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Mobile: Exporting: "Save to Camera Roll"-option not available

Hi!

I use dropbox to sync up my files from my computer to my mobile devices (iphone and iPad). When I tried this morning to save my files to my phone, I discovered that the "Export"-button was missing and had been replaced by a share button (profile with a plus sign next to it). So my question is: How do I download my files (images in this case) to my camera roll on my phone?

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Accepted answers

Rich

Tap the three dots in the upper right corner of the screen. Tap Share via... and then Save Image.

https://i.gyazo.com/b720a82f882725a499182a4edd33f112.gif

All comments

Jon S.12

I have the same problem. This was working yesterday but the export function is not appearing today. Last night I updated the app to version 10.2.2 Is this a bug in the latest version or has it been removed intentionally?

error23 _.

I was wondering the same. The app is useless without this feature. I hope this is a bug (huge one) and it's not been removed on purpose. Cmon dropbox.

Rich

Tap the three dots in the upper right corner of the screen. Tap Share via... and then Save Image.

https://i.gyazo.com/b720a82f882725a499182a4edd33f112.gif

error23 _.

@Rich R. Really bad UX here..

Andreas W.12

Totally agree error23.

And thank you Rich for clearing everything out.

Jon S.12

Thanks Rich, glad to find this again. This is not intuitive ui or language though, not surprised it was hard to find...

Chris P.21

I actually had to look up how to save my image in iOS today after the update. THAT MEANS THE UX UPDATE WAS A FAIL. (Thanks to the person who posted the answer)

Also, there is a difference in 'Share via' vs. just 'Share' option you get in the folder view. 'Share' doesn't bring up the iOS menu to save the image... Probably you wouldn't consider saving the image to the camera roll as 'Sharing' it.

Michael D.25

This was a very poor design choice. Not intuitive at all and the additional steps are too time consuming. Please correct soon.

Jason L.13

Life saver. On a different note... Who approves these updates?!

Cheng Jun

Thanks so much Rich! Thought I was the only one facing this issue but apparently not ... This is indeed more troublesome, but at least I'm thankful that this function is not disabled entirely.

Athena L.

Came here to find the answer to this. Why add an extra step and make something no longer intuitive and more complicated? For me, this is the app's primary use.

D. Alex

Thanks a lot, Rich....I spent some time to find the answer. And here it is. However, I suppose things could be easier. It's just too complicated for the user to 1) open the pic 2) click "Share Via" 3) Save image. Not to mention that you have to do it one pic after another....Guess lots of folks use Dropbox to sync the files(esp. photos) between laptop and photos as I do...I do believe it's very important to keep it simple for the users to export the pic from Dropbox to phones.

Ira Z.

I have photos in Dropbox I'd like to put in my S6 Gallery.

rAY b.9

How do I move photo from Dropbox to my SD card with dropbox 4.4?

Scott H.25

My use case is wanting to send files (usually pictures but other files as well) to people in text or email. I should be able to save a file to the local device (which is a Dropbox option) and then send that file directly in a text or email, not a link, without having to save it to my camera roll.

Marcus O.

In your Dropbox app, you may browse to where your photos are. For example go to your Camera Uploads folder; the default place photos go to if you use the Dropbox Photo Upload feature.
Next, you will need to long press on a photo to select one.
You may then tap subsequent photos, or select all using the "double ticks" icon.
Once done, you may press 3 dots icon, and then tap "Save to Device"
You may then choose where to store the photos, then tap "Export"

Note that it may not be possible to store directly to the SD card in the above steps, you may need to use your File Manager on your phone to move it over to your SD card.

There are of course 3rd party syncing apps that actually sync Dropbox folders and your media to your SD card.

If you do a search, you may be able to find some useful ones.

themaestro023

I have finally found a solution after searching the web and coming up empty. I have the Galaxy S7 edge and needed a couple of pics in my gallery from Dropbox. It may seem a bit complicated but with a bit of practice becomes easier to do.

