The Desktop App now allows you to set up connected folders. Connected folders are any folders stored on your computer that are kept in sync with specified folders in the cloud. Setting up connected folders is particularly useful for linking library folders such as your Desktop, Documents, Pictures, and Downloads folders with folders in the cloud. Any changes between the folder on the hard drive or the corresponding folders in the cloud are kept in sync in real time.

Learn more about the benefits of connected folders and the top five reasons to set up them up for your users in our Community post.

Set up Connected Folders

Starting from version 3.3 of the Desktop App, you can add or remove connected folders using the command-line tool supplied with Windows or Mac.

To set up connected folders in Windows, open the Command line tool and paste in the provided code after making the necessary changes.

Here's an example of setting up a connected folder connecting C:\Users\%username%\Desktop with a folder called Desktop in the user’s Private folder using -a to specify the local paths and and -r to specify the cloud paths. In our example, the drive label is selkirk. If there is a space in your drive label, you'll need to encapsulate the label name in quotes:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Egnyte Connect\EgnyteClient.exe" -command connect_folder -l selkirk -a "C:\Users\%username%\Desktop" -r "/Private/::egnyte_username::/Desktop"

::egnyte_username:: can be used as a placeholder for the Egnyte username. This is useful when connecting a folder to a location inside the user’s Private folder.

Below is an example of disconnecting a folder using the -rm option:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Egnyte Connect\EgnyteClient.exe" -command connect_folder -l selkirk -rm "C:\Users\%username%\Desktop"

In Windows, %username% will resolve in the currently logged in users' space.

The Command-line Tool in Windows will not provide a confirmation that the action was successful. Please go to the View Connected Folders section of this article to learn how to verify if a connected folder was added or removed successfully.

Learn more about the Command Line Interface tool for Mac here.

Here's an example of setting up a connected folder connecting a local folder ~/Movies with an Egnyte folder called Movies under the Private folder (drive label is assumed to be egnyte for the example):

egnytecli connected-folders add egnyte ~/Movies /Private/::egnyte_username::/Movies

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In Mac, a ~/ will resolve in the currently logged in users' space.

::egnyte_username:: can be used as a placeholder for the Egnyte username. This is useful when connecting a folder to a location inside the user’s Private folder.

View Connected Folders

To see what folders are connected for a specific drive, open the Advanced view.

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Then, open the Connected Folders tab.

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Recommendations and Supported Configurations

  • Connected folders can only be set up through the command-line tool. Any user can set this up on their own, or Admins can set it up through Mass Deployment.
  • Only folders in internal hard drives or partitions should be used to set up connected folders. Folders in external hard drives, network shares, USBs, SD cards, or any other storage locations outside of internal hard drives are NOT supported.
  • If using connected folders to sync user's library folders (Desktop, Documents, Downloads, etc.), we recommend connecting to a location within the user's Private folder in the cloud to ensure sufficient permissions exist to keep content in sync.
    • Multiple local folders can be connected to the same folder in the cloud, however, it is not recommended. 
  • If you are currently using Desktop Sync to redirect users library folders to the cloud, we recommend uninstalling Desktop Sync before installing and setting up connected folders on the Desktop App. This will prevent any unintended conflicts in two different sync engines synchronizing the same content.
  • The automatic locking mechanism will not take effect when accessing content from the connected folder on the hard drive. However, automatic locking will still take place when accessing the same folder from inside the drive added by the Desktop App.
  • You can use extension filtering rules and permissions to control what is synchronized from connected folders.
  • If you move, rename, or delete a connected folder locally, the corresponding folder in the cloud is not deleted, but the link is broken.

    Deleting files or sub-folders inside the connected folder will delete the corresponding files or sub-folders in the cloud.

  • If you move, rename, or delete a connected folder in the cloud, the Desktop App will attempt to re-create the folder in the same location. If re-creating the folder is not possible (i.e., due to permissions), the link between the local folder and the cloud folder is broken, and content in the local folder will remain.
  • Connected folders are not deleted from the machine when a remote wipe is triggered.
  • You can still set up connected folders if the ability to sync content for offline access is turned off.
  • The supported maximum number of files is up to 500,000 files for all connected folders for a given user. There is no limit to how many connected folders can be set up.