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Forum Discussion
Dropbox doesn't sync symbolic links anymore
Hi,
until this summer I was able to sync folders outside Dropbox using simbolic links.
I just tried again to sync a folder with this tricky method and it's not working. I tried to create simbolic...
Fiona
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHi Baboo85! Thanks for raising this topic.
Truth is symlinks won't work like the use to anymore.
Check out this Help center article explaining how Dropbox can sync symlinks nowadays.
We also have several Community discussions about this.
:books:
I received an email about changes to symlinks. Any ideas?
Best practices for using symlinks (symbolic links)
Moving folders/files to meet new symlink rules.
I am here for all your questions. :nerd:
Have a nice day!
Truth is symlinks won't work like they used to anymore.
Does that mean that the symlink feature is definitely not going to come back? Can you please provide a clear statement on this?
I am a paying user and I need to sync multiple folders in different drives, which until now could be achieved using symlinks/NTFS junctions. Moving everything under the dropbox folder is not an option for me. If this feature is no longer available I will be forced to cancel my subscription an look elsewhere.
- Fiona
Thanks for joining our discussion.
Symlinks were never a Dropbox feature xgirones. They use to work but they were causing huge syncing issues.
I am in the unpleasant position to confirm that the old set up with symlinks will not work.
Sorry to hear that you cannot change your set up.
time4us2fly Was the E folder syncing previously? :thinking: Are both your local folders linked with the same Dropbox account/email address?
Thanks for the clarification. Will support for multiple unrelated folders in different drives be provided instead? IMHO it does not make sense to pay for a 2TB cloud storage that restricts the user to keep everything under the same local folder.
Somehow when I got the latest update, my computer is not syncing properly. I keep a copy on an external drive and one on Dropbox. They used to sync perfectly. They no longer do and since they have the same shortcut name in my quick access file explorer, I am loosing track of which file is the right one. Please help get everything synced back up without losing my updated files.
- Fiona
Hello time4us2fly, thanks for posting.
You mentioned Dropbox needs to sync in 2 different locations and so I understand you are using symlinks. I merged your topic to this one here. I hope the information provided here clarifies matters and helps you set this up differently.
Dropbox should still sync, from the Dropbox desktop application to the web and the other way around though. Does it report to be "Up to date"? Check your status please.
Looking forward to your comment to see if there is a syncing issue with the dekstop app or if the problem described, is related to the symlink changes.
Thank you!
It shows up to date. What I think happened is that I have 2 instances of Dropbox both called the same thing. One is on my E drive. And the other is in the Cloud. The Cloud shows up to date and syncing. I don't know what it's syncing with. But all of the folders are checked with green arrows.
The E drive has all of the same folders, but no check marks. Not syncing with the Cloud. Hopefully that makes sense?
