Sync an External Folder to Dropbox

Would you like to make DropBox backup a folder which is not stored within the default DropBox folder? We may have a solution!

Using a built in function in Microsoft’s Operating System called Mklink, which creates a symbolic directly link, we may be able to ‘fool‘ DropBox into thinking that a particular directory is located within its default synchronization folder.

 

Example: To create a symbolic link named “MyDocs” from the root directory to the “\Users\User1\Documents” directory, type:

mklink /d \MyDocs \Users\User1\Documents

 

Mklink has Spaces

If you are trying to make a symblic link but have spaces in your path or folder name you will need to put both Link and Target in double quotes. See example:

Example: To create a symbolic link named “Video Files” from the root directory to the “\Users\User1\Video Files” directory, type:

mklink /d “\video files” “\User\User1\Video Files”

Mklink Commands

For additional examples of how to use the Mklink command, see these examples.

 

Syntax

mklink [[/d] | [/h] | [/j]] <Link> <Target>

 

Parameters

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Parameter	Description
/d	Creates a directory symbolic link. By default, mklink creates a file symbolic link.
/h	Creates a hard link instead of a symbolic link.
/j	Creates a Directory Junction.
<Link>	Specifies the name of the symbolic link that is being created.
<Target>	Specifies the path (relative or absolute) that the new symbolic link refers to.
/?	Displays help at the command prompt.

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