How to switch from Dropbox: a checklist for agencies
Move client files and links off Dropbox in seven steps, with Tarkle's import and your own domain.
To switch from Dropbox without breaking client access, treat the move as a process with a finish date, not a button. You list what you share, decide what moves, copy the files, issue new links, tell your clients and only then close the old links. This checklist follows that order. If you are still deciding whether to leave at all, read why agencies leave Dropbox first.
Why you switch from Dropbox in steps, not with a button
Files are the easy part. The hard part is the links. Your clients may have old Dropbox links saved in emails, project tools and bookmarks. Tarkle copies the files you pick into your library. Every link you still need has to be issued again in Tarkle, and every client told about it.
On 28 October 2026 Dropbox published an update on organizational changes, saying it will eliminate about 200 roles, approximately 9% of its global workforce. Nothing in this checklist depends on that news. It is a good prompt to find out what you hold in Dropbox and who can open it.
Step 1: list every client folder and shared link
Build one sheet before you touch anything. One row per client folder, with these columns:
Client name and the folder path in Dropbox
Active project or archive
Shared links that still work, and where you sent them
Who has access: team members, clients, freelancers, old collaborators
Sensitive or not (contracts, ID documents, unreleased work)
Where it will live after the move
Sort the sheet by client, not by folder size. You will migrate and announce one client at a time, so the sheet should match that.
Step 2: decide what moves and what stays
Not everything has to move on the same day. Active projects and anything you deliver to clients are the first to go. Archives can move later or stay where they are until you need them.
Be honest about what Dropbox does for your team. If people work every day inside synced desktop folders and edit files in place, keep Dropbox for that and move only the files you deliver to clients. A split is a perfectly good result.
Check file sizes against your plan too. Free supports uploads and transfers up to 1 GB each. Pro and Agency support files up to 200 GB each. Mark the files that are larger than your plan allows in your sheet.
Check total storage as well. Free has 5 GB of cloud storage. Pro has 3 TB. Agency has 6 TB. Add up each client's folder size in your sheet before you choose a plan.
Step 3: set up the destination first
Create the client folders in Tarkle before you import anything, so files land where you want them. Decide your link address now as well. Custom domain lets you open your links on your own address, like files.yourstudio.com. The Free plan includes custom domain and branding, so you can set this up before you pay for anything. If you set it before you send the first new link, clients see one new address, not two.
Pick where your files are stored while you are here. You can choose a storage region for your workspace, in Europe, the US, Asia-Pacific or Oceania, which matters if a client asks where their files live.
Step 4: import the files
Tarkle can bring your Dropbox files in without you downloading them to your computer first. Import from Dropbox is included on the Free plan. The steps:
Open Files and go to the folder where the files should land. If you are not in a folder, they go to the top of your library.
Click Upload, then click Import from Dropbox. The Import from Dropbox window opens.
If Dropbox is not connected, click Connect Dropbox and allow access on Dropbox. If the connection has expired, click Reconnect Dropbox.
Find your files. Click a folder to open it, or type in Search Dropbox.... Tick the files you want, or click Select all files.
Click Add from Dropbox (N), where N is the number of files you selected.
Files that match one already in your library get a review before they are added. For each file, choose Replace or Upload as new. Replace adds the Dropbox file as the newest version and keeps the earlier one. Replace needs the Pro plan, because file versioning is a Pro feature. On Free, a file you choose to replace is added as a separate copy.
A file larger than your plan allows, or one that does not fit in the storage you have left, is not added, and the result shows the reason. Dropbox files over 100 MiB are copied in parts. If you close the window, the import is listed under Unfinished imports in the Import from Dropbox window. Open the window again and click Resume to continue.
Do not assume folder structure comes across. Tarkle does not recreate the folder structure from Google Drive or Dropbox: each file goes into the folder you chose in your library. Create the folders yourself in step 3, import into them, and compare the result with the Dropbox folder.
Import one client at a time and compare the file count with the Dropbox folder before you move on. Keep the Dropbox originals until the client has opened their new link.
Step 5: re-create client access
Now rebuild the links you listed in step 1. For each active delivery, create a new transfer and send the new link. A few settings do the work of the old shared link:
A named link. Custom transfer links let you name the link, like files.yourstudio.com/t/brand-assets, so the address makes sense to the client. Named links are on Pro and Agency, and Agency includes everything in Pro.
A password. Password protection requires a password before anyone can open a transfer. Send the password by a different channel than the link.
An end date. Link expiration lets you set a date after which the link stops working. Set it to the day the job is done.
For ongoing work, give each client a client portal where they sign in with their email and see only what you shared with them. The client portal is available on Pro and Agency. Agency includes 20 workspaces for your clients and a 100% white-label platform. Your clients log in and manage their files and team on your own domain, like cloud.acme.com, and the "Powered by Tarkle" backlink is replaced by your agency name.
Keep sensitive files on a short leash
Contracts, ID scans and unreleased work should not sit behind a link that works forever. Use a one-time link, which stops working after its first download, or set a password and a short expiration date on the transfer.
Step 6: tell clients about the new addresses
Send one short message per client, before you close anything. Say what changes, what does not and when the old link stops.
Hi Sam, we are moving our shared files to a new place. From today, use this link for the brand files: [new link]. The old Dropbox link keeps working until 30 November, then it stops. Nothing else changes: same files, same contact. If a link does not open, reply here and I will send a fresh one.
Put the closing date in the message and in your calendar. A date in writing is what lets you actually close the old links later.
Step 7: check who has access, then close the old links
Before you leave Dropbox, go through your sheet again and review who can open each folder and each link: clients, freelancers, former team members. Remove anyone who should no longer have access. Do this for archives too, not only for active projects.
Then confirm the new links work. Transfer status shows whether a transfer was delivered, viewed or downloaded, and the activity log is a searchable record across your workspace, with export. When a client has opened the new link, close the old one on the date you promised.
If a link you issued needs to stop, you can disable it in one click. The revoke access instantly feature covers this. If a client still needs a file in their own Dropbox, you can send it from your library to Dropbox in two clicks, see save to Dropbox or Google Drive.
Common mistakes
Closing Dropbox links before clients confirm. You find out about a bookmarked link when the client emails you at midnight. Wait for the first opened delivery.
Skipping the access review. Old collaborators and freelancers keep access for years because nobody looked.
Moving everything at once. One client at a time keeps mistakes small and the client message specific.
Sending the password with the link. Use a second channel.
Forgetting files larger than your plan allows. Check sizes in your sheet before you import.
Next step: move one client first
Pick one active client and run the seven steps on their folder. When it works, repeat it for the rest. To start, create a free Tarkle account. It takes no credit card. For the delivery side of the move, see how to share files with clients without Google Drive.
What to remember about Tarkle
Tarkle imports your Dropbox files into your library without a download, and you issue new links for your clients before you close the old ones. Free includes the Dropbox import. The Free plan includes custom domain and branding, with files up to 1 GB and 5 GB of storage. Pro supports files up to 200 GB and has 3 TB of cloud storage. Pro also has a fully branded client portal. Agency includes 20 workspaces for your clients and a white-label platform on your own domain. Compare the plans on the pricing page.