How To Enable Dropbox Support In The Dolphin File Manager
KDE’s Dolphin file manager has a lot of cool features. One of its best features is allowing users to download third-party services to set up in the browser. In this article, we’re going to show you how to enable Dropbox support in Dolphin.
By enabling Dropbox support in Dolphin, you’ll be able to share files easily, generate download links and click “send to Dropbox” right from your Linux desktop environment.
Install Dolphin
If you’re using the KDE Desktop environment on Linux, Dolphin is already set up and installed. However, Dolphin is usable on many other Linux setups. To install it on things like Cinnamon, Gnome, and others, you’ll need to open up a terminal and install the following packages.
Note: the Dolphin file manager is a QT application, and looks best on KDE Plasma and LXQt. To use it on a GTK desktop environment, install Adwaita-Qt.
Ubuntu
sudo apt install dolphin
Debian
sudo apt install dolphin
Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S dolphin
Fedora
sudo dnf install dolphin
OpenSUSE
sudo zypper install dolphin
Generic Linux
Dolphin is the official file manager for the KDE desktop environment and the Plasma desktop. The fact that it’s a significant fixture in KDE means that no matter how obscure your Linux distro, Dolphin should be available. Search your package manager for “dolphin file manager,” and install it the way you usually install programs.
Alternatively, grab the Dolphin file manager’s source code from their GitHub page and build it with cmake.
Install Dropbox
Setting up the Dropbox plugin in Dolphin is pointless unless you have the actual service working on your Linux PC. Head over to the official Dropbox website, and click “Install” to go to the official download page. From there, look for your version of Linux and grab the package you need.
If you have issues installing the Dropbox cloud sync tool on your Linux desktop, we’ve got you covered! Check out our in-depth guide on how to get the Dropbox sync system working on Linux.
Note: Dropbox has stated they are discontinuing support for file systems on Linux other than Ext4. Before installing this app on your system, ensure you are using Ext4. If not, you may need to re-install Linux on your computer to enable this file system.
With Dropbox set up on Linux, it’s time to sign in. Then, let it sync to the ~/Dropbox folder in your home directory.
Set Up Dropbox Service In Dolphin
Dropbox integration in the Dolphin file manager works with a third-party plugin. This plugin comes in a package known as “dolphin-plugins.” If you’d like to install it on your Linux PC, launch a terminal window and follow the directions that match the operating system you’re currently using.
Note: please ensure that the Dropbox app is running before installing this plugin, as it relies on your Dropbox configuration file to work.
Ubuntu
sudo apt install dolphin-plugins
Debian
sudo apt-get install dolphin-plugins
Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S dolphin-plugins
Fedora
sudo dnf install dolphin-plugins
OpenSUSE
sudo zypper install dolphin-plugins
Generic Linux
The Dolphin Plugins are available on all Linux distributions that come with the Dolphin file manager. Using your package manager, search for “dolphin-plugins” and install it. Alternatively, grab the plugin pack’s code from GitHub and install it to your Linux computer.
Enable Plugin
The plugin pack is on your Linux PC, and Dolphin sees it. However, you won’t be able to interact with Dropbox until the plugin’s settings are fully set up on your system. To enable the Dropbox integrations, launch your Dolphin file manager, find “Control” and select it.
In the “Control” menu, select “Configure Dolphin” to bring up the main config area for the file manager. In the main configuration area, look for the “Services” option and select it to open up the file manager’s integrated service list.
Scroll through the services list and look for the “Dropbox” option. Check the box next to “Dropbox” to enable the integrations, click “Apply” and close Dolphin. When you re-open Dolphin, you’ll see Dropbox in the right-click menu, and a green checkmark on your sync folder in the home directory.
Dolphin Dropbox plugin
Dolphin’s new Dropbox integrations are accessible via the right-click menu. To use it, launch your file manager and find a file in your Dropbox sync folder. Then, right-click on the data. In the right-click menu, you’ll notice some Dropbox options.
Move To Dropbox
If you’re outside of the Dropbox shared folder, you’ll notice a “Move to Dropbox” option in the right-click menu. This feature allows the user to send data directly to the sync folder without any effort. To use it, highlight any file or folder in dolphin, right-click and select the “Move to Dropbox” option.
Share
To share a file from Dolphin, select the “Copy Dropbox Link” option, and a public URL will go to your computer’s clipboard. Press Ctrl + V to share the public URL with a friend.
Share A folder
Sharing privately through Dolphin to Dropbox is done by right-clicking a directory and selecting the “Share” button. Selecting the “Share” option will instantly open a new browser window to Dropbox.com, which you can use to set up a share.
View
You can view the contents of any directory, or look at a file on the Dropbox website by selecting something, right-clicking and selecting “View.” Alternatively, view file/folder comments by selecting the “View comments” button.
Great tips. I have been a longtime user of both kde plasma and dropbox but didn’t know of the dropbox/dolphin integration. This is the most useful discovery this year!
How do you “log in to dropbox” from ubuntu?
How do you know which is your “sync folder”.
So far I am not able to get this to work yet.
I think rclone might work