Windows 10: remove DropBox from navigation pane

hello Mr Shawn Brink *Smile

i tried to PM you, but the system didn't let me, since this is my first post

following the text from the PM:
"
I just did read (and do) your instructions about removing OneDrive from the left explorer-pane. (and the quick-access pane)
after reading a few hour, its great to see your post. with your instructions it was done in 2/3 mins *Smile

but now the question...
since this is about DropBox and not about OneDrive, i thought i would b a better idea to just pm you...

I want to remove the DropBox item from the left-explorer-pane, but i do not want to remove (uninstall) dropbox...

you have any quick instructions?
thank you very much in advance *Smile
"

as u see i didn't want to go off-topic


edit:
lol, now i posted it in the wrong topic also

:)

 

Modify Navigation Pane

I like many things about Windows 10.

One thing I would like to be able to do is remove items from the windows explorer navigation pane. For example, windows has included my "Dropbox" account folder in the navigation pane. I have a dropbox account and yes there is a folder on my PC for that.
However, I rarely use dropbox (it is a legacy from some folks I used to work with). How can I remove that from the root navigation pane? An alternate question, how does windows decide what to place in the navigation pane?

 

Modify Navigation Pane

Thank you, sorry it has taken so long to follow up.

The suggested actions did not resolve the problem. I want to add/remove items from the navigation pane (left hand side) of a windows explorer window. When I reset the folders, it did remove my libraries from the navigation pane; which I expected. They
are not hard to get back so that is not an issue.

The current issue is I want to remove "Dropbox" from the navigation pane. More fundamentally, I want the ability to remove or add items to the navigation pane.

 

Hello Johan, and welcome to Ten Forums. *Smile

I don't use Dropbox, but I found this below that is reported to work.

How does one remove the Dropbox link from the Navigation Pane om Windows 10? Dropbox Community

 

thanks i have dinner now, but ill look into it.
tyvm *Smile


Edit: It succeeded, tyvm again...

 

You're most welcome. Please let us know how it went. *Smile

 

Here is how to do it:

1. Modify pin value and folder type value (SGAO) so the item is doubly invisible:

2. Enable inheritance on the registry key [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{E31EA727-12ED-4702-820C-4B6445F28E1A}]

- This makes the ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES user explicit. Deny only *this* user write access, while not changing any others that appear. Requires knowing how to use the Security tab.


RESULT:

For the first time, I rebooted and it's gone.

 

As readers may be aware, the fix above does not resist Dropbox updates, which reestablish the pesky navigation pane entry.

A nuclear response was needed, but not by uninstalling. I created a Task that consists of running a batch file that implements the reg file above after logon. Dropbox itself is set by Task Manager (not autoruns) to wait for user logon and a working internet connection. This takes a moment, so the batch file is set to run 1 minute after the internet connection is established.

This, after several test reboots, works. If after an update or some slow boot the fix doesn't work, just go into Task Scheduler and run the task manually.

 

Are the Dropbox HKCR entries coming from HKCU\Classses or HKLM\Classes?

Keith

 

From HKCU. The quoted text above in 1st post needs to be put into a reg file and merged. As per second post, no luck making it stick; required a workaround. Today I am reinstalling the OS after getting fed up with the problems from an upgrade, and this time I think there will be no Dropbox. Office 365 gives me 1TB, Google Drive 15GB (per email address, or 30GB total), ASUS Webstorage another 5GB iirc, and now 20GB from Cyberlink (not that I like them commercially, as the website is designed for suckers, but the SW does the job for my 3D and upscaling needs, and has the cloud storage to boot.)

So it looks like these might, maybe, perhaps are my first and last posts on Dropbox.

 

RESULT:

For the first time, I rebooted and it's gone.[/quote] Will this method work if I copy the code into a .reg file and run it that way?

 

Hello Joshua,

Yes, but leave the top Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 part of the code out if you're adding it to an existing .reg file. A .reg file only needs one at the top. *Smile

 

that would be an oopsie on my end then, lol. I tested it out just after posting my question. It seems to have worked fine though, lol. I'm not sure if it created a completely new registry area or if it updated the one that was already in it, lol.



---EDIT---

I'm an idiot. I completely misred your statement, lol. I used notepad to create a .reg file out of the coding, so it was actually a new .reg file, lol.

 

@Hlafordlaes

Can you please provide the batch file? I got the reg file to work but the dropbox icon keeps coming back whenever I log into my computer again.

 

I named the registry file HideDropbox.reg so change the name in this batch file to coincide with your reg file's name. Make sure you also use the proper path. Code: regedit.exe /S "C:\HideDropbox\HideDropbox.reg"[/quote] I created a task to run 30 seconds after startup, but you can alter the time to 45 seconds if you wish by exporting the task, deleting the task, editing the xml file, then reimporting the xml file to Task Scheduler.