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Alias Folders

I had to re-sync Dropbox recently and when I sync the app on my iMac Dropbox creates locked alias folders for Desktop, Downloads and Documents. Do I have to wait for the files to sync and the localize the files from Desktop, Downloads and Documents?

I want these folders to be on my local computer not aliases that link to Dropbox

Screen Shot 2021-10-19 at 3.18.33 pm.png

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Hannah

Hey @paulpeterson, thanks for posting on our Community today!

It seems that when you re-synced the Dropbox application, you enabled the computer backup feature.

If you don't want these desktop folders to be backed up to Dropbox, you can disable it by following the steps here.

Just make sure that syncing is finished before you disable the feature.

Let me know if you have any questions.

paulpeterson

Thanks for your response @hannah

I definitely do want these backed up to Dropbox but not sure like with other Dropbox folders that are backed up they are alias folders and not local folders?

Hannah

Oh, it's great that you'd like the desktop folders to be backed up!

And that's kind of how the backup feature works.

Your actual desktop folders are in your Dropbox folder and the original folders serve as shortcuts to the folders in the Dropbox folder.

If you ever want to disable the feature and move the folders back to their original locations, you can follow the steps in the article I gave you above.

paulpeterson

Thanks 🙂

I am still confused by this - that u can't have the OG files and still update to Dropbox.

If I logout of Dropbox or am not online where are the files to these folders - they should display on the computer not as alias folders

Hannah

Thanks for the feedback about this, Paul, I will definitely pass it along.

As for the files, they are still on your computer, they're just in Dropbox. So, even if you're offline, you can still access them from there.

paulpeterson

I think the problem is that I need a duplicate back up of my files.

So there is a copy on the computer and a copy on Dropbox.

At the moment there is only a copy on Dropbox.

If I back up to a hard drive that is synced and a duplicate copy.

How can I achieve this with Dropbox Sync?

Hannah

At the moment, with computer backup, the files can only exist on one location on the specific drive.

You could make a copy of your desktop files on a different drive, however, they won't sync with Dropbox.

You're welcome to post an idea about this on our idea board!

paulpeterson

Could you also explain why folders don't show up on the Dropbox Mac folder?

I have 2 x Mac's synced and they don't show up. I have an internet connection and everything is synced and up to date in Dropbox ( I can see all the files in there.

Screen Shot 2021-10-26 at 12.50.48 pm.png

Hannah

You mean that when you open your Dropbox folder, you don't see a "Mac" or "My Mac" folder at all?

Or do they exist, but they don't have your desktop files in them?

paulpeterson

I don't see a Mac folder at all. Only what I shared with the screenshot

Hannah

Hmm, can you please hover your mouse over the Dropbox icon in your menu bar, to check the sync status of the application?

Also, if you try enabling hidden files on your computer, do you perhaps see the folders then?

paulpeterson

I now see this after seeing hidden folders but its missing the folder Mac (I have 2 x macs on Dropbox)

Screen Shot 2021-10-29 at 12.15.03 pm.png

Jay

Thanks for the info, @paulpeterson. I'd recommend getting in contact with the support team directly for further assistance on why the other computer backup folder isn't visible.

Once you get a ticket ID from the automated response, please let me know the number here so I can locate it in our system!

paulpeterson

Thank you!

jusegur

@paulpeterson hey paul! did you ever get this figured out? I am having the same exact problem and I cannot seem to figure out how to solve it yet

Rich

@jusegur wrote:
I am having the same exact problem and I cannot seem to figure out how to solve it yet

What, exactly,, is the problem you're having? This topic refers to an older version of the Backup feature. The current Backup works differently.

jusegur

somehow my three main folders (desktop, documents and downloads) that used to live locally on my user macbook laptop were turned into aliases/locked folders folders by dropbox. Those folders now seem to live in Dropbox making my local folders aliases or shortcuts to the original folders that now have been hijacked by dropbox to live in the dropbox account. I do not want that. It's the same exact thing Paul mentioned in his first post. Now i'm trying to figure out how to undo this mess because I don't even use Dropbox or have paid for it ever. Not sure how this happened.

jusegur

Screenshot 2024-09-25 at 5.24.54 PM.png

Walter

Hey @jusegur - thanks for the additional information and the screenshot too.

It sounds like you enabled the Dropbox Backup feature at some point. Have you tried disabling it via the app's preferences by any chance?