Copy Files to Dropbox Folder with a Right Click

Dropbox cannot sync files and folders that are outside the main Dropbox folder. Thus, if you have a file on your desktop that you want to distribute through Dropbox, you got to place it in the Dropbox folder first.

send to dropbox

Dropbox Shell is a handy little utility for Windows that makes it a bit easy for you to transfer files from the desktop (or Windows Explorer) to the main Dropbox folder.

The tool adds a new menu item to your Windows’ contextual menu letting you send the currently selected file(s) straight to any folder inside Dropbox with a simple right-click. It supports both copy and move commands for files as well as folders.

Send files without installing Dropbox Shell

You may also replicate the functionality of Dropbox Shell Tools using the Windows “Send To” folder without installing anything extra. Just follow these easy steps:

Step 1. Launch Windows Explorer (Windows key + E) and paste the following string in the address bar to open the current user’s Send To folder.

%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo

Step 2. Right-click inside the SendTo folder, choose New – > Shortcut and under location, browse to your “My Dropbox” folder. This should add a new shortcut in the SendTo folder pointing to your local Dropbox folder.

Now when you want to copy a file from the desktop to Dropbox, simply right-click that file and choose Send To – > My Dropbox. Hold the Shift key if you want to completely move that file to Dropbox instead of creating a copy.

The only limitation with this approach is that it will move, or copy, your files and folder to a single folder in Dropbox while the Shell Tools give you an option to send files to the main folder, the public folder or any of the sub-folders.

Amit Agarwal

Amit Agarwal

Google Developer Expert, Google Cloud Champion

Amit Agarwal is a Google Developer Expert in Google Workspace and Google Apps Script. He holds an engineering degree in Computer Science (I.I.T.) and is the first professional blogger in India.

Amit has developed several popular Google add-ons including Mail Merge for Gmail and Document Studio. Read more on Lifehacker and YourStory

0

Awards & Titles

Digital Inspiration has won several awards since it's launch in 2004.

Google Developer Expert

Google Developer Expert

Google awarded us the Google Developer Expert award recogizing our work in Google Workspace.

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

Our Gmail tool won the Lifehack of the Year award at ProductHunt Golden Kitty Awards in 2017.

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft awarded us the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) title for 5 years in a row.

Google Cloud Champion

Google Cloud Champion

Google awarded us the Champion Innovator title recognizing our technical skill and expertise.

Email Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter to stay up to date.

We will never send any spam emails. Promise.