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Should I upgrade to File Provider on my second Mac?

I have been using Dropbox for a good number of years. However, I'm still an older, make that mature LOL, beginner in Dropbox and many tech matters.

On my main desktop Mac, I see in Dropbox Preferences that I'm eligible for File Provider but it appears that I have not used it. I assume but only vaguely remember making a conscious decision.

Now I'm just setting up a new travel Mac from scratch (not migrating or transferring files) and on that Mac it says in Preferences that I'm using File Provider and gives a link if I want to opt out.

Do I want to opt out of File Provider on this second Mac?

I don't know what File Provider does but I'm guessing that both computers should be set the same to either not use it or use it.

FWIW, I have sync state set to Available offline and I use Dropbox for all my docs/files but also use a backup program (CCC).

I see that the Dropbox folder location on the two Macs is slightly different though they are running the same Mac OS (Sequoia 15.5)

Would appreciate and need some help from Dropbox experts.

Thank you

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Jay

Hi @norm3, thanks for messaging the Community!

Dropbox on File Provider utilizes Apple's updated File Provider API to more deeply integrate with Mac OS.

It is usually available for newer Mac devices and OSes, and it doesn't matter if another device on your account isn't using File Provider.

You can see some of the changes that come with File Provider on this page, and it is entirely up to you if you do want to upgrade to this version.

If you need any further assistance, please let me know!

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Jay

Hi @norm3, thanks for messaging the Community!

Dropbox on File Provider utilizes Apple's updated File Provider API to more deeply integrate with Mac OS.

It is usually available for newer Mac devices and OSes, and it doesn't matter if another device on your account isn't using File Provider.

You can see some of the changes that come with File Provider on this page, and it is entirely up to you if you do want to upgrade to this version.

If you need any further assistance, please let me know!

norm3

Thank you very much. Very helpful.

All of my files are in HD/Users/Norm/Dropbox

So if I like where my files are located in the Finder, I should not use File Provider on my new computer. Correct?

If correct, the install selected File Provider but provided a link to opt out. I assume that is not a problem to do so?

And for the paranoid, as I add my new travel Mac to Dropbox is there any possibility that one can lose their Dropbox files?

Thanks again.

Jay

That's correct, it's better not to upgrade if you like where the files are currently located in Finder.

The link to opt out should work fine the way you described, or you can follow these steps as well.

Regarding losing files on your Dropbox account, there is always a possibility that one can lose their files, since the Dropbox folder is just like any other folder on your computer.

However, you should be able to recover them within your version history, provided that they weren't permanently deleted from your account.

norm3

Thanks. Now I have it where I like it. :-)

However, in my Finder under Locations there is another Dropbox (with the Dropbox icon) and when I open it is like the Dropbox Folder but all the enclosed folders have little cloud icons. Does that make sense?

Thanks again.

norm3

And I'm now finding that some of my Spotlight searches will go to that Folder and if I try to open documents it says they are missing. Very strange and confusing.

Appreciate any advice. Thank you.

Mark

norm3 wrote:
if I try to open documents it says they are missing

Open the folder directly from Finder and see if the files are Available Offline. If not they need making offline. Dropbox should auto-download them as long as its running, but, sometimes struggles if they are big before the search auto open times out.

norm3

There seem to be 2 Dropbox Folders. One is where I want it and all is working well.

But there is another one. Not sure if it is a Dropbox Folder or something else. The only way I get to it is by making Cloud Storage visible under Locations in the Finder sidebar. That Dropbox has the Dropbox icon and all of the enclosed folders have the little cloud icon.

Very confusing to me but probably makes sense to you experts.

Perhaps it is the result of the original install on this new computer when Dropbox defaulted to File Provider and then I switched back.

Sometimes I will get a find result using Spotlight to this "folder" and the folder or file won't open.

Thanks for any info.

Hannah

Hey @norm3, happy Monday!

Can you check the "sync" tab in the Dropbox application preferences, to see the location of the Dropbox folder the app is linked to? Is it the one in CloudStorage?

norm3

Hannah:

Happy Monday. Thanks.

In Preferences Sync under Dropbox folder location it shows where I want it: /Users/norm/Dropbox

However if I do a Spotlight search for a folder or doc and I select Dropbox I get what I think I should get but if I change the search tab to This Mac then many of the finds are duplicated. Strange.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Jay

Thanks for the details. In order to look into this matter in more detail, I'd recommend contacting the support team directly for them to investigate further.

norm3

Thanks much,

Norm

Theresa

Hi @norm3 and welcome back to the Dropbox Community. It’s lovely to have you with us again, and I hope you were able to sort things out with the File Provider update on your first Mac.

I’m Theresa 👩‍💻, one of the Community Managers here in the forum. You’ll often spot me joining conversations or kicking off new topics across the board. If you were able to get it sorted you may already have a bit of experience with the update already, I’d love to know if there’s anything you’ve found especially handy with the new setup.

Looking forward to hearing more,

T😸 (Dropbox Community Manager)

norm3

I'm not sure exactly what you are asking.

But if you are asking about File Provider, I decided to go back to using without the File Provider option. I was disappointed that Dropbox set the preference to use it when I installed Dropbox on my new second Mac. The seems to have been the reason for many of my following questions on a separate post about two Dropbox folders and related problems.

HTH