MacOS: Not seeing Dropbox under the Locations section in Finder's left pane.

Hey @rovf, thanks for letting us know about this.

Can you please hover your mouse over the Dropbox icon in your menu bar, to see the sync status and the version of the app?

Also, if you go to ~/Library/CloudStorage, are you able to find the Dropbox folder?

Let me know and we'll go from there.

All comments

Hey @rovf, thanks for letting us know about this.

Can you please hover your mouse over the Dropbox icon in your menu bar, to see the sync status and the version of the app?

Also, if you go to ~/Library/CloudStorage, are you able to find the Dropbox folder?

Let me know and we'll go from there.

Sync status says: Up to date

As for the Dropbox folder: This is interesting.

I don have a folder ~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox, but I can see it only from my shell in Terminal.app. Finder does not show a Library folder below my HOME.

However there is a symlink Dropbox im my home directory, which points to the Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox.

Hence the Dropbox can be seen in Finder. It just isn't shown under "Locations". That's fine for me.

maxymouse

In Finder, it seems Dropbox won't appear by default under "Locations". If you go to Finder > Settings… > Sidebar, you can put a check mark next to the items you want to be visible in the Finder sidebar. You have to check Cloud Storage (under Locations) for Dropbox to appear in the Finder sidebar.

liviuteod

Hello, I have the Cloud storage option checked, but I still cannot see the Dropbox in Locations in Finder. I can access Dropbox from the Dropbox app using the "Open Dropbox folder" option, or by opening the /Users/%user%/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox (add it to the Favorites section)

I had Dropbox in the Locations section after installing the new version of the app, but I lost it after reboot and it is not coming back 🙂

Megan

Hi @liviuteod, how are you today?

Have you tried the steps that @maxymouse mentioned above?

You should be able to open Finder, click Finder in the top-left of your screen, then please access Preferences (macOS 12 or earlier) or Settings… (macOS 13 or later).

Click the Sidebar tab. Under Locations, check Cloud Storage.

Keep me posted on any updates!

I find this recommendation a bit problematic, as I don't have the mentioned "Cloud Storage" entry in my Finder/Preferences

On he Sidebar tab, I see under Locations:

my iMac

Hard Disks

External Disks

CDs, DVDs, ...

Bonjour Computers

ConnectedServers

(this is running macOS 10.15.7)

Hey @rovf, sorry to jump in here, but could you send us a screenshot of the app's exact status and version of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your menu bar at the moment?

Also, can you navigate to the app's preferences under the sync tab and check the Dropbox folder's location for us?

I wanted to add a screenshot, but can't post it. The dropboxforum website says "Your post has been changed because invalid HTML was found in the message body. The invalid HTML has been removed. Please review the message and submit the message when you are satisfied."

I hadn't explicitly entered any HTML, and I was "satisfied" with what I saw (nothing seemed to have been removed), but still submitting always brought the same error.

Second try sending the screenshot.

Screenshot 2023-09-01 at 04.13.17 PM.png

On the second attempt, sending the screenshot seems to have worked. As for the other requested items:

The dropbox version is v181.4.5678

The Dropbox folder location is set to be to my home directory.

Thanks for the screenshot @rovf

What does the app state when you click on its icon or when you hover your mouse over it?

If you can access the preferences, can you take a look at the sync tab and let me know where your Dropbox folder is located as shown there?

maxymouse

@rovf wrote:
I don't have the mentioned "Cloud Storage" entry in my Finder/Preferences

(this is running macOS 10.15.7)

I think the Cloud Storage thing was only implemented in recent versions of macOS (13 or so). So I don't think this issue is relevant to your operating system.

Hovering over the icon says

Up to date.

The Dropbox folder is located inside my Home directory, and this is also what the preferences say. I don't mind it being there, but I just wonder why I was not able back them see it inside the Favorites as well.

However after closing the preferences and calling Finder up again, Dropbox now is inside the Favorites, as it should be. I didn't knowingly do anything ro put it there, so I can't say why it was not present before, but is there now.

doujouDC

Hey All,

I have the same issue. Dropbox used to appear as an option to check in my Finder settings. It no longer appears after recent update. Google and OneDrive are showing, just missing Dropbox?

BTW, Dropbox is working as some of the folders near the top of my screenshot are from Dropbox. I can access the files if I click in one of those folders

Screenshot 2023-10-04 at 13.22.47.png

doujouDC

Update….I updated the app and it now appears as a cloud location

Weird!!!

Screenshot 2023-10-04 at 13.29.26.png

This doesn't work. It only allows Dropbox to appear under "Favorites", but not "Locations".

Hey @Buel - sorry to hear about this.

Could you let us know your device's OS version and the version and status of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your menu bar?

Also, what is the location of your Dropbox folder as shown in the app's preferences under the sync tab?

Mac OS 14.2.1 (23C71). Not sure what you mean by "Status", but my files are up to date. The folder is located in my user folder (i.e., HD>user>me>dropbox).

Hey @Buel, sorry to jump in, but can you please confirm what you'd like to accomplish?

Do you want to be able to access Dropbox from Locations instead of Favorites?

Because to do that, you'll need to be eligible for the Dropbox for macOS on File Provider update.

You can follow the steps here, to see if you're eligible.

I already completed the File Provider update and it had no effect.

Having Dropbox listed in Favorites doesn't help when opening files from third party apps. Some will list Favorites from the open dialog window, but others won't. Without having Dropbox listed in Favorites or Locations, I must search for it manually (8 clicks/file) and my current project has 555 files that can't be opened by double clicking. It's laborious and could be easily remedied (3 clicks) if Dropbox was easy to find (i.e., under Locations).

BTW, your competitor Box is listed under Locations.

Thanks for the additional info, @Buel, I completely understand the situation, so let's see if we can figure this out.

If the update to the File Provider version of Dropbox was completed, your Dropbox folder would have been moved to ~/Library/CloudStorage and you'd be able to access Dropbox from Locations, so this is pretty strange.

Can you please send me a screenshot of what you see when you follow the steps I linked in my previous reply?

I've updated to the File Provider version 3 times and each time I receive a confirmation that the process is complete yet my Dropbox folder has never moved to ~/Library/CloudStorage. After a few minutes, an alert badge reappears in the Dropbox icon. The update process isn't working. Running 4th time now. BTW, please don't label this problem as solved when it clearly has not been solved. This doesn't help others.

4th attempt to update, it doesn't work and the alert icon reappeared. At the end of the process, I'm asked to upload all photos. I click either "don't ask me again" or cancel. Could this be the problem? Updates only work if I choose to upload my photos?

Can I manually move the Dropbox folder to ~/Library/CloudStorage? Will this cause any problems? The update clearly isn't working - 5th try failed and I won't be trying again unless the bug is fixed on your end.

I'm afraid you won't be able to manually move your Dropbox folder there @Buel

Would it be OK if we sent you an email to look further into this issue internally at this point?

Yes, please email me. I need this resolved ASAP.

Thanks, @Buel, I just sent you an email, so I'll see you there.

nickwebb

UPDATE: I figured it out... The checkmark wasn't checked in Finder Preferences. It was just a line...checked it and it returned.

I'm having the same issue. I accidentally dragged the Dropbox item from Locations in the Finder and now I can't get it back. How did this get resolved? Please help.