Upcoming file system update to your Dropbox team account

Updated Feb 22, 2024
person icon

 This article describes an update for teams on Dropbox Standard, Business, Advanced, Business Plus, and Enterprise.

This file system update is free and brings more folder organization for teams on Dropbox Standard, Advanced, or Enterprise.

Before the update: Checklist

Team folders will move from member folders to a more organized structure so they’re easier for the team to find. This may interrupt your API integrations because file paths will change. Admins and team members should follow the checklist below to prepare for the update.
 

File system update checklist

The night before your update, everyone on your team should complete this checklist and expect limited access. This includes all admins and app developers.

Check that the Dropbox desktop app is running version 192 or later. 

Check that the Dropbox mobile app is running version 364 or later. 

Update your third-party app(s) and custom API integrations to the latest versions. This will prevent API calls from failing if they’re attempting to perform actions in the member folder which used to contain team folders. To use shortcuts again, remove the old links and create new ones. 

Switch integration file paths from absolute to relative, if available. 

  • By switching to relative, you won't need to re-configure the paths after the update.
  • If you're unable to switch to relative, you may need to manually modify the file paths after the update.

Make sure you’re happy with who has permission to share each top-level folder. If the Manage access setting is set to ‘Team members who can edit’, team members who can edit a top-level folder will be able to manage access to that team folder. If you don’t want team members to manage access to a team folder, change this setting to ‘Only admins’. 

  • Note: Previously, this setting only affected team folders within a top-level folder. 

Make sure you’re happy with your folder names, as team members with access to a subfolder will be shown the folder path to its top-level folder. Read more about this in the Team folders section below.

Close any open apps and restart your devices. 

Close any apps that automatically open upon restart. 

Pause all shortcuts and third-party app integrations. 

  • Note: If you're using absolute file paths, they may perform incorrectly. These can be turned back on as soon as the update is complete.

Leave the Dropbox desktop app running overnight.

highlight icon

Note: We recommend that you and your team don't access your Dropbox accounts or make changes to files during the update. You'll be notified after the update has finished and you can access your account.

App developers

If you’re an app developer on a team account, you’ll also need to do the following:

  • List the contents of the team space by setting the root using /files/list_folder with the “Dropbox-API-Path-Root” header and set the path to “”(empty quotes).

Notes:

  • If an app relies on absolute paths to team folders in the member folders and doesn’t set the “Dropbox-API-Path-Root” header, those team folders won’t be found at those paths when the team is updated, causing the API calls to fail. 
  • Using the folder ID to access the contents of the team space also won’t work since the relevant root is required.
  • Learn more about how to update your integrations to this updated version of Dropbox.

After the update: Checklist

After the update, admins and team members should:

Change third-party automation file paths that use the old Dropbox folder name so they continue to work properly.

Select the specific folders you’d like to make available offline. If you don’t do this, existing team folders will default to your setting for new files.

  • Note: We recommend setting files to online-only for faster syncing times.

If you’ve been granted access to a folder but it doesn’t appear in the Dropbox desktop app, turn on selective sync for that folder.

Choose whether to allow team members to create team folders.

  • Learn more about team folders.
highlight icon

Note: If you're on Windows, after the update you may see a dialog box titled Can’t sync Dropbox account, or the sync status may say Updating Dropbox account or Upgrading database. This is because apps were open during the update that were trying to use Dropbox. 


There are multiple things you can do to try to resolve this issue. After trying an option, please wait a few minutes to let Dropbox start syncing. If Dropbox still doesn’t start syncing, continue with the next option:
 

  1. Restart your device. Close all apps, including any apps that open upon restart. Then, open Dropbox.
  2. Log out of Dropbox and log in again.
  3. Log out of Dropbox and rename or delete the Dropbox folder. Then, log in again.

When the problem’s resolved, the sync status will change to signify that syncing is in progress. 
 

If you have a lot of files to sync, you can reduce syncing time by logging out of your Dropbox account. When you log back in, configure your selective sync setting when you’re prompted to only sync the folders you need.

More folder organization after the update

This file system update simplifies how your team’s folders and files are organized, so everyone can find the correct files and collaborate faster. Here are the improvements you’ll experience with personal folders and team folders:

Each team member will have a personal folder. 

  • This folder stores a team member’s own files and files shared with them. 
  • Team members can find this folder at /[Team name] Dropbox/[Team member’s name].
  • The name of the Dropbox folder will change from “Dropbox [team name]” to “[Team name] Dropbox.” 
  • Team folders will move from member folders to the Dropbox folder. 
  • When you share a folder with someone on your team, they‘ll be shown the path to the folder you’ve shared.
    • For example, a team folder named “Design” contains a folder named “Marketing”. The “Marketing” folder contains another folder named “Summer”. If you share the “Summer” folder with a team member, they’ll be shown the file path “Design/Marketing/Summer”, even if they don’t have access to the “Design” or “Marketing” folder. The “Summer” folder will appear to the team member as a traversal rights folder. All folder and file permissions stay the same.
  • When a team folder is renamed, the name changes for everyone.
  • Admins will be able to share team folders with individuals as well as groups.
    • To share team folders with people outside your team, the Sharing externally setting must be set to On. You can change this setting from the admin console.
  • The person who creates a team folder chooses when they’d like to share it and who they’d like to share it with.
  • Members can add content to team folders by clicking create or upload files and folders from the All files page.

Rescheduling your team’s update

Admins can reschedule the date of the update from the admin console. 

To do so:

  1. Log in to dropbox.com with your admin credentials.
  2. Click Admin console.
  3. Click Settings.
  4. Click Team profile.
    • The scheduled date for the update shows under Filesystem update.
  5. Click the first dropdown to choose a date that’s available within the calendar.
  6. Click the second dropdown to choose a time.
Was this article helpful?

We’re sorry to hear that.
Let us know how we can improve.

Thanks for your feedback!
Let us know how this article helped.

Thanks for your feedback!

Other ways to get help