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Desktop and Documents folders disappeared from my connected Mac computers

All the files from the 'Desktop' and 'Documents' folders of both my home laptop (macbook air) & my office desktop (mac mini) used to automatically sync into my dropbox, and I could view it from the Dropbox app sidebar folder of either computer.

Now, it has completely disappeared. I can no longer access my Mac Mini files or my Macbook Air files from dropbox.

I think this happened when I installed Dropbox BackUp. I have tired unlinking the computer, uninstalling and re-installing the app, but the app set up guide doesn't come up to ask me which folders from the computer I want to link/sync. This is infuriating.

I really need to go back to accessing my files from both computers, so I can go back to seamless working from office-to-home.

Please help.

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Hannah

Hi there, @morningjo, thanks for joining the Dropbox Community and sorry to see that you're having trouble.

It sounds like your backup was updated to the new experience.

Can you access your backed up folders from your account online here as normal?

Keep me posted.

morningjo

Hi Hannah, yes I updated to the new BackUp without realising it would then remove the device's icon (and associated Desktop & Documents folders) from my dropbox app. I don't like this, because I cannot work on a backed up file from a different device, nor can I save a new file created on device A to a folder located in the backup of Device B.

I have deleted the BackUp, unlinked the device, uninstalled dropbox app, re-installed the app, but as soon as I sign into the re-install app it is NOT prompting me to ask which folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads) from the device I'd like synced on dropbox. What do I do to get these folders back synced on dropbox?

Hannah

I understand where you're coming from, @morningjo.

I'm afraid it's currently not possible to go back to the older version of the backup feature, however, I will pass your feedback along to our team about it.

On the original computer, your desktop folders should have returned back to their original locations, so you can access them from there.

To access your backups from other devices, you can use the backups page on dropbox.com.

morningjo

I need to be able to access my desktop files (and work on them) across all my devices.

Since backup is not an option (does not appear on the app, and files on web cannot be worked on) , what is the solution?

I tried copying the Desktop folder into the app- but that only merely creates a copy of the files. It does not sync new/edited files save on the device’s desktop with Dropbox

Hannah

I tried copying the Desktop folder into the app

This would be the workaround here, but you'd need to be working on the files directly from within the Dropbox folder, so that all new files and updates sync across your devices.

lasses

After having worked perfectly for quite some time, I all of a sudden can't view my Mac Desktop in the Dropbox. It seems that the iMac folder is now completely empty and even when I look in the selective sync folder it's empty. What do I do to get it back?

Rich

@lasses wrote:
After having worked perfectly for quite some time, I all of a sudden can't view my Mac Desktop in the Dropbox. ... What do I do to get it back?

You were most likely using the older version of Backup feature which MOVED your key folders (such as your Desktop) into your Dropbox folder so they could sync. This meant that those folders were visible on other computers, the mobile app and within the Files section of the Dropbox website. This wasn't a backup. Backups shouldn't be accessed... they're meant for disaster recovery. It was really just a file sync made to sound like a backup.

The new update to Backup behaves a bit more like an actual backup. Instead of moving the folders to the Dropbox folder so they sync, Dropbox backs them up in place and they're stored in a new section of your account online. You can access this area in your web browser.

https://www.dropbox.com/backup/all

If your intent is to be able to access the Desktop folder across multiple devices or the mobile app, you'll need to see if there's a way to relocate the folder into the Dropbox folder yourself. On Windows this is easy. There's an option on the folder to specify its location and it can easily be moved to the Dropbox folder. I don't know if that's possible or as easy to do on a Mac.