Add .dropboxignore directory to exclude folders without using selective sync

@Johnny W.

My Dropbox client (v3.8.8 on Mac Os X 10.10.5) does delete from the HD the folders unchecked with Selective Sync. It actually warns me about this with a message:

http://www.guidowalterpettinari.eu/external_access/dropbox_selective_sync_msg.png 

I thought this was the major limitations of using Selective Synch, together with being unable to specify RegEx or glob patterns. 

@Guido I just deselected a folder via selective sync (DB 3.8.8 on OSX 10.10.5) and this is the only message I got:

dear @Johnny and @Guido

I'm not sure this is the right thread for you to discuss other the minute details of that functionality.

People upping this post are talking about another way to filter things out since the selective sync is not meeting their needs.

cheers

Sorry, Luciano, you're right.

Guido, you are also right. I'll attempt your workaround in the meantime.

I wish Ed could find time in his hectic schedule to respond to us further.

@luciano c: I know, that's not what I was clarifying.

@Guido: Ah I see. I usually just copy/move the folder somewhere, remove using selective sync, then copy back at which point Dropbox adds the grey minus. I'd say many people here have done something similar.

@Jeremy That's exactly the workaround I was suggesting :-) I think that many people here were not aware of it, possibly even the thread opener. As far as I understand also the .node_modules problem that is bothering so many people can be fixed in this way.

@Guido The problem is that it's a workaround, not a fix. Many of us want this feature added so we don't have to mess around with Selective Sync every time. Plus, to be honest, I'm pretty sure most have seen it: You only posted it two days ago and got several responses to it (including one from me).

@Johnny W. Exactly!.  We dont want a workaround.  We want it to be solid built-in feature.

And to the Dropbox developers. I myself being a developer, am considerate of your situation.  Both in terms of the code involved, and dealing with management.

And to the dropbox management...please realize that this would make dropbox a much more marketable product.

Its a win win!  Everyone will use this feature. Market it, if you will..I wil pay for it.  Im sure many more will too.

Win win.

Selective Sync is an absolutely terrible solution for several reasons:

• First of all, it's clunky and counterintuitive when you simply want to ignore something. Selective Sync requires you to first add the very thing you want to ignore to Dropbox.
• Drilling down into your directory tree via the settings dialog is extremely slow and time consuming
• Once you activate Selective Sync on your directory it then removes the contents from your local drive and keeps it in the cloud - the irony of course being that you never wanted it in the cloud to begin with. And the one place where you actually want it has now been removed. (Circle back to first point)
• Directories containing Selective Sync settings must be removed via the Dropbox web app or you may never actually get rid of the directory you are trying to ignore.
• Lastly, and this is a big issue for me - if you ever move the corresponding folder in your local directory tree it breaks Selective Syncing requiring you to go through the entire process all over again. 

This is not a solution. This is a kludge is what it is. 

And I have to say I'm having a very hard time understanding why a big company like Dropbox cannot simply add a .dropboxignore feature like so many of us have been asking for. It's a very very simple concept that would help many of us achieve substantially more productivity from using their product.

@Eric W

Asking a company (especially a large one) to "just add" a feature, no matter how apparently small, is going to take a long time. Dropbox is so huge, controlling the security of files for so many other large companies, that they need to implement, test and re-test these features to make sure that they won't mess up their infrastructure.

Would a .dropboxignore particularly mess up their entire infrastructure? Probably not. But any feature still has to be designed, user-tested, developed, tested some more, beta released and then production released. Maybe we will get it by next year if they start now!