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Cut the Clutter: Ignore Files Feature is now live
Update: This feature is now live and available to all individual plan customers! Thank you to all our testers, and share your feedback with the team, we're still eager to hear from you! For years you’ve asked for a simple way to exclude files and folders from sync without using selective sync feature. We’re testing a new way to give you more control over what Dropbox syncs and what it doesn’t. If you’ve ever wanted to keep certain files or folders on your device without syncing them to dropbox.com, this feature is for you. 🤔 What is it? Ignore Files lets you list exclusion rules in a special text file called rules.dropboxignore placed in your Dropbox root folder. Any file or folder that matches a rule will stay on your computer but will not sync to dropbox.com or count against your storage 👀 Who we’re looking for Desktop Dropbox users on Windows, macOS, or Linux People who regularly deal with temporary or bulky content, e.g. Software Engineers Video / audio / 3D creators Anyone who hates seeing clutter in their cloud storage Someone who is comfortable trying a closed beta feature and sharing honest feedback 🗓️ How the closed beta works Here’s what to expect if you join the beta for Ignore Files: Register - Fill out the form here → [Sign-up link] Confirm: Eligible participants will receive an email to confirm their participation, along with the timeline details. Get Set Up - Make sure you have Dropbox app installed on your computer We’ll Enable It - We’ll activate Ignore Files feature for you. Try It Out - Use Dropbox as usual for 1 week, ignoring files and folders as needed. Share Your Thoughts - At the end of the week, we’ll send a quick survey. You can also opt into a 30-minute feedback chat (optional, limited spots available!) ✍️ Want in? Fill out the quick screener here by date → [Sign-up link] Keep an eye on your inbox - we’ll be in touch if you’re selected Thanks so much for helping us improve Dropbox. We’re excited to hear what you think! Got questions? Just drop them in the thread below. 💬
Dropbox folder missing from indexed locations for searching on Windows 10
Device HP Desktop Operating System/Browser (if using the web) Windows 10 Dropbox App Version (if using the app) 238.4.6075 Syncing Status Up To Date Question or Issue I've not been able to find documents using search in my dropbox folder for a few weeks. I went to indexing options to remove dropbox from indexing and re-add it hoping it would rebuild the index. IT'S NOT THERE TO SELECT AT ALL!! I have my dropbox as a fold in Documents. When I go to C Users Myname Documents, dropbox is not there. I've right clicked the folder and in properties, went to advanced, UNCHECKED allow this folder to have contents indexed and applied that. Then I went back and checked it so they could be indexed and applied that. Dropbox is still not in the indexing options list of folders.
How to back up my Dropbox folder on an external drive?
Running Windows 11 Pro. I recently re-installed Dropbox to retrieve files still stored on the cloud. The default install put the folder location "C:\Users\michaelmunson\Dropbox" I attempted to change the folder location by going to Preferences > Sync > Dropbox folder location. I changed the location to the external drive where I wanted it to be. After a LONG time, there was a quick pop up error message that said that not all files could be transferred. (I dont know which ones and can't find a log with details.) When I open file explorer, I am still seeing dropbox in the original location (c:\users\) AND the new location (d:\dropbox\). When I check back in preferences under sync, the dropbox folder location is still showing the original (C:\users\). When I tried to do the process again to move it to the D drive, a pop up box noted that there was already a desktop.ini file on the D drive and it could not move the files. Any idea of how I can get dropbox to show up ONLY on the external drive? I ONLY want to be able to download ALL of the content to the external drive. I dont' need it to sync and don't plan on having this as a dynamic file location with new or changing files. This is simply a back up of prior files. Thanks for any help. michael
The System Data on my macOS computer shows 7.9TB used when it's not
Dropbox Plan Business Standard Device MacBook Pro 14" Nov 2024 Operating System/Browser (if using the web) Mac OS Tahoe 26.0.1 Dropbox App Version (if using the app) 238.4.6075 Question or Issue I bought this Macbook in August 2025. I spec'ed it with 8TB SSD because I travel a lot and often don't have reliable internet access. System Storage looks like this: Note two things: 1) Mac Documents are 3.33TB 2) System Data is 3.96TB But now look at the screen print belowFinder shows a) Dropbox Personal of 911GB, OtRExp Dropbox [company] of 1,590GB, and Movies 832 GB = total of approx 3.33TB which is exactly what's shown in System Storage/Mac Documents = 3.33TB. Also note that System is a 23.78GB, a bit high, but nothing unusual. So far so good. b) But then, back to the first screen print above, on top of that, the System Storage/System Data figure is 3.96TB as shown above. The result being that out of the 8TB my Mac has 7.81TB are used up. There is, it seems, some double counting going on in the Mac OS. I've spent countless hours with Apple so-called "senior" advisors with no resolution at all except for to tell me "Reinstall Dropbox". Sure, I can do this, but a clean re-install means several days of syncing all my Dropbox (Personal and company) data back to my laptop. More than happy to do this if someone here can tell me: yep, that's going solve your problem. Very grateful to anyone who can shed led on how to solve this problem. At the moment, I feel like having wasted a huge amount of money on SSD of which 1/2 is "missing". Cheers,The Dropbox folder is now in 'Locations' on Mac OS and I don't want it there
I am an avid user of Adobe Bridge for my workflow. DropBox gave me a message that it was moving to the "locations" folder of my Mac and no longer in hard drive location as a folder. I wish I never clicked Yes to that. I can no longer see my DropBox folder structure within Bridge. Is there a way to undo the "locations" aspect of Dropbox? This is creating more time for my work and making me furious. Device 16 inch MacBook Pro 2021 Operating System/Browser (if using the web) 15.3.2 Dropbox App Version (if using the app) Question or Issue I am an avid user of Adobe Bridge for my workflow. DropBox gave me a message that it was moving to the "locations" folder of my Mac and no longer in hard drive location as a folder. I wish I never clicked Yes to that. I can no longer see my DropBox folder structure within Bridge. Is there a way to undo the "locations" aspect of Dropbox? This is creating more time for my work and making me furious. I can see all my local folders within Bridge, and their folders within them, etc. I've tried making sub folders in DB as favorites, and nothing works. All files are "local" as well as on the cloud. I can see the folder and look at the contents, I see the file path at the top of Bridge, but nothing will show up in the favorites or Folders location in the "window" panel in Bridge. This all happened once DropBox became a location.
Are log files safe to delete on Windows?
There's over 200GB of 'log' files on my computer under: [Users/[user]/AppData/Local/Dropbox/logs] My Dropbox app (for desktop) is currently syncing, but I only have 20GB left on my drive and it's stopping me from working. What are the log files, and will they be cleared automatically once finished? Are they safe to delete? Thanks, -Camden
Dropbox desktop app will not stay installed on laptop on Windows 11
Dropbox app is not available after restart despite numerous re-installs, advanced reinstall, disabling firewall. App is only functional when opening and signing into dropbox website, select INSTALL DESKTOP APP and install app. OPEN DROPBOX UPON STARTUP is selected. I have also tried toggling the switch off and restarting, toggling on and restarting and repeat install process. Every time the computer is restarted, the app disappears. Lenovo ThinkPad 3 Windows 11 (updated)
