Monday, August 29, 2016
Sync Minecraft worlds to multiple Windows machines accounts using Dropbox
Sync Minecraft worlds to multiple Windows machines accounts using Dropbox
My kids like playing Minecraft but we have multiple computers and laptops and they were asking how to get all their worlds regardless of the machine theyre on. We have a Dropbox subscription but unfortunately the official documentation for syncing multiple folders outside of the single Dropbox sync folder involves creating a Windows shortcut which wont work for Minecrafts Java logic (because the shortcut appends a hidden *.lnk extension so %appdata%.minecraftsaves becomes %appdata%.minecraftsaves.lnk and Minecraft wont see it and will create a new empty saves folder).
Fortunately, theres a fairly easy solution (which will work for syncing any number of extra folders to Dropbox):
1. If youre on Windows 8 or older, install the Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Package (note: 64-bit machines should install BOTH the 32-bit AND 64-bit versions)
2. Download and install the free Link Shell Extension program
3. Click Start and in the run box type %appdata%/.minecraft and hit Enter
4. Click on your Dropbox Desktop icon and click the Dropbox Folder link
5. Create a folder in the Dropbox folder called minecraft-worlds
6. Move the saves folder from the .minecraft directory to the new Dropbox minecraft-worlds folder
7. Right-click the Dropbox saves folder and choose Pick Link Source
8. In the .minecraft directory, right-click in any blank white area and choose Drop As... > Symbolic Link (accept the Security prompt if it appears)
9. Run the Minecraft game and make sure your worlds are still available and work as expected. Then close Minecraft.
10. Go to another computer and repeat Steps 1-4 (or another account on the same computer do Steps 3-4).
11. Move the contents of the .minecraft saves folder into the existing Dropbox minecraft-worlds/saves folder then delete the empty .minecraft saves folder
12. Repeat Steps 7-9
13. If you have any other computers or accounts, continue repeating Steps 10-12
Enjoy!
Available link for download
