The Dropbox desktop app needs to update, or “sync”, whenever you add files to Dropbox or make changes to your Dropbox files. This article explains how you can check if your files are syncing, what their sync status is, and what order they’re syncing in. To learn how to pause and resume syncing, visit this article.
Not using Dropbox yet? See how Dropbox makes syncing files easy.
Check the sync status of files in the Dropbox desktop app
To check the sync status of a file or folder in the Dropbox desktop app, open the Dropbox folder in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) and look at the icon next to the file or folder. To check the sync status of all of the files and folders in the Dropbox desktop app, click the Dropbox icon in your taskbar (Windows) or menu bar (Mac). In the bottom of the window that appears, there’s a white bar with text that says either Up to date, Syncing [your filename], or Syncing [x] files.
Learn more about the different sync icons and what they mean.
See what order your files are syncing
You can see what order your files are syncing in your Sync Queue. To see your Sync Queue:
- Click the Dropbox icon in your taskbar (Windows) or menu bar (Mac).
- Click the arrow at the bottom of the window. Your Sync Queue is at the top.
If your Sync Queue is empty, it means that all of your files and folders are fully synced. Otherwise, your files are in the order that they’ll sync next.
Prioritize a file to sync next
If you’re on a Dropbox Plus, Family, Professional, or Business plan, you can prioritize a file to sync next in the “Sync Queue” of your Dropbox desktop app. To do so:
- Refer to the steps above to open your Sync Queue.
- Hover over the file in your Sync Queue that you’d like to sync next.
- Click Sync next.
