> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ayakaleaf-pro.mintlify.site/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Dropbox Synchronisation > Link your Dropbox account, find your projects in Dropbox, let changes sync both ways, force a sync and unlink. Keep all your projects in sync with a folder in your Dropbox. Changes go both ways in the background, with one exception: what you type in the editor reaches Dropbox a few minutes after you leave the project, or when you click **sync this project now**. > [!NOTE] > > If you see no Dropbox option in **Account settings** or in the editor, ask your administrator to turn on [Dropbox Synchronisation](https://ayakaleaf-pro.mintlify.site/on-premises/configuration/overleaf-toolkit/integrations/dropbox-synchronisation.md). ## Link your Dropbox account You do this once. **1. Open your account settings** Click **Account**, then **Account settings**. Under **Project synchronisation**, find **Dropbox** and click **Link**. ![The Dropbox section of the account settings with a Link button](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-link.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=13d0619bf0bdd02346df085b72a29e3a) Dropbox in the account settings **2. Authorize on Dropbox** Dropbox opens. Sign in if you are asked to, then authorize the application. **3. Check the link** You are back in the account settings. A green message says your Dropbox account is linked, and the button now says **Unlink**. Under Dropbox, a status shows that your projects are being sent. ![The account settings with a green message and the Dropbox status Sending updates to Dropbox](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-linked.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=0e0a67e0c8c486b2cd48b3450ff6fe18) Your Dropbox account is linked The status changes to **Overleaf and Dropbox have processed all updates** when they are all there. ![The Dropbox section with the status Overleaf and Dropbox have processed all updates](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-status.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=d6743b0ef7b01a4a45cbd1d40c39760e) Everything is in sync If your account is not linked yet, the **Dropbox** card in the editor asks you to link it first. Click **Update Dropbox Settings**: the account settings open in a new tab. Link your account there, then refresh the editor page, as the dialog tells you to. ![The Sync with Dropbox dialog with an Update Dropbox Settings button](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-not-linked.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=fee46374f5a9cb2eedb41ecbf1d87869) The prompt when your account is not linked If you do not allow access on Dropbox, you come back to the account settings without a message, and the button still says **Link**. ### If you have projects with the same name You cannot link while two of your projects share a name. The message names them. Archived and trashed projects count too. ![An error message saying the account can not be linked because of two projects named Field notes](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-duplicate-names.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=62762c86c50151b3daf919e78161ec60) Two projects with the same name Rename one of them and click **Link** again. ## Find your projects in Dropbox Each of your projects is a folder in `Apps//` in your Dropbox, with all its files. Your administrator chose the app name. Every project is synced, also the ones you create later: you cannot pick some of them. To see the folder of a project, open the project. In the left bar, click **Integrations**, then **Dropbox**. ![The Integrations panel with the Dropbox card](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-integrations.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=fc6d5af69166507bc4c3408411e92479) The Integrations panel The dialog names the folder, and links to it on Dropbox. ![The Sync with Dropbox dialog naming the folder Apps/Ayakaleaf Demo/Alice thesis](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-dialog.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=bc8c876a12fc764a3b6a456434c68157) The folder of this project A new project named like one you already have gets a numbered folder, such as `Field notes (1)`. The dialog shows which one is its folder. ![The Sync with Dropbox dialog naming the folder Apps/Ayakaleaf Demo/Field notes (1)](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-numbered.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=ada890a2a6b8d737d819db4c7a12bf73) A numbered folder ## Changes you make in Overleaf You do not need to click anything. * **New files, renames, moves and deletions** reach Dropbox right away. A new folder appears there with its first file. * **Renaming a project** renames its folder. * **Edits you type in the editor** do not reach Dropbox while the project is open, and clicking **Recompile** does not send them. They go about three minutes after everyone has left the project. To send them earlier, see [Force a sync](#force-a-sync). * **Deleting a project** leaves its folder in Dropbox. Delete the folder yourself if you no longer need it. ## Changes you make in Dropbox You do not need to click anything here either. Dropbox tells Overleaf about the change, and it usually shows up within seconds, also in an open editor, without reloading. * **New files, edits, renames and deletions** in a project folder are applied to the project. So are new folders. * **A new folder at the top of the app folder** becomes a new project. * **Files Overleaf does not sync**, such as `.DS_Store` or `.aux` files, stay in Dropbox only. The history of the project marks these changes **(via Dropbox)**. ### If the file is open in the editor The file changes in front of you, and a dialog tells you so. Click **OK**. ![The Document Updated Externally dialog](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-updated-externally.