How to set a file or folder to be ignored

6 min read Original article ↗

In this article

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This article describes a feature available to customers on Dropbox Basic, Plus, Professional, Essentials, and Family.

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Note: Online-only files, and folders containing online-only files can't be ignored


Ignored files are files in the Dropbox folder on your computer that aren’t stored on the Dropbox server. This means: 

  • They don’t sync to your Dropbox account.
  • They can’t be accessed on dropbox.com.
  • They remain on your computer so you can still use them locally.

This option helps save storage space in your Dropbox account without removing files from your computer or by using selective sync.

Follow the instructions for your operating system:


You can set a file or folder to be ignored using PowerShell:

  1. Open the PowerShell application.
  2. Type the code below, replacing the file/folder path placeholder with the file/folder path you’d like to ignore.
    • To locate the file/folder path, right-click on the file/folder and click Copy as path.
Set-Content -Path 'C:\Users\yourname\Dropbox (Personal)\YourFileName.pdf' -Stream com.dropbox.ignored -Value 1
  1. Press enter.


The icon beside your file or folder will change to a gray minus sign, meaning it's ignored.

If you’re running Dropbox for macOS on File Provider:

  1. Navigate to the file or folder you’d like to ignore.
  2. Right-click on that file or folder.
  3. Click Do Not Sync.

Find out which version of Dropbox for macOS you’re running.


You can set content to be ignored through the Terminal app. The latest Dropbox for macOS update utilizes Apple’s updated File Provider API to more deeply integrate with macOS. This update will change which code to use when setting files or folders to be ignored.


If you’re running Dropbox for macOS on File Provider:

  1. Open the Terminal application.
  2. Type the code below, replacing the file/folder path placeholder with the file/folder path you’d like to ignore, and "yourname" with your username.
xattr -w 'com.apple.fileprovider.ignore#P' 1 '/Users/yourname/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox/YourFileName.pdf
  1. Press enter.
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Note: If you’ve set your files to online-only, the icon may also change to an online-only icon or a mixed state icon depending on your settings.

Learn more about macOS sync icons and what they mean.
 

If you’re on macOS and haven’t opted in to File Provider:

  1. Open the Terminal application.
  2. Type the code below, replacing the file/folder path placeholder with the file/folder path you’d like to ignore, and "yourname" with your username.
xattr -w com.dropbox.ignored 1 '/Users/yourname/Dropbox (Personal)/YourFileName.pdf'
  1. Press enter.


The icon beside your file or folder will change to a gray minus sign, meaning it's ignored.

  1. Open the Terminal.
  2. Type the code below, replacing the file/folder path placeholder with the file/folder path you no longer want to ignore, and "yourname" with your username.
attr -s com.dropbox.ignored -V 1 '/home/yourname/Dropbox (Personal)/YourFileName.pdf'
  1. Press enter. 


The icon beside your file or folder will change to a gray minus sign, meaning it's ignored.

Stop ignoring a file or folder

If you no longer want a file or folder to be ignored, follow the instructions for your operating system below.

You can set a file or folder to no longer be ignored through the PowerShell app:

  1. Open the PowerShell application.
  2. Type the code below, replacing the file/folder path placeholder with the file/folder path you no longer want to ignore, and "yourname" with your username.
Clear-Content -Path 'C:\Users\yourname\Dropbox (Personal)\YourFileName.pdf' -Stream com.dropbox.ignored
  1. Press enter.

If you’re running Dropbox for macOS on File Provider:

  1. Navigate to the file or folder you no longer want to ignore.
  2. Right-click on that file or folder.
  3. Click Sync.

Learn which version of macOS you’re running.

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Note: This feature is not available on team accounts.

You can set content to no longer be ignored through the Terminal app:


If you’re running Dropbox for macOS on File Provider:

  1. Open the Terminal application.
  2. Type the code below, replacing the file/folder path placeholder with the file/folder path you no longer want to ignore, and "yourname" with your username.
xattr -d com.dropbox.ignored /Users/yourname/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox-Personal/YourFileName.pdf
  1. Press enter.
  2. Type this code below, replacing the file/folder path placeholder with the file/folder path you no longer want to ignore, and "yourname" with your username.
xattr -d 'com.apple.fileprovider.ignore#P' '/Users/yourname/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox-Personal/YourFileName.pdf'
  1. Press enter.


The crossed-out cloud icon will no longer be next to this file/folder, indicating that it is no longer ignored.

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Note: If you’ve set your files to online-only, the icon may also change to an online-only icon or a mixed state icon depending on your settings.


If you’re on macOS and haven’t opted in to File Provider:

  1. Open the Terminal application.
  2. Type the code below, replacing the file/folder path placeholder with the file/folder path you no longer want to ignore, and "yourname" with your username.
xattr -d com.dropbox.ignored '/Users/yourname/Dropbox (Personal)/YourFileName.pdf'
  1. Press enter. 


The icon beside your file or folder will change to a green check mark indicating that it is no longer ignored.

  1. Open the Terminal application.
  2. Type the code below, replacing the file/folder path placeholder with the file/folder path you no longer want to ignore, and "yourname" with your username.
attr -r com.dropbox.ignored '/Users/yourname/Dropbox (Personal)/YourFileName.pdf'
  1. Press enter. 


The icon beside your file or folder will change to a green check mark indicating that it is no longer ignored.

FAQs about ignored files

What happens after I ignore a file or folder

Once ignored, the file or folder stays in your Dropbox folder on your computer’s hard drive. However, it will be deleted from the Dropbox server and your other devices. You also won’t be able to access it on dropbox.com and it won’t sync to your Dropbox account. You can choose to sync that file or folder back to dropbox.com at any time.

Will a file within an ignored folder also be ignored?

If you move a file or folder to an ignored folder, it will cause that file or folder to be ignored as well. If you move that file or folder out of the ignored folder, it will no longer be ignored.

Can you sync changes made to a shared file or folder that is ignored?

If you ignore a shared file or folder, any edits made to it on your computer (or to the shared version online) won’t sync with each other. 

If you set it not to be ignored anymore, Dropbox will merge the previously ignored file or folder with the shared file or folder online, if possible. If not, Dropbox will keep both versions and label one as a conflicted copy so no edits are lost.

Will the commands to ignore files and folders work on my operating system?

If you’ve moved the Dropbox folder to a location other than the default one, the commands above won't work. You’ll need to update it manually.

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