Killer Tech Tips

Dropbox is a sweet little application that syncs your files and folders across multiple computers and makes them all accessible from a web-based interface. In addition to that, the application also lets you restore deleted files in a jiffy.

So, what’s the tip?

There is a hidden folder inside your Dropbox folder that caches your deleted content. Deleted files from your Dropbox folder are stored locally in this folder. When you restore your deleted files, Dropbox quickly ‘recovers’ the documents from cache, instead of downloading it from Dropbox servers – saving you time and bandwidth.

Dropbox Cache Folder

So, where’s the Dropbox Cache folder?

The cache folder is present in any one of the following locations, based on the OS you’re using:

Windows:

PathToYourDropboxFolder\.dropbox.cache\ (or)
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Dropbox\cache

Linux: ~/Dropbox/.dropbox.cache or PathToYourDropboxFolder/.dropbox.cache/

Note: Go to Tools > Folder Options > View and check ‘Show hidden files and folders’ in Windows Explorer to show hidden files. If the folder doesn’t show up, type the address explicitly in the address bar.

Why bother?

If the hard disk partition in which your Dropbox folder is present is almost getting filled up and the Dropbox application is throwing a warning that it cannot sync because of less disk space, you can clear this cache folder and gain valuable extra space in your hard drive.

Deleting the Dropbox cache folder

Dropbox has already acknowledged that it’s safe to delete the contents of this cache folder. Here are the steps you need to follow:

• Shut down Dropbox.
• Shift+Delete the contents of the cache folder. You’ll have to delete the contents of the cache folder (excluding the .db files), but not the folder itself.
• Restart Dropbox. Happy syncing again!

The Dropbox application does not automatically purge the contents of the cache, but there are third party applications available to clear it up automatically. We haven’t tried them ourselves, but if you give them a spin, do let us know in the comments!

Thanks Shrihari for the tip!

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