What is the Dropbox desktop application (client)?

The downloadable Dropbox desktop application runs on Windows, Mac, or Linux operating systems and gives you access to your Dropbox directly through a folder on your hard drive.

In addition to using the Dropbox website, we recommend that you download and install the Dropbox desktop application to get the most out of Dropbox.

Why? Using the Dropbox application is really convenient and fast. In fact, using Dropbox on your computer is just like using any other folder on your hard drive, except the files you drag into your Dropbox folder automatically sync online and to any other computers or mobile devices linked to your account. The application runs in the background and automatically keeps your files in sync and backed up online. It's like having the same folder on all of your computers and mobile devices at the same time.

The desktop application is really convenient because you never need to manually upload or download files in your Dropbox folder. The application automatically watches your Dropbox folder and keeps your files in sync for you. Any time you save a change to a file and are connected to the internet, that change will sync everywhere you have Dropbox installed.

The desktop application even works when you go offline. The next time you're online, Dropbox will sync changes just where it left off.

Dropbox for Business users

Need to access your personal and work Dropbox accounts from the same computer? Find out how to connect them. On a computer, a personal Dropbox and work Dropbox look like two separate folders, and you can use these folders like you would any other folder on your computer. The work Dropbox will display your company's name so that you can tell the folders apart.