Child Item

Move Dropbox folder from local to external disk on Mac

MacOS - I have the Finder integration whereby I have a "Dropbox" as one of my Favorite locations. All my files are fully backed up, Online Only.

If I mark any file for offline access, it downloads to my local (internal) disk.

I would like to have all my files kept locally for offline access stored on my external disk (USB attached SSD). I would then enable sync to keep both copies in sync (online and offline).

How do I go about moving the file pointers/links (I'm assuming that's what they are) on my system so that the Dropbox "favorite" in the finder will direct to the external disk and not the local one?

Find more posts tagged with

Desktop

Mac

Insightful

Accepted answers

Walter

Hey @Dave B.5 - thanks for posting on our Community and happy Monday!

If you make sure that your external hard drive meets the requirements, you'll be able to move your Dropbox folder there by following the steps outlined here.

I hope this helps, Dave!

All comments

Walter

Hey @Dave B.5 - thanks for posting on our Community and happy Monday!

If you make sure that your external hard drive meets the requirements, you'll be able to move your Dropbox folder there by following the steps outlined here.

I hope this helps, Dave!

Dave B.5

Walter, thank you. That was what I was looking for. Another question though...

I had not done the "upgrade" to "Dropbox for macOS on File Provider" so the move was possible. And it appears that if I do that upgrade I won't then be able to do another move. What is the benefit of making this change/upgrade and if I don't will I be forced to at some future date?

Dave B.5

Thank you Walter. That was what I was looking for.

I had not yet done the upgrade to Dropbox for macOS on File Provider so it was possible for me to make the move.

What's the scoop in this? What advantages does it offer and will I eventually have to make that upgrade?

Hannah

Hey @Dave B.5, I'm glad those steps worked for you!

As for the Dropbox for macOS on File Provider version of the app, it was developed to adhere to the requirements as set out by Apple and to ensure the best possible experience for our Mac users long into the future.

The app will still work without the update, but if you do decide to go forward with the update, here are the changes you'll need to expect.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to let us know!

Dave B.5

Hi Hanna,

Best possible experience? For me the best possible experience is to not make any change that breaks things. But I get it. The good news is that there is a way to use an external disk as the home for Dropbox after doing the update. I may consider it.

Thanks for your reply.