Ubuntu 14.04 LTS And Dropbox

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS is finally here! One of the first thing that I normally do after installing or upgrading Ubuntu is to install Dropbox, a file hosting service that offers cloud storage. FYI, all my text files are stored on Dropbox.

The Dropbox client on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS is easily installed using one of 3 ways. This article will show you how.

Installing Dropbox on Ubuntu 14.04

Use the Ubuntu Software Center

1. Open the center and search for 'dropbox'.
2. Click on 'Install'.
3. Enter your password to authenticate the install.
4. Wait for the download and install to finish (the Install button will change to Remove).
5. Close the Ubuntu Software Center. (A window may appear next asking you to restart Nautilus - do so by clicking on the 'Restart Nautilus' button, then click the 'Next' button.)
6. In the window that appear next, you will be prompted to start Dropbox. Do so by clicking on the 'Start Dropbox'.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions to register or login to a Dropbox account.
8. When complete, close the 'Information available' window.

 Use a web browser

1. Search for 'download dropbox for ubuntu' using Google or any other search engines.
2. Click on the search result that say 'Install Dropbox on your Linux box'.
3. Click on either the 64-bit or 32-bit versions (depending on your Ubuntu OS) of the file for Ubuntu (.deb).
4. Click on 'Save File' and wait for the download to finish.
5. Close the web browser.
6. Open Nautilus file manager and go to the 'Downloads' folder.
7. Double-click on the dropbox .deb file.
8. Click on the 'Install' button on the Ubuntu Software Center window that appears next.
9. Follow the same steps (3) to (8) in the 'Use the Ubuntu Software Center' section above.

Use the command line

1. Open a terminal.
2. Execute:
     sudo apt-get install nautilus-dropbox
3. Enter your password if prompted and press the Enter key to confirm the install.
4. Dropbox will be downloaded and installed - as suggested by the message in the terminal first quit Nautilus (if open) by executing:
     nautilus --quit
5. Close the terminal.
6. Click on the 'Search' icon in the Unity dock (the first icon on top) and type 'dropbox' - the Dropbox icon will appear.
7. Click on the Dropbox icon.
8. Follow the on-screen instructions to register or login to a Dropbox account.

Note that the Dropbox icon will appear in both the Unity dock and the notification bar on the top right hand corner. Use the one on the notification bar to open the Dropbox folder in Nautilus. The one on the Unity dock exist to restart Dropbox and re-enable the Dropbox notification icon if you accidentally closed it via the 'Quit Dropbox' item.

You can set a bookmark to the Dropbox folder in Nautilus by clicking on the 'Bookmarks' item in Nautilus's menu and then select 'Bookmark this Location'.

If you decide that Dropbox is not your 'thing' and you want to remove it, you can use either the Ubuntu Software Center or the command line. Remember to exit Dropbox first by clicking on notification bar on the top right hand corner and selecting 'Quit Dropbox'.

Using the Ubuntu Software Center, search for 'dropbox', select it and click on the 'Remove' button and then authenticate when prompted. Dropbox will then be removed.

To use a command line, start a terminal and type 'sudo apt-get remove nautilus-dropbox', authenticate and then press the Enter key when prompted. Dropbox will then be removed.