accidentally dragged a folder to Dropbox

[pcunger1]

I accidentally dragged a folder to my Dropbox folder. How can I "unshare" it without deleting it (which I have done [and restored, thankfully] two different ways already)?

Maddeningly confused,

Paul

[Lusil]

Hey there, @pcunger1. 

Please remember that the Dropbox folder is just like any other folder on your computer, but with syncing capabilities. If you’d like to remove content from the Dropbox folder, you can do one of the following:

1. Drag and drop it into another location (in which case, the desktop app will read it as a cut-paste motion). 
2. Copy-paste the folder in question outside of the Dropbox folder and into another location. Once you successfully pasted it, you can delete the folder from the Dropbox folder, which will delete it from your account, including the website and any other connected device. 

If you’re looking to remove it from the device to save space, but keep it in your account, you can selectively sync it, instead.

I hope this helped to some extent!

[pcunger1]

Thanks for the reply, Lusil.

It's all the "yes, but..." about Dropbox that drives me around the bend... After having dragged the folder into the Dropbox folder, the original folder remained just where it had been on my device. That, to me, suggested a COPY had been performed, NOT a CUT & PASTE. And if a COPY had been performed, than a DELETE at the destination (i.e., the Dropbox folder) would be the logical operation to perform to remove it from Dropbox and retain it in the original location. But NO--delete removes both instances of the folder. As I said: maddening and confusing behaviour...

I'd give you a "kudo" and even "accept this as the solution" if I could figure out how to do it, but there's nothing to click by the heart and the green checkmarks above... Did I mention "confusing behaviour" when it comes to Dropbox?!

[Rich]

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@pcunger1 wrote:

After having dragged the folder into the Dropbox folder, the original folder remained just where it had been on my device.

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But did the original folder still contain the full content that it originally had prior to the move? When moving a folder, there are times where the operating system is unable to delete the top level folder, so it will leave it in place, empty, after having already moved the content to the new location.

Also, keep in mind how drag and drop works. Typically, without holding any modifier keys while dragging, a drag and drop between two locations on the same drive is considered a move, while a drag and drop between two locations on different drives is considered a copy. That all changes if you hold any modifer keys while dragging, of course.

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But NO--delete removes both instances of the folder. As I said: maddening and confusing behaviour...

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And not one caused by Dropbox. Deleting a file or folder within the Dropbox folder will not (and cannot) delete the file or folder in another location on your computer. It's simply not possible for Dropbox to do that. Also, any moving, copying or deleting of files, even within the Dropbox folder, is handled by your operating system and not Dropbox.

[pcunger1]

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@Rich wrote:

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@pcunger1 wrote:

After having dragged the folder into the Dropbox folder, the original folder remained just where it had been on my device.

---

But did the original folder still contain the full content that it originally had prior to the move? When moving a folder, there are times where the operating system is unable to delete the top level folder, so it will leave it in place, empty, after having already moved the content to the new location.

[edit: @pcunger's reply to @Rich]As far as I remember, yes, the original folder still contained the full content that it had prior to the "move".

Also, keep in mind how drag and drop works. Typically, without holding any modifier keys while dragging, a drag and drop between two locations on the same drive is considered a move, while a drag and drop between two locations on different drives is considered a copy. That all changes if you hold any modifer keys while dragging, of course.

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But NO--delete removes both instances of the folder. As I said: maddening and confusing behaviour...

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And not one caused by Dropbox. Deleting a file or folder within the Dropbox folder will not (and cannot) delete the file or folder in another location on your computer. It's simply not possible for Dropbox to do that. Also, any moving, copying or deleting of files, even within the Dropbox folder, is handled by your operating system and not Dropbox.

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I would argue that it was caused by Dropbox and the confusion it generates. I have been using this OS for many, many years and have never run into a situation like this "internally". It is only when using Dropbox that situations like this arise. Which is why I addressed the the issue to the Dropbox forum.

Even this forum has things that drive me batty--it does things differently from any other forum I have ever used... I have chosen "Quote" to reply to your post. Great! But I see NO way to insert a response after a paragraph other than the last one. Oh, I can go to the end of the paragraph I want to reply to, hit Enter, and get a new line--sure; but it is on the same level as the paragraph above, NOT one level higher (i.e., farther to the left), where I would expect it to be (based on my experience with many other fora). [See above] And there is no button in the tool bar that allows me to move a paragraph to a higher level... It's just not intuitive and not easy to do things in the Dropbox world. Cutesy drawings, yes; some free space, yes; but it all comes at a cost...

[Lusil · Accepted solution]

Hey again, @pcunger1. 

Initially, I wanted to add to what @Rich mentions and clarify: when you drag the folder in question into the Dropbox folder, before deleting it, did the Dropbox icon report as up to date? 

As mentioned earlier, a drag & drop into the Dropbox folder would translate to cut & paste, but if the folder you placed in the Dropbox folder is large, you need to give it some time to ensure that it’s moved all its contents across. 

In other words if a drag & drop translates to a cut & paste, that means that the folder would be removed from the original location, and if you delete it from the Dropbox folder, it would be removed from there as well, which would explain why you see the folder being removed from both locations. 

If you’re still experiencing this behavior though nonetheless, I’d kindly recommend contacting our Support team for a more in-depth investigation on the matter. 

In the meantime, I’d be more than happy to pass your comments along to the dev team concerning the Forum layout. Cheers!

[pcunger1]

Thanks @Lusil. I have to accept that this is how Dropbox manages folders, so I have accepted your answer as the solution. I confess, I still don't understand how Dropbox manages 'sync' operations when things only exist in one location. I would be much more comfortable if Dropbox only held a mirror of my data rather than holding the only "copy" of it--I'd much rather that was on my machine!

[Lusil]

Hey @pcunger1, if you’d like a folder to exist in the original location and in the Dropbox folder, you can manually choose to copy-paste (or Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V) the folder from its location and add it into the Dropbox folder. That way, you can have it in both locations. 

If you’d like to check out more info about the Dropbox folder, you can have a look at this article. Hope this helps to some extent!