Turn your MAC desktop into an auto syncing dropbox folder

This post is a response to an article on the not correct blog.  It describes a method for turning your desktop into a dropbox folder, useful if you want to keep your desktop sync’d across multiple macs automatically.  It’s possible to also sync across PCs but this post references macs only, review the not correct blog link and also this lifehacker post for info on PCs.  The not correct blog method works but uses terminal commands.  I mostly try to avoid these whenever possible.  My version does not invoke the terminal and so is less scary.  You only have to move files and folders around.  The not correct blog method only requires two terminal commands so if you’re comfortable with the terminal then that might be the better option.  Here’s my non-terminal method.

1. Install dropbox on your computer if you have not already done so.
2. Install this symbolic link contextual menu plugin or this automator action version.  I found the first link to be the easier of the two.
3. Open your user home folder by double clicking on your hard drive icon and then selecting your home folder icon in the left sidebar of the finder window.  Select list view in finder window, you should now be looking at the items in your home folder.  Among the folders in your home folder should be one that says Desktop and another that says Dropbox.  The desktop folder holds all the items that are on your desktop and the dropbox folder holds all the items in your dropbox and is syncable.
4. Right click on your Desktop folder and select duplicate.  Rename this new Folder called Desktop copy to Desktop.BAK.  Doing so automatically copies all items from your desktop to desktop.bak.  You now have two copies of your desktop.
5. Create a symbolic link to your Dropbox folder using instructions for whichever symbolic link utility you chose to install.  The linked folder should be created or placed in your user folder.  At this point you should have two Dropbox folders in your user folder, one the original and the other the symbolic linked folder.
6. Rename your desktop folder to something other than Desktop.  Rename the symbolic linked dropbox folder ‘Desktop’.
7. You now have four relevant folders in your user folder.  (a) renamed original desktop folder (b) copy of desktop folder, desktop.bak (c) original dropbox folder (d) symbolic linked dropbox folder renamed desktop.
8. Restart your computer
9. Once restarted your computer should open with the contents of your dropbox on your desktop.  You may now place items that were in your original desktop folder into your new symlinked desktop folder, they will also be display on your desktop.  You don’t really need desktop.bak at this point so you could trash it but do check that your renamed original desktop still exists and its contents are as you expect.
10. Backing out of this configuration is easy.  Rename your symlinked desktop to something other than desktop.  Rename your original desktop to its old name of desktop and then restart your computer.  Your old desktop is restored and you verify that your original dropbox folder and its contents are still there then you can delete the symlinked dropbox folder.  Restart your computer.  Move whatever items you wish from your dropbox back to your desktop.

If you choose to use the not correct blog terminal method then you may back out of it using these instructions provided by a lifehacker commenter.

Even if you don’t need to sync across computers, the obvious benefit of doing this hack is that your desktop items are stored in the cloud so recovery is that much easier should a problem arise, the downside is that if you’re often on a wireless connection then your computer is slowed, as it will be syncing your desktop activity.  A simple fix for this is to disable dropbox until you get a robust connection.  You should be backing up your entire computer periodically.

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