Dropbox desktop app not available in MATE

Support & Help Requests
#1

I have Dropbox installed and working -- no problem there except that it takes up too much space on my laptop system SSD. Dropbox does not support external drives.

To save space on my laptop SSD I want to enable Dropbox SmartSync. SmartSync puts file placeholders to your Dropbox directory until you try to open them. This saves valuable space while offering full access to our files.

The Dropbox commandline client does not offer this option. It is available only through the Desktop application. This is not working with MATE -- as far as I can tell.

As this posting indicates, the app is available for other Ubuntu flavors. https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Dropbox-installs-integrations/Dropbox-on-Linux-Ubuntu-moving-directory-no-icon/m-p/295883#M55942 . This posting suggests approaching the MATE community for a solution.

Do we have a solution for this?

The caja extension is a useful GUI interface to the Dropbox folder but does not offer the administration controls offered by the app.

One option may be to install xfce beside MATE, or perhaps only those xfce components required? That seems heavy handed but i put it here for comment/advice.

#2

We have Caja integration with Dropbox. I have set it up on my 20.04 LTS systems. It is working today.

You have to install single package by:

sudo apt-get install caja-dropbox

then restart Caja.

The DropBox icon will be shown in the tray/notification-area and you need to provide your DropBox credentials to start using it.

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#3

Once it's installed, you'll see a Dropbox folder in your home folder. Just place files in that folder to sync them to the Dropbox website and to other synching computers.

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#4

I have stated my question poorly. I have Dropbox installed and working. No problem.

Dropbox offers SmartSync -- which puts file placeholders to your Dropbox directory until you try to open them. This saves space.

The Dropbox commandline client does not offer this option. We need to use the Desktop application. This is not working with MATE -- as far as I can tell.

The caja extension is a useful GUI interface to the Dropbox folder but does not offer the administration controls offered by the app.

I will edit my post to include this information.

#5

I have clarified my question.