First open Dropbox on your pc and find the pics you want to move. Copy and paste these pics to your desktop. (Don't just move them or they'll only be on your desktop and not in Dropbox anymore.) Next, connect your phone via USB to your pc, click to allow your pc to talk to your phone, (a little pop up window on your phone). Open the files on your phone and find where your pics are stored (device or sd card) and the folder is usually called DCIM. Then select all the pics on your desktop and drag and drop them to the folder in your phone. Disconnect the USB from your pc and you're finished.

When you open the gallery app (or wherever you stored the pics) all those Dropbox pics will be there.

Zed

Hi everyone @themaestro023 @Ira Z. @Marcus O. @rAY b.9,

The easiest way to export a file to your external SD card using Dropbox on your mobile device is by following these steps:

- Tap the Quick Action button to the right of the filename
- Scroll down and tap “Export”
- Tap “Save to device”
- Select your external SD card*

* If you do not see your external SD card listed, while you are in the “Save to” menu (after tapping “Save to device”), tap “Menu” then “Settings” and then select “Display advanced devices”. You will then see your external SD card show up as an export location.

**Make sure to have the latest version of the app installed!**

Thank you!

themaestro023

Thanks for that but it doesn't work for the S7 edge running Nougat. After 'Save to' there are no other menu options. I had already tried your solution but the pic went missing on my phone so I decided to do it my alternative way where I could actually choose exactly where to place the pics.

The app cannot be updated through the Dropbox app (starts an endless loop) and has to be done through Google Play.

Hi there - would you mind opening a support ticket with us here: https://www.dropbox.com/support so I can pass it on to our specialists to look into this?

Thanks

themaestro023

Sent a support ticket today, hope you got it ok

venik212

I have the same issue with my Samsung Note 4 (Android 6.0.1) from T Mobile. There is no EXPORT option or SAVE TO DEVICE-- only MOVE option, which only allows moving to annothher Dropbox folder. Being unable to perform such a trivial operation is a major embarassment for Android and Dropbox. It makes Dropbox on Android almost useless for me.

dojima

When I export a photo from Dropbox to my device, it's not immediately viewable in any app. It seems Dropbox doesn't automatically update the mediastore database when exporting files. Any ideas?

Thanks.

acachia

THANK YOU SO MUCH for mentioning the DCIM folder.

Even easier than this method to circumvent having to connect your phone:

1. Save all your photos to your computer's Dropbox folder.

2. Open Dropbox mobile app on your phone.

3. Select your photos, then "Save to Device" and navigate to your phone's DCIM folder, saving them there.

4. Now all the photos will appear naturally in Android's Gallery.

Piece of cake. This is particularly useful if you're trying to upload photos to Instagram, as now they will show up in the app.

This has saved me SO much headache in trying to upload multiple photos I've edited in Lightroom to Instagram without using third-party apps that violate their TOS.

unknown

This is what work for me.

Open the Dropbox app.

Find the photo you need. Click on the arrow to the right.

Chose "Export".

Chose alternative: Upload to Photos.

Open the app Photos.

Chose: Save to the device.

Now the photo is available for all other apps on the device.

unknown

I should add the there is an alternative "Save to device" at the top of "Export" menue. For some reason this alternative is grayed out for me (it is not available). But if it is active on you device, than you don't need to use "Photo" app at all.

Jane

Hey all,

Seems that there are many users who would like to use this functionality more!

To export your files to your Camera roll, you could just follow these steps (just summarizing Rich's reply above):

- Open the Dropbox app and open the photo or video that you would like to export
- Tap the ellipsis (..) on the top-right and select “Export”
- Tap “Save Image” (or “Save Video”) to save this file locally to your Camera roll

You can also have a look at the Offlining feature here. :iphone:

Happy Dropboxing ahead, please let me know if you have more questions and I'd be glad to follow-up here!