Syncing when using symbolic links

[neilcothran]

Hello,

I am having an issue concerning dropbox syncing when using symbolic links.

Using Windows 10 and the Dropbox app, recently downloaded / installed so I believe it is fully up to date.

On the "host" machine, rather than copying (and thus duplicating) all files to the Dropbox folder, I create a symbolic link in the Dropbox folder, using the command prompt:

>mklink /d Documents C:\<path_to_real_documents_folder>

This works fine, except that when files in _real_documents_folder  are changed, they do not get "synced" on Dropbox unless I "force" it.  I click the Dropbox icon, the lower left says "Up to date" .  Hover mouse and it changes to "Pause syncing".  I click that, then it says "Syncing paused".  Click again, and it then updates and syncs the files.

The result is that, without remembering to do this, the Dropbox copy never updates, (unless exited and restarted) either by "logging on" through the web site, or on another computer using the app and same login credentials.  If I do remember to do this, everything is fine.

Is there a way to get this to happen automatically?

Thanks.

[Jhlewis]

I have been backing up my Linux system by making links to important directories via symbolic links to them from within the Dropbox folder for the directors I want to be backed up. This was an effortless way of keeping an up-to-date backup on dropbox. This no longer works since Dropbox has removed of support for the above scheme. The suggestions made to reverse the links by storing system folders in the Dropbox folder can not work, it shows a total lack of understanding how Linux works, and in any case symbolic links are used everywhere, especially in system folders. Hard links seem not to work either as drop box crashes when I make them from the Dropbox folder. This user hostile change has forced me to implement scripts that call rsync. We're it not for the fact that Google drive is pathetically slow, I would have closed my Dropbox account, in fact some of my friends, windows and Mac users are experiencing the same problem and indeed have closed their accounts. I find this change to be petty minded, ignorant and inconsiderate. Obviously some one hadn't the faintest clue what customers do with Dropbox as a backup system.