What exactly does the "backup to Dropbox" menu item do (Windows)?

Question

If I pick this on a folder, does it leave the original files alone and simply make a synced backup copy in the dropbox folder? This is my desired result, but in searching I see a lot of irate people who have their files moved away or something. Perhaps that is something different though...

Also, what is the general thinking on the fact that with continuous sync, if you accidentally delete or otherwise screw up some files or directories, it will sync with the cloud and everyone else? Is the versioning in dropbox good enough that this is not a concern? It's tempting to just do periodic manual copies when everything is in a known good state.

Walter · Answer

Hey @Charles M.33 - sorry to jump in here, but I just wanted to mention that both of your observations are correct so this would depend on your needs.

Just note that if you choose to go with the first option, you'll be able to set any folders you copy or move to your Dropbox folder to be online only to save hard drive space or even selectively un-synced from your computer to avoid seeing them locally altogether.

I hope this helps a tad.

Charles M.33 · Answer

I tested the backup option on a test folder to see what would happen.  It appears to be much more narrowly focused on catastrophic data loss than I expected.  By that I mean, I don't think I can go anywhere online or in my dropbox folder and "see" the backup.  It looks like I can download the entirety of everything I'm backing up if needed, but I could not easily extract out a single file or folder if I accidentally deleted it or something.  I get the use case, but not what I personally was hoping for.

My second question is now unrelated, but has to do with the options of (a) putting my valuable things directly in the dropbox folder or (b) keeping them someplace else and copying them over manually every so often.  In the former case, mistakes are quickly propagated to the cloud.  In the latter I risk losing things not yet backed up if a local drive crashes.

Nancy · Answer

Hi @Charles M.33! Hope you’re doing great.

If you’re using the current Backup Beta experience, content won't be moved from your system folders and will remain in its original location while being backed up to Dropbox. Besides the original folders on your computer, you should be able to access your backup via your Backups page.

This page will also show if you’re using the Dropbox Backup Beta or not (if not, here’s how you can activate it).

Can you please clarify your last question? Do you mean that you want to use our version history feature, in case you wish to undo some changes in your backup folders? If yes, then that’s possible within your version history window.

Hope this helps!