Download video file directly to Dropbox. Is there a plugin to achieve that?

Hey there @readymade,

If you’re trying to download a file directly to your Dropbox account and you have the desktop app installed, you can either choose the location to be your Dropbox folder when you get the prompt or make the default location of where your files get downloaded to from your browser settings.

If I’ve misunderstood what you’re trying to achieve, don’t hesitate to give me a nudge here. Thanks!

@Lusil

I did not use the dropbox app but selected the folder dropbox in my file explorer. The thing is that it download local and then move it to the dropbox folder. That's the reason why the download task is suspended because I do not have enought space in my internal hard drive

So you say that with the dropbox app it's different? Did you experience that? Because I don't see the option/menu inside the app to add the url inside the app

Thanks for getting back to me, @readymade.

At first, I wanted to clarify that the Dropbox folder in your File Explorer is part of the desktop app.

As per your main concern though, there is one way that I can think of to save a URL to your Dropbox account without syncing it to your Dropbox folder on your computer, and that is with the help of selective sync.

In other words, if you don’t have any space on your hard drive but you want to add content to your Dropbox, you can do the following:

Create a new folder in your Dropbox folder or from the website.
Click on the Dropbox icon that’s next to your computer’s clock.
Select your avatar that’s on the top right corner of the menu that appears.
Click Preferences.
Go to the Sync tab.
Select Selective sync.
Find the folder that you just created and remove the tick mark that’s next to it.

Now, you can save a file in that selectively synced folder, keeping it in your Dropbox account but not syncing it to your computer, thus saving space on your hard drive.

Additionally, since you mentioned that it’s a URL that you want to save, you can drag and drop the URL into the folder that you selectively synced. This way, you will have the URL available in your Dropbox account without syncing it locally on your device.

I understand that this may not be the simplest list of workarounds, but I do hope it helps to some extent.

Thanks a lot @Lusil

but I'm quite doubtfully, maybe because I did not understand your solution, maybe because you did not undertand my issue.

If I do not synchronise the folder and the files inside will not be visible in my laptop.

And I do not want to save a link but the video. Insert the video url download (in a plug in?) and download directly to a dropbox without previusly be downloaded to my pc.

My hard drive space is too short

Hey again @readymade.

@readymade wrote:
If I do not synchronise the folder and the files inside will not be visible in my laptop.

If you choose to selectively sync a folder, then yes, the files inside it will not be visible on your laptop (saving space on your hard drive) but they will be available on your account through the website.

Since the Dropbox folder on your device is just like any other folder on your computer, the files inside it take up space on your hard drive. As such, if you download a video onto your computer (whether you place it into your Dropbox folder or not), it will take up space.

@readymade wrote:
And I do not want to save a link but the video. Insert the video url download (in a plug in?) and download directly to a dropbox without previusly be downloaded to my pc.

I’m afraid there isn’t a way to do this.

The indirect way or workaround to this would be to:

Temporarily download the video to your computer.
Upload it to your Dropbox through the website into a folder you’ve selectively synced on your device.
Once the video is saved in your Dropbox account, remove it from your computer.

Once again, I understand this isn’t ideal. Nonetheless, let me know if there’s anything else I can help with.

Hi @readymade,

There was a small error in @Lusil's explanation. In fact to work would be need You to use 'Smart Sync'! If 'Smart Sync' isn't active then You are right - file will be locally saved and without any sync. If 'Smart Sync' is active then files saved will engage minimal space (in fact buffering) and will be forwarded directly to the dropbox server in Your account.

Hope this helps to some extent.

@Здравко a écrit :
Hi @readymade,
There was a small error in @Lusil's explanation. In fact to work would be need You to use 'Smart Sync'! If 'Smart Sync' isn't active then You are right - file will be locally saved and without any sync. If 'Smart Sync' is active then files saved will engage minimal space (in fact buffering) and will be forwarded directly to the dropbox server in Your account.
Hope this helps to some extent.

thanks to additionnal explanation. In fact, yes, it's the purpose of cloud to take much more space in the hard drive (buffering). But what is smart sync'

Is there a way to save my video without taking space to my PC?

Website server (where there is the video) > Dropbox

and not Website server (where there is the video) > PC > Dropbox

@readymade, take a look at: https://help.dropbox.com/installs-integrations/sync-uploads/smart-sync

@Здравко a écrit :
@readymade, take a look at: https://help.dropbox.com/installs-integrations/sync-uploads/smart-sync

ok thanks. So if i take the smart sync, I open the download windows in my browser, save the video file into the dropbox folder, it will be ok? : the file will not be taking space into my internal hard drive? Sounds strange.

Sounds strange?! Why? Didn't You heard about different kinds of virtual file system? Typical case is NFS, also for Linux and Mac - FUSE (on Windows there are equivalent API)...

With Smart Sync, you can save a file into your Dropbox folder and set it to be online-only. That way, the file is in your Dropbox account but only information about the file, such as the file name, location, and date the file was updated is available on your computer.

Please bear in mind though that if you want to preview or play the video, you’ll have to make it local which means that the file will be fully downloaded on your hard drive. However, once you’re done watching or editing it, you can make it online-only again which will save space.

Let us know if you have any other questions, @readymade!

@readymade, Something more: Because the file will not be available locally to use it You need network!

May be, if You want full virtualization, could choose another service like pCloud for example (there is drive/partition virtualization, not only the file system elements).

@Здравко wrote:
Sounds strange?! Why? Didn't You heard about different kinds of virtual file system? Typical case is NFS, also for Linux and Mac - FUSE (on Windows there are equivalent API)...

strange because too good to be true. I understand how smartsync works. but the question is that for the download task with a dropbox account with smartsync , the video will be directly saved in the dropbox online without previously downloaded locally and tranfer to the dropbox?

@readymade, As @Lusil already noted above, this is not fully supported on Dropbox.

@Здравко a écrit :
@readymade, As @Lusil already noted above, this is not fully supported on Dropbox.

pcloud could be used for what I need?

The issue that I have a chromebook and I will not have a folder fully integrated in the file explorer. I could use the pcloud android app maybe

Most probably. From the system support point of view - same system set are supported (Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android). The conception is little bit different. As I noted above, full virtualization is used and this is the basic part (on Dropbox the basic is direct directory sync), after that You can choose what and where to sync locally (if any). If You select particular folder and don't sinc it locally then any direct move/copy/save to the virtual directory will be what You are looking for.

Betweens this is a good idea for future enhancement of Dropbox. Such functionality could be added (it don't have to be so hard). Many people ask for something similar (not just You). So, Your question could be count as new proposed idea.