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Accidentally removed my access to a folder I owned and now it's deleted! Can it be restored?

I was in the process of transferring ownership of several folders to another person and then removing my access. On one folder, I accidentally removed my access before transferring ownership and now it's deleted! Several people shared this critical folder! Is there any way I can restore it? Oh, it will not be pretty if I can't!!!

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Lusil

Thanks for getting back to me, @LilyB.

If at some point in time the folder existed within your Dropbox account, either you created it or you joined it, there should be some event mentioning it.

Below, I have some scenarios that might help clarify some things for you:

If deleted it as the owner or as a member: The folder should be in your Sharing tab, as that would count as a temporary deletion with the option to add it back.
If you were the owner and you unshared it: That shared folder would have become a regular, personal folder and you would have received the option to allow other members to keep a copy. Please note that as the owner, you can’t remove your access from the shared folder.
If you were a member and you removed your access from it: You should have received an option to keep a copy of the folder. If you didn’t keep one, the folder wouldn’t appear on your account but should see an action logged in your events page which mentioned this. In this case, you’d have to contact the new owner of the shared folder to add you back.

Finally, I was able to locate your discussion with a member of my team, and have passed your comments along to them, so if you feel that you need further assistance with this, due to account-specific info that’d be necessary to investigate, please don’t hesitate to get back to them via email.

In any case, let me know how it goes!

All comments

Lusil

Hey there @LilyB,

As a first step, could you please ensure if you see the folder in question in your Sharing tab by any chance?

If not, could you please navigate to your events page for more info on what’s occurred to content in your account? Do you see any relevant details regarding the shared folder?

Let me know what you find!

LilyB

Hi Lusil- Thanks so much for responding! It is not in my sharing tab. Oddly, the folder is not even listed on the events tab. The other folders I was working with are, but not that one. I was working quickly. Would it be logged in my Events if my former colleague was actually the creator of that folder?

Lusil

Thanks for getting back to me, @LilyB.

If at some point in time the folder existed within your Dropbox account, either you created it or you joined it, there should be some event mentioning it.

Below, I have some scenarios that might help clarify some things for you:

If deleted it as the owner or as a member: The folder should be in your Sharing tab, as that would count as a temporary deletion with the option to add it back.
If you were the owner and you unshared it: That shared folder would have become a regular, personal folder and you would have received the option to allow other members to keep a copy. Please note that as the owner, you can’t remove your access from the shared folder.
If you were a member and you removed your access from it: You should have received an option to keep a copy of the folder. If you didn’t keep one, the folder wouldn’t appear on your account but should see an action logged in your events page which mentioned this. In this case, you’d have to contact the new owner of the shared folder to add you back.

In any case, let me know how it goes!

mna

I have this problem too - my events say I removed myself (the owner of the folder) from my own shared folder which I thought was impossible- I wasn't working on the dropbox at the time. The file is still visible to my team and it still says that I am the owner. I don't have a copy on my computer and I wasn't on the dropbox at that time. I also don't have the option to reverse the shared removal.

I have a workaround but its very odd.

Lusil

Hey @mna, thanks for nudging us on this thread. I'd be more than happy to help!

As a first step, could you check your Sharing tab online and see if the folder is listed there?

If it is, you can add it back by following these steps.

Let me know how it goes!