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Restoring files deleted by accident using Overleaf via Dropbox

I'm using Dropbox in combination with overleaf in order to sync my LaTex projects from overleaf to my Dropbox folder.

About two weeks ago, I accidently removed the files from an overleaf project from my dropbox.

This implies that the files were also deleted on the overleaf site.

I thought I would be able to restore the deleted files through dropbox backup mechanism, however when I look for the files in my dropbox folder, I can only find back one tex file from the approximately 10 files that were originally in the project.

How can I recover these files, given that it hasn't been 30 days yet since i removed them?

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Comments

Jay

Hi @cdnhaese, thanks for joining the Community!

Did you delete the files in the app itself, or directly from the Dropbox site, app, or folder on your machine?

Was the file in a shared folder that you deleted from the account? If so, try checking if the folder is visible here and add it back to your account.

Keep me posted!

cdnhaese

Hi Jay,

The files were deleted directly from my dropbox folder, through the client on my laptop.

Also, the files weren't in a shared folder (I can't see them under the link you sent).

The reason why I removed those files, was because I forgot that the sync between Overleaf - Dropbox works in two ways, so removing the files in Dropbox also results in removing them on Overleaf.

Jay

Were the files definitely on the Dropbox site at one point? If they were deleted within the last 30 days, they should appear on the deleted files page.

If they’re not there, then the files were either never synced to the site, permanently deleted from the site, or in a shared folder that was permanently removed from the account (which you can see in the events page).

Could any of the above be applicable in your case?

cdnhaese

The files definitely should have been on the Dropbox, since Overleaf syncs all active projects into a folder in my Dropbox.

I was also able to locate when I deleted the files through the events page you mentioned, and the time on the event there corresponds to the time the files have been deleted on Overleaf (both on the 27th of March, so less than 30 days ago).

I haven't permanently removed the files, as I have not yet used that option in Dropbox. The folder containing the files was just removed from the dropbox folder on my laptop. Also, they weren't in a shared folder, but they were located under the 'Apps > Overleaf' folder that was created automatically when I activated the sync between Overleaf and Dropbox.

Jay

Could you forward a screenshot of the files as they appear in the events page?

cdnhaese

These are the details as I found them under the events page: two listings on 27th of March:

Under event details, I can see the following

On an overleaf project that was inside the 'VOP' folder, I can see that the following files were deleted at the same time (I'm assuming there is a mismatch in timezones between Dropbox / Overleaf)

But I can't find the files that are mentioned on Overleaf in my Dropbox.

Jay

Okay, and when you select the checkbox to the left of the deleted items in the first image, what options do you get on the right?

cdnhaese

Hi Jay,

There is an option called 'Terugzetten' (I speak Dutch, translated to English it should be 'Restore' I guess).

Clicking this button only resets some of the files, but not all.

As sent in the previous message, there should be at least 9 different files under the VOP/tex/ folder, but clicking the restore button only restored 1 file.

As a sidenote, I have found back the files in a separate back up I made. I have also disabled the sync between Overleaf and Dropbox, as to avoid problems like this in the future.

Jay

The restore feature should recover the files on the account. If there are other files missing, then it means there was no backup or syncing of those files to begin with.

I’m glad to hear you were able to locate another backup of your files, however!