Project Folder/File Sync Best Practices for End Users
Please use the following guidelines to ensure best practices around syncing folders/files for your Procore projects to Dropbox and back to Procore.
Best Practice 1
Please ensure that you are not renaming any of the top-level folders in Procore or Dropbox. This includes the project folder name and the documents/photos folders inside the project folder. For Procore, the file structure can be set as you like, as long as you are adding folders/files to sync inside the Documents and/or Photos Tools in the project (shown below). For Dropbox, folders/files inside the Documents and Photos folders can be edited/deleted/added etc. Do not rename the top-level folders or add any folders/files outside the Documents/Photos folders (shown below).
Best Practice 2
There are also some other important factors to consider when adding files in Procore or Dropbox to sync:
1. Please ensure individual files are not larger than 955 MB. Files of this size will need to be added manually into Procore or Dropbox as
required.
2. Please ensure files are not 0KB in size. Adding a document as a template for later with no data inside it, for example, will be 0KB
in size. These files are not able to be synced. The best practice here is to place at least one character inside the document to make
it at least 1KB.
3. Dropbox file character limit - please avoid using file names or having folder paths of more than 260 characters. Dropbox does
not accept long folder/file names or paths.
Please also avoid special characters or leading/trailing spaces in project names in Procore. Dropbox does not allow these
and these folders/files will not sync. Please find more information here on this.
Best Practice 3
Premature deleting – when you add a folder to sync (either in Procore or Dropbox) and it has folders/files within it, it will take some time to sync to the opposite application. Usually, the top folder is created first quite quickly, then the rest of tthe data in the folder you added will take more time to sync over. If someone deletes or moves that top-level folder before it has had a chance to fully sync all the data inside it, it will cause a break in the sync of that folder. It is best to allow the folder to complete syncing first and then make any necessary changes.
Best Practice 4
The flatter and shorter the folder structure, the better. Be mindful to keep the total folder and file paths as short as possible. Dropbox file and folder path limitations are 260 characters. Check with your admin to confirm any limitations pertaining to your current business plan. We work within the limitations of both systems to bridge the gap as best as we can, however, there are a few ways a user can break the sync so please take note of these and share them with your colleagues as required.
Still have questions? Reference our
FAQ Guide or contact your team's administrator to clarify.