Dropbox how does it sync

Team admins Team members. How helpful was this article? Let us know how we can improve: Thanks for your feedback! Let us know how this article helped: Submit Thanks for your feedback! Installation or something Total Confusion. Related articles Community answers. The steps will vary depending on your operating system and applications.

If the Dropbox desktop app is on an external hard drive, check your connection. If you have your Dropbox folder on an external hard drive, make sure the external hard drive is connected and recognized by your computer.

If it is, contact support. Uninstall and reinstall the Dropbox desktop app. Uninstall and reinstall the Dropbox desktop app on your computer. Learn how to uninstall the Dropbox desktop app on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Then, reinstall the Dropbox desktop app. These include:. Make sure Dropbox supports your device and operating system.

Some applications automatically save your changes back to Dropbox, while others need to be saved back manually. You may also have saved it somewhere else on your computer. Search your computer for the file with the search bar in your taskbar Windows or Spotlight in your menu bar Mac. If the file has a lock icon on it instead, that means that it was locked using Dropbox. Visit this article to learn how to unlock it. If this is the case, you should see an error message from Dropbox that notifies you.

Let us know how we can improve:. Thanks for your feedback! Let us know how this article helped:. You can make an exact copy a duplicate of a Dropbox file or folder on dropbox. Find out how to download files and folders to your computer from dropbox.

Learn how to find and unzip your downloads. Sync icons in the desktop app. The sync icons in the Dropbox folder Below are the sync icons that appear on files and folders in your Dropbox folder in File Explorer Windows or Finder Mac. Synced and local A solid green circle with a white checkmark means your file or folder is fully synced and local. Online-only A grey circle with a black cloud icon means your file or folder is fully synced and online-only. Sync in progress A solid blue circle with two white arrows going in a circle means that your file or folder is in the process of updating.

Contains both local and online-only files A white circle with a green outline and a green checkmark can only appear on a folder. Ignored file A gray circle with a white minus sign means that your file is ignored. The sync icons in the taskbar or menu bar Below are the different Dropbox icons in your taskbar Windows or menu bar Mac , which is visible when the Dropbox desktop app is open on your computer.

Fully synced A solid black Dropbox icon with no other icon means the Dropbox files and folders on your computer are fully up to date. Any changes you made are reflected everywhere you use Dropbox. Sync in progress A solid black circle with two white arrows going in a circle means that the Dropbox files and folders on your computer are in the process of updating.

Syncing paused A solid black circle with a white pause icon means that you paused syncing. Unread notifications A red circle with a white number on it has nothing to do with syncing.

It means that you have unread Dropbox notifications. Learn about how to manage Dropbox notifications. Camera uploads in progress A camera icon means that you have connected a camera or mobile device with a camera to your computer and your camera roll is being uploaded to Dropbox. How helpful was this article? Let us know how we can improve: Thanks for your feedback! Let us know how this article helped: Submit Thanks for your feedback! Community answers Dropbox app