Dropbox File System Structure (as of July 20, 2024)

The following changes will be implemented by Dropbox on July 20, 2024.

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Graphic of the upcoming file structure changes.

• Personal folders, subfolders, and files belonging to a specific user will be aggregated into a single “Member Folder”

  • For example, if Lauren Winslow has a folder named “1:1 Notes” and a file named “Product Spec”, then, post-update, those will appear within a single Dropbox Member Folder named “Lauren Winslow”

  • Folders shared with you from other users will also appear within your Member folder

• Dropbox Team Folders will appear as separate folders and will show full file paths

  • For example, a Team Folder named “Finance” contains a subfolder named “Reports”. If you share just the “Reports” subfolder with a team member, they’ll be shown the full file path “Finance/Reports/”, even if they don’t have access to the root “Finance” folder.

  • PLEASE NOTE: All folder and file permissions will stay the same.

  • Dropbox Team Folders that were previously renamed by an individual user will revert back to their originally-defined name

• Here are some additional troubleshooting tips:

  • If you previously synced one of these affected subfolders to your desktop using Selective Sync in the Dropbox desktop app, it may no longer appear synced after the transition. If it has gone "missing," open your Selective Sync settings in the app, select the top-level Team Folder that contains the subfolder you have access to (as the Team Folder name should be visible to you now), and save your settings.

  • When using the Dropbox desktop app, the name will change from “Dropbox (Lehigh University)” to “Lehigh University Dropbox” in your file directory.

    • Windows Quick access links/Shortcuts and Mac aliases to files/folders may need to be reset.

    • On Windows, the old directory name may be kept as a hidden shortcut in your File Explorer after the change occurs. If you need to remove it from your view, simply right-click and remove it from the sidebar.

  • You may receive a locked file/folder error ("Can't sync Dropbox account") or the sync status may say "Updating Dropbox account" or "Upgrading database" if you have left things open. You should close the apps and files causing the error and click “Try Again” on the error message.