Child Item

Can't drag files into the Dropbox shortcut in "Favorites" in Finder anymore

Device
(M2 MacBook Air)
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
(macOS 26.3, etc.)
Dropbox App Version (if using the app)
(243.4.6956)
Syncing Status
("Up to date.")

Question or Issue
On my Mac I use Finder for file organizing, copying, etc. On the left side of Finder there are pinned shortcuts to Dropbox, Downloads, Desktop, etc. Until like 2 days ago I could just drag a file from downloads (for example) over the Dropbox link pinned to the sidebar and it would move the file into Dropbox. A few days ago I saw a popup about some kind of change to MacOS files but I honestly don't remember what it said. Anyway, lo and behold now I can't drag those files over any more. It won't allow it. What changed?

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Desktop

Mac

Folders

Comments

Hannah

Hi there, @cloudstoragelover, thanks for your post today.

It sounds like your Dropbox app might have been updated to the Dropbox for macOS on File Provider version.

You can confirm this under "Dropbox folder updates" in the "Sync" tab of your Dropbox preferences.

Your Dropbox folder should now be under "Locations" instead of "Favorites" and that's probably why the drag and drop is not working.

You can see all the expected changes that come with this update here.

Let me know if this is not the case at all or if you have any questions.

cloudstoragelover

Thanks Hannah - I'm not sure what File Provider is, however when I look at the location of the Dropbox folder it's HD -> users ->byname -> Dropbox - that is the folder that is located in my pinned "favorites." What do you mean by locations? I can't find anything on it using Google and it's not something I've heard of before and don't see it listed on my Mac anywhere. Thanks for your help.

Hannah

Thanks for the update here, @cloudstoragelover.

In that case, my assumption was actually wrong!

I did hyperlink a couple of articles with info on the File Provider version of Dropbox and the location of the Dropbox folder in my previous reply; can you take a look and let me know if you still have questions?

But since what I mentioned above is not the case, let's see what else we can try.

If you haven't already, can you restart your computer, to see if that helps?

If not, try quitting the Dropbox app and then relaunching it.

Megan

Hey @cloudstoragelover!

Just popping in to see if you've had a chance to look at our last message. Still need help? We're all ears! If the issue is sorted, let us know what worked out for you.