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Re: How can I print an index of files contained within a dropbox folder for record purposes

How can I print an index of files contained within a dropbox folder for record purposes

ClaxtonJ
Helpful | Level 6
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I use dropbox regularly for business purposes and regularly need to distribute specific information to multiple contacts via individual dropbox folders.

As a business we are required to keep records of information that has been issued and it does not appear that dropbox allows for an indexed screen print to be made to evidence information issued within a specific folder on a given date and time. The functionality of providing the information is great but dropbox are missing a key function of being able to record and document what has been issued.

I have previously had to resort to screen printing each folder which is not sufficient as the full file path/file name is abbreviated and this does not allow a suitable record of the specific file name to be printed, surely an additional function can be added to the software to allow an index of documents  contained within a specific folder?

Does anyone know a way round this as it is wasting alot of time and resources by having to prepare separate folder lists to accompany each dropbox folder that we create.

 

18 Replies 18

Sam45
New member | Level 2
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Any update here??

Rich
Super User II
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No change. Dropbox has no such functionality, and we likely won't know if they plan to add it until they actually do. Dropbox doesn't discuss what features they may or may not be adding.

You can use the Share an Idea section of the forums to make a feature request.

jane73
New member | Level 2
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need to print index of folder - any progress? thanks

Rich
Super User II
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Dropbox has no such feature. If you're syncing all of your folders to your computer, you can easily do this using the tools in your operating system.

Tiffany K.3
New member | Level 2
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I am also hace a business account and I need an indexed list of thousands of file names within a root folder... please add this feature.

Rob K.17
Helpful | Level 5
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Have you tried printing the Dropbox index from Windows Explorer view of the Dropbox folder rather than directly from Dropbox website?  If not, consider this: 

  1. Open Windows Explorer and select the source Dropbox folder in the left pane.
  2. Press Ctrl + A to select all items in the right pane.
  3. Press and hold the Shift key, then right click on the selection.
  4. From the context menu, choose "Copy as Path".
  5. Paste the list into Excel.

If you have multiple files in multiple folders you can extract all the files by searching the parent folder in Windows Explorer using the search term *.* and then use the above technique.  Neither is ideal which is why I built my own tool to index files and this then parses out the filename, creates a hyperlink to the file and tabluates some of the associated file metadata too.   My tool also allows excludes some of the eronious file types (such as temporary files and thumb indexes).

melinda33458
New member | Level 2
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In case no one has figured this out here’s how you do it. It's not necessarily pretty but it gives the data you need.

 

First you have to have Drop Box as an accessible folder in File Explorer. If you’re only accessing from the browser this method will not work. Once you have Drop Box in your File Explorer list, then you can print the directory and its contents from the CMD prompt.

 

In the “Type here to search” box on your Windows 10 (the Task bar area) type in cmd. Select Command Prompt.

 

Type in the following command where [username] is your username. (Don’t know your username? Go to file explorer, This PC, Windows, Users, and locate your folder. There should be one for you and all users on your system + a Public folder.)

 

tree “c:\directory_name” > “c:\file_name.txt” /A /F

 

Directory name is the full path name to your drop box directory.

 

Example:

C:\>tree "C:\Users\myname\ Dropbox\MyDropbox" > "C:\Users\ myname\Desktop\details.txt" /A /F

 

This will place the directory listing on your desktop. You can copy and paste the contents to Excel if that's what you need.

Hope this helps!

melinda33458
New member | Level 2
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This is my first post in this forum and I didn't realize it would translate my "colon backslash" into a frowny face automatically. Wherever you see the frowny face replace that with the colon symbol and the backslash symbol, no spaces. Sorry about that.

doeeyed
New member | Level 2
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I created a login just to say thanks for this.  I've been trying to print folder contents in Windows for a long time :-)!

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