How to Move Dropbox Folder to a New Location [2 Ways Included]

"Hello, my computer is running on Windows 10. Recently, I found my C drive almost full, which leads to my computer performs slow, so I'm trying to move the Dropbox folder to a new location to get more storage space. I searched for some solutions, however, it’s too complicated to follow. Any one can teach me some easy ways to move Dropbox folder to a new location?"

What is Dropbox folder and what is the default location for Dropbox?

Dropbox is a network file synchronization tool which will provide online storage service, allowing you to easily share files between computers. When you install Dropbox on your computer, it creates a folder in a specific location to store your files. By default, your Dropbox folder is stored in your Users folder at C:\Users\. You can easily to find it in two simple steps:

Step 1: Press Windows+E to run file explorer.

Step 2: Press Alt+D to open address bar, and type "%HOMEPATH%/Dropbox". Then, you will see the files stored on it.

Can I move Dropbox folder?

As we mentioned above, Dropbox folder is installed on C drive by default. Thus, as more and more files and programs are synchronized, the C drive will be filled, as a consequence, the Windows will run slow. That may be the reason why you want to move Dropbox folder to a new location. It allows you to free more space on C drive to store other essential data.

Theoretically, you can move the Dropbox folder to wherever you like. However, unlike normal personal folders, moving the Dropbox folder to another drive can cause some unexpected issues if you don't operate well. And you can't use the common methods as you move other folders in Windows explorer. 

In order to move Dropbox folder to another loation successfully, there are a few caveats you should bear in mind:

Don't use external drives: Generally, Dropbox requires a constant connection to enable the folder to syn your files. Once the external drive becomes disconnected or powered off, the Dropbox will fail to recognize the folder, which may cause data loss. Hence, always try and use internal drives to store Dropbox folder.

Don't use networks drives: Dropbox won't work on networks drives. This is because Dropbox needs a file update event to be noticed that there are files updated, it's time to sync the files. However, the networks devices won't send these events.

Don't use removable media: Dropbox needs continuous access to the folder while removable media like an SD card can be removed from time to time. Therefore, Dropbox doesn't support such devices.

How to move Dropbox folder to a new location?

Since we have discussed that the location of Dropbox folder can't be changed casually, you should choose a professional way to guarantee the safety of data when you move Dropbox folder to another drive. Dropbox preferences and a third-party utility should be taken into your first consideration.

▶ Case 1: Dropbox preferences

Dropbox has its own option to allow you to move it to another drive, that is Dropbox preferences. Follow the steps to complete the operation(Take Windows as example):

Step 1: Open Dropbox(ensure all programs that are using Dropbox folder are turned off).

Step 2: In the screen that just opens, click your profile icon at the top-right corner and choose "Preferences".

Step 3: In Dropbox preferences window, click "Sync" and click "Move" under "Dropbox Folder Location".

Step 4: Choose a new location for your Dropbox folder like D drive and click "OK".

Step 5: You will be noticed that this will move your Dropbox folder and all the files inside from its current location to D drive. Click "OK" and then wait a moment for the movement.

Step 6: Now, you can back to the Dropbox desktop app to ensure that the changes are operated.

▶ Case 2: A third-party software utility

If you think there are so many steps using Dropbox Preferences to move Dropbox folder to a new location or worry about the data loss during the process, you can try the powerful software - AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, whose "App mover" feature can efficiently and effectively move various applications like Dropbox or Steam to another drive with all data together. No matter you are Windows 11/10/8/7/XP or Vista users, you can download the demo version now and have a try:

Step 1: Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, in the main console, click "Free up" on the top of the interface and then choose "App Mover".

Step 2: In the window that pops out, you will be shown two options: "App Mover" or "Move Folders". Here, we choose "Move Folders".

Step 3: Then you will get into "Move folders" console, select the folder you want to move and choose a new location for it like E drive. Next, click "Move".(You will receive a message if the target drive is insufficient to move folders, please free space or extend the partition, then try again.)

Step 4: The process will cost you some time, wait patiently until it completed. Then, click "Finish".

Now, you can open Windows Explorer and you can see Dropbox has been moved to E drive successfully.

Conclusion

As you can see, it's simple to move Dropbox folder location, but there are still several things you need to keep in mind when changing the location of Dropbox. And this article has provided two useful methods to tell you how to move Dropbox folder to a new location, so that you can get more extra storage space on C drive.

Due to the need of moving it back, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is more recommended, because the step is totally the same, which can save your time and energy. In addition, it has many other features you may be interested in: extend C drive safely, migrate OS to SSD to get faster performance, delete large files to free up more space, and so on. If you are using Windows Server 2022/2019/2012/2008, you can try AOMEI Partition Assistant Server.