Sync Mac Desktop & Downloads with Dropbox
NOTE: this no longer works. So I started syncing my downloads folder to iCloud using these steps:
- Open iCloud Drive
- Make a Downloads folder in it
- Put that Downloads folder in your sidebar (it will look like a regular folder, rather than a circle with a downward pointing arrow)
- Move everything in your existing Downloads folder to the new Downloads folder
- Remove the old (circular) Downloads folder from your sidebar by dragging it out, or by unchecking it under Finder -> Preferences -> Sidebar
- Open Terminal, and type:
- sudo rm ~/Downloads; ln -s ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/Downloads/ ~/Downloads
- Enter your computer password (which you won’t see as you type)
Stuff that no longer works:
You can use Dropbox to sync things outside your Dropbox folder using a little Linux wizardry.
Sync Mac Desktop with Dropbox:
Open terminal and type this and hit enter:
ln -s ~/Desktop ~/Dropbox
Sync Mac Downloads with Dropbox:
ln -s ~/Downloads ~/Dropbox
Done and done.
Pro tip: the first path is the source, the second is the target container you want to choose (not a copy of the source itself on dropbox). Read here for more info on this.
I do the same thing to sync my MAMP folder on my mac through Dropbox:
ln -s /Applications/MAMP/db ~/Dropbox/Apps/MAMP
And to sync my Wiretap Studio library:
ln -s ~/Documents/WireTap\ Studio\ Library.wtpl ~/Dropbox/Apps
