Need some clarity on Dropbox Pro
January 20, 2016 5:35 PM Subscribe
Can I use Dropbox to automatically have the My Documents folders on 2 computers be identical?
I've used Dropbox on my desktop PC for years. It automatically replicates my local Documents folder to a) my local Dropbox folder and b) my cloud Dropbox folder. It's essentially invisible, letting me work naturally in My Documents. I've also used Dropbox minimally on a work computer, using selective sync. All good.
But now I'm using Dropbox on my own laptop as well. The laptop's Dropbox folder automatically syncs, first to the cloud, then from there to my desktop Dropbox folder, and then from there (I think) to my desktop Documents folder. All good.
But my Documents folder on the laptop isn't part of this syncing. E.g., a new file on the laptop saves by default into Documents, and doesn't automatically replicate anywhere. To get it into the mix, I manually move it to the Dropbox folder, whereupon it replicates as above. It works, but it's inconvenient.
Am I missing something? Can I set up the sync all the way around, so that all 5 folders -- Desktop Documents, Desktop Dropbox, Laptop Documents, Laptop Dropbox, and Cloud Dropbox -- all match up automatically? (Allowing time for syncing, of course.)
I hope that's clear. I understand the security concerns w/ Dropbox, but let's leave those aside for the moment.
I've used Dropbox on my desktop PC for years. It automatically replicates my local Documents folder to a) my local Dropbox folder and b) my cloud Dropbox folder. It's essentially invisible, letting me work naturally in My Documents. I've also used Dropbox minimally on a work computer, using selective sync. All good.
But now I'm using Dropbox on my own laptop as well. The laptop's Dropbox folder automatically syncs, first to the cloud, then from there to my desktop Dropbox folder, and then from there (I think) to my desktop Documents folder. All good.
But my Documents folder on the laptop isn't part of this syncing. E.g., a new file on the laptop saves by default into Documents, and doesn't automatically replicate anywhere. To get it into the mix, I manually move it to the Dropbox folder, whereupon it replicates as above. It works, but it's inconvenient.
Am I missing something? Can I set up the sync all the way around, so that all 5 folders -- Desktop Documents, Desktop Dropbox, Laptop Documents, Laptop Dropbox, and Cloud Dropbox -- all match up automatically? (Allowing time for syncing, of course.)
I hope that's clear. I understand the security concerns w/ Dropbox, but let's leave those aside for the moment.
You can redirect your My Documents folder to be in the Dropbox folder:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/redirect-folder-new-location#1TC=windows-7
posted by zinon at 5:17 AM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/redirect-folder-new-location#1TC=windows-7
posted by zinon at 5:17 AM on January 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks all. Very helpful. I'll try these and see if they work for me.
posted by LonnieK at 5:29 AM on January 21, 2016
posted by LonnieK at 5:29 AM on January 21, 2016
Dropbox on my desktop PC ... automatically replicates my local Documents folder to a) my local Dropbox folder
As far as I know, Dropbox doesn't do this. If it's happening on your computer, the most likely reason is that your local Documents folder is your local Dropbox folder.
There are a few ways to set this up. Best supported would probably be to use Windows Explorer to move everything that's currently inside your local Documents folder into your local Dropbox folder instead, then tell Windows to redirect My Documents to your local Dropbox folder using the procedure zinon linked above.
posted by flabdablet at 11:12 AM on January 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
As far as I know, Dropbox doesn't do this. If it's happening on your computer, the most likely reason is that your local Documents folder is your local Dropbox folder.
There are a few ways to set this up. Best supported would probably be to use Windows Explorer to move everything that's currently inside your local Documents folder into your local Dropbox folder instead, then tell Windows to redirect My Documents to your local Dropbox folder using the procedure zinon linked above.
posted by flabdablet at 11:12 AM on January 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Another way to go that might be a little more controllable could be to use the Libraries feature in Windows to add your Dropbox folder, or perhaps some subfolder of that, to your Documents library.
Libraries were visible by default in Windows 7; to use them on later versions you need to make them visible.
posted by flabdablet at 9:37 PM on January 22, 2016
Libraries were visible by default in Windows 7; to use them on later versions you need to make them visible.
posted by flabdablet at 9:37 PM on January 22, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
Basically, you can only sync what's in your Dropbox folder. But you can link files and folders from outside your Dropbox folder . On a mac or linux computer, you could use a symbolic link; this is what I do with Dropbox for Business, and it works great. On a Windows computer, you can put a shortcut inside your Dropbox folder to your My Documents on one computer and sync. I'm not sure you can do the same on the other computer. On the other one, you might have to replace your My Documents with a shortcut to the My Documents in the Dropbox folder. I would test this out with a less important folder, though. And it could get tricky since My Documents is kinda fundamental to Windows.
There are other cloud storage services that do allow syncing different folders, though. I think Google Drive and Cubby/LogMeIn both do.
posted by bluefly at 5:45 PM on January 20, 2016 [1 favorite]