Why does renaming a folder resync everything in it sometimes but not every time?

[rachel_mptx]

We want to rename and organize all of our folders (over 10 GB of data) so it's more intuitive to find things, but I've noticed that renaming folders usually BUT NOT ALWAYS causes everything in it to resync. My questions are 1) If I rename basically all folders and move them around, will it cause everything to resync? 2) Will that slow down other processes on the computer like web browsing? 3) Why does this happen? 4) Why does resyncing happen usually but not always?

Thanks!

[Lusil · Accepted solution]

Hey there @rachel_mptx, I’ll try to answer all your questions below, so bear with me.

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@rachel_mptx wrote:

1) If I rename basically all folders and move them around, will it cause everything to resync?

Yes, renaming or moving a folder/file means that a change has been made, which in turn compares data that was previously there and syncs it across connected devices and the website. 

In other words, it only syncs the change that is made, instead of syncing the whole folder or file. You can see more on this via your events page.  

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@rachel_mptx wrote:

2) Will that slow down other processes on the computer like web browsing?

The Dropbox desktop app tries to be as efficient as possible with actions such as this and even automatically throttles uploads to prevent any noticeable slowdown in browsing.

However, if you do experience a slow-down with some functions on your computer, or generally cause your computer to run slowly, I’d recommend checking this article out for more info. 

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@rachel_mptx wrote:

3) Why does this happen?

This happens to ensure availability and consistency across all your connected devices and the website, or as we like to call it, syncing!

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@rachel_mptx wrote:

4) Why does resyncing happen usually but not always? 

Syncing happens when the system detects a change in a file or folder. However, there are a lot of factors affecting the speed of syncing, one of them being the internet connection itself. For more info on this, check out this link. 

I hope this helped to some extent. Let me know if you have any other questions! 

[rachel_mptx]

Thank you! This was really helpful. 10 points to Gryffindor!

[Lusil]

I’m glad I was able to help, @rachel_mptx!

If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to get back to us. In the mean time, have a wonderful day ahead! 🧙