If you have a Windows computer, downloading files off Dropbox is easy if you have the Dropbox program installed. In fact, it might be the only way to get certain files off Dropbox, since they are only meant to support certain programs and can’t (or aren’t meant to) be opened directly.
Some methods of downloading files off Dropbox will still work on the Dropbox website. See our How to Download Files from Dropbox.com tutorial to learn about them.
Downloading Files off Dropbox in Windows
Downloading files off Dropbox by using the Windows program works basically the same way as uploading them, except that it works in reverse.
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Find and open the folder called “Dropbox” on your computer, which the Dropbox program for Windows created when you installed it. If the Dropbox program is running (by default, it’s automatically set to run when you turn on your computer), there’s an easy way to find this folder. Click the Dropbox icon (
) in your toolbar at the bottom-right corner of your desktop screen, and then click the Open Dropbox Folder icon (
).
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Now, use the explorer window for your “Dropbox folder” to find the file that you want to put back onto your computer, and (optionally) use another explorer window to find and open the place where you want to move your file. Now, click and hold the mouse button down on the file that you want to download from Dropbox, drag that file onto your desktop screen (or the place that you previously opened where you want to put the file), and let go of the mouse button. Voila! The file is off Dropbox and back on your computer!
NOTE: Like when you upload files through the Dropbox access program, this will NOT leave behind an extra copy of the file, and so you’ll have to create an extra copy on Dropbox if you want a backup of that file in case something happens to it on your computer.
Well, that’s about all there is to downloading files from Dropbox in Windows!
