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Forum Discussion

thecandidate's avatar
thecandidate
Helpful | Level 5
4 years ago

Why is the Dropbox Desktop App no longer available?

The dropbox desktop app had such a great user interface and was a good workflow for our team.. unfortunately as of 17 Jan 2022, it has been dropped.. I wonder why this change was made, and i'm just hoping the application is being improved instead of being killed.

What we enjoyed out of the desktop app was the ability to pin specific files to the main dropbox for quick access, which everyone was able to identify quickly. with the Finder app, it was hard to see pinned items, and with the website, its a redundant process – requiring lots of extra steps – having to open up the website to identify the folder before pinning them. the website does not give as much visual cues as the desktop app previously had. 

Please, dropbox, #bringitback! 

  • Hey people, how are you all doing?

    First of all, thanks a lot for your thoughts and comments. They surely help a lot to understand what you want on your end.

    Keep in mind that Dropbox remains focused on helping our customers stay organized and work more efficiently. With this focus, we’re simplifying your desktop experience with improvements to Windows Explorer, macOS Finder, and the taskbar/menu bar.

    Support for the desktop window ends on January 17, 2022.

    Don’t worry—we're continuing to support a great desktop app experience for you and your content is still safe with us.

    Save, view, share, and access all your files with the Dropbox folder in Windows Explorer, macOS Finder, the taskbar/menu bar, on dropbox.com, and with the latest iOS and Android apps.
     
    If you need me, give me a shout. 

     
    • BC15's avatar
      BC15
      Helpful | Level 5

      I'd like to open my Dropbox like this▶▶

       

      but my pc only opens this regular folder▼▼... What should i do..??  Thank you in advance!!!

      • Mark's avatar
        Mark
        Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

        There is no way to now do this - Dropbox depreciated that window on the 17th of Jan. 

         

        You now need to use the Dropbox website. 

  • DoingTimeOnTheMoon's avatar
    DoingTimeOnTheMoon
    New member | Level 2

    I can't open my desktop app. 

    Clicking on the Dropbox icon opens the local Dropbox folder, rather than the app. 

    I've uninstalled and reinstalled the app to no avail.

    My only access to preferences, settings, etc is by clicking on the active Dropbox icon in the lower right tray. But still no access to the app itself.

    I followed the thread of another user having the same trouble. Didn't resolve for him either. That thread ended by transferring discussion over to email, so no posted remedy.

    I'm using Windows 10.

    Any help in gaining access to my app would be appreciated!

  • Zeb72's avatar
    Zeb72
    New member | Level 2

    Yes we agree 100%. This change has killed the flow. 

  • tmwrght's avatar
    tmwrght
    Helpful | Level 5

    Not sure if anyone's mentioned this already, but you could try Slapdash (https://slapdash.com) to pin your favourite files from across Dropbox using Slapdash's 'Spaces' feature, as a replacement for the Dropbox desktop app's pin functionality

    • KimFelton's avatar
      KimFelton
      Helpful | Level 6

      This is a great suggestion....but....I don't want to pay for another subscription just to get the same benefits I was already receiving from Dropbox. I have a business account, for a law firm. It has been an absolute pain in the ass to navigate through files through the finder on Mac. Opening and working through the browser is also inefficient and doesn't provide the same necessities as the desktop client did. It seems like Dropbox is randomly rolling features in and out without customer feedback. The best SaaS companies are the ones that ask for feedback, and LISTEN to their customer base.

       

      Oh look guys! Walter is still here....except he's not responding to any of the valid concerns here.

       

      I'm currently in the search for a cloud storage option that provides a desktop app similar to the dropbox client, and has many of the same functions as Dropbox. I checked out Box but I'm not crazy about their a la carte price model for getting all the functions, rather than bundling them. If anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears!

  • ThiagoGamer's avatar
    ThiagoGamer
    New member | Level 2

    ¡Hola! En primer lugar, espero que tu pregunta haya sido respondida, ¡pero de todos modos lo haré por ti! La aplicación de Dropbox sigue funcionando y es pública para su descarga. Te dejaré el enlace de descarga y mi enlace de referencia. Prefiero usar la segunda, pero te dejo con ambas opciones. ¡Espero que te ayude!

    directo:https://www.dropbox.com/download?plat=win

    [removed per the Community's Guidelines]

  • hmedia's avatar
    hmedia
    Collaborator | Level 8

    It's funny to see all the people complain about the Dropbox experience and the Dropbox company over this thing disappearing.  It's a little bit similar to the sentiment that was on these very forums when it suddenly appeared, and people were totally ticked that Dropbox were spending their efforts on useless and intrusive UI widgets and integrations instead of their industry-leading sync technology, and the backend that separates them from everyone else and keeps our data safe.  (the difference being there were a lot more complaints about this thing than the handful of people who've become dependent on it and regret to see it go).

     

    For what i suspect is the vast majority of users, its good riddance to the st00pid widget app, and a surprising response from Dropbox staff showing a real humility, and clearly valuying the customer first beyond anything else to be able to face the reality of it's epic failure and let it go.  Kudo's to them for that.

     

    The rest of you, respectfully, learn how to use a computer and store files properly, and you too will be glad the PITA widget is gone!

     

    Cheers.

    • sethhasty's avatar
      sethhasty
      Helpful | Level 6

      or perhaps different industries have different workflows and needs?   

      I computer rather well, most likely not as well as someone who puts security over ease of use / collaborating on creative projects... but then again, I don't lock my car door when I go into a store either so 🤷‍♂️

       

      anyway... my process has been a mess since the desktop went away and I hate that I am still a Dropbox sub, but alternatives are not much better.  

      i dont understand why it couldnt just be a simple on/off ..... I can use it, and you could turn it off for your high skill computer skills.   

  • PaigeHoffman2011's avatar
    PaigeHoffman2011
    New member | Level 2

    I absolutely loved the desktop Dropbox app. It was way more user friendly than it is in File Explorer. The little taskbar Dropbox has absolutely no use whatsoever. I am so frustrated that Dropbox just decided to remove this. The way the app was setup I was able to edit my files so much faster than I can now in File Explorer plus it had useful features that File Explorer just doesn't have. Dropbox instead of improving and moving forward has taken a huge step back. This has really hurt my efficiency and time management when it comes to editing files. I will have to explore other options if Dropbox doesn't bring back the desktop version soon.

  • NBAlex's avatar
    NBAlex
    Helpful | Level 5

    This functionality was extremely useful as you can immediately browse files via the desktop tool and open files in their native app. (e.g find a PSD, double-click it, and it opens in photoshop, etc). For some bizarre reason, this functionality was removed this year, and judging by the threads about it, nobody has been happy with the removal of it.  If I wanted to open a file in explorer, as I sometimes do, I will simply select that option. 

     

    Please return the functionality. It is extremely useful when handling folders containing thousands of files.

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