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=b8d1b4c238d3cc21b57e67c40190e93d) A file you have open changed in Dropbox The Dropbox version replaces what you typed and had not sent yet. Your text is not lost: it stays in the project's history. ![The project history with an edit marked via Dropbox and the replaced text struck through](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-history.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=293ee9d1cf95661f19b29d422d594dfd) The replaced text in the history ### Rename or delete a project folder Rename a project in Overleaf, not in Dropbox. To Overleaf, a folder renamed in Dropbox is a deleted folder and a new one: you get a new project with the new name, and the old project stays. When you delete a project folder in Dropbox, the project stays in your project list, with its files and history. The next time you open it, a dialog tells you once. Click **OK**. ![The Project Renamed or Deleted dialog](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-project-deleted.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=e7d9adb460f8595d426d0693e2d26eb2) The folder of this project is gone from Dropbox The project keeps syncing. To put all of it back in Dropbox, click **sync this project now**. ### While a project is archived or in the trash Changes you make in its folder in Dropbox are not applied, and restoring the project does not bring them in. Overleaf then stops sending the files you changed, so the two sides differ. Save such a file once more in Dropbox: the Dropbox version replaces the one in Overleaf. ## Force a sync Each project has its own link. Use it when you want your edits in Dropbox now, without leaving the project. **1. Open the sync dialog** Open the project. In the left bar, click **Integrations**, then **Dropbox**. **2. Click sync this project now** The link is at the end of **Changes not appearing in Dropbox?** **3. Check the result** A blue message says a manual sync has started, and the status shows **Sending and receiving updates**. It changes back to **Overleaf and Dropbox have processed all updates** when the sync is done. ![The Sync with Dropbox dialog with a manual sync running](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-now-started.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=aae5cff75f55719a06935dd648cf5b1a) A manual sync is running The link sends the whole project to Dropbox, including the edits still in the editor. It also reads the changes waiting in Dropbox, for all your projects. If your site cannot receive [notifications from Dropbox](https://ayakaleaf-pro.mintlify.site/on-premises/configuration/overleaf-toolkit/integrations/dropbox-synchronisation.md#webhook), changes from Dropbox only come in this way. You can do this once per minute for each project. Sooner than that, a red message asks you to wait. ![The Sync with Dropbox dialog saying manual syncing is limited to one per minute](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-now-limited.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=388b35893e223306a0a945f92056ea59) Wait a minute before the next one ## Unlink your Dropbox account **1. Click Unlink** In **Account settings**, under **Dropbox**, click **Unlink**. **2. Confirm** Click **Unlink** in the dialog. ![The Unlink Dropbox Account dialog](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-unlink.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=ba7ae444001d8b5253572c4cdede5aa7) Unlink your account **3. Check the result** The button says **Link** again, and the **Dropbox** card in the editor says your account is not linked. Nothing syncs any more in either direction. Your projects and the folders in Dropbox keep their files. ### Link again later Click **Link**. Your projects are sent to Dropbox again: * Each file replaces the one with the same name in Dropbox. What you changed in those files in Dropbox while unlinked is overwritten, so move such changes to the project first. * A file that exists only in Dropbox stays there, and comes into the project when you next change it. * A project you renamed while unlinked gets a new folder. The old folder stays. ### If Overleaf unlinks your account Overleaf unlinks your account when Dropbox no longer accepts the link. The project list says why, until you link again. ![A message in the project list saying the Dropbox account has been unlinked](https://mintcdn.com/ayakaleaf-pro/IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8/images/on-premises/dropbox-sync-unlinked-notice.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=IsGnx0wnzqtV4hI8\&q=85\&s=f55b7675ee0a355c4c4d866440962854) Your account was unlinked For the reasons, see the Q\&A of [Dropbox Synchronisation](https://ayakaleaf-pro.mintlify.site/on-premises/configuration/overleaf-toolkit/integrations/dropbox-synchronisation.md). > [!NOTE] > > For what collaborators get in a shared project, see [How syncing works](https://ayakaleaf-pro.mintlify.site/on-premises/configuration/overleaf-toolkit/integrations/dropbox-synchronisation.md#how-syncing-works). This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.