder using Smart Sync?

[Jay]

This is possible, assuming you’re on a Dropbox Professional or Business plan. 

When you re-select a folder from selective sync, it will always be online-only, regardless of the setting on your Dropbox desktop application.

This way, it will only sync the tiny placeholder files, and not take up as much space on your device.

[MyaLwin]

But will renaming a folder that I've chosen to sync on my desktop as "online only" change the name of the folder for everyone else on the team?

[Jay]

This depends on the type of folder.

If it’s a shared folder, then only you will see the name change, no one else.

If it’s a subfolder in a shared folder, then this does change for everyone invited to that folder.

Hope this clarifies matters!

[MyaLwin]

Thanks Jay! I'll give that a try.