Install the free version

You install Dropbox Portal by uploading its zip file in your WordPress admin. It takes about two minutes and you do not need FTP or any technical tool.

1. Download the zip file

1. Open the Dropbox Portal product page.
2. Click the download button for the free version.
3. Save the file on your computer. It is a .zip file. Do not unzip it: WordPress needs the zip exactly as it is.

2. Upload it to WordPress

1. Log in to your WordPress admin. The address is usually your site followed by /wp-admin, for example yoursite.com/wp-admin.
2. In the left menu, go to Plugins > Add New Plugin.
3. Click the Upload Plugin button at the top of the page.
4. Click Choose File and select the zip you downloaded.
5. Click Install Now.
6. When WordPress says the plugin was installed, click Activate Plugin.

3. Find the plugin in the menu

After activation a new item called Dropbox Documents appears in the left admin menu, with a briefcase icon. Click it to open the plugin page. You can also reach it from Plugins, with the Settings link under Dropbox Portal.

Until the setup is complete, WordPress shows a blue notice at the top of the admin: "Dropbox Portal is not configured yet: connect a Dropbox account and assign at least one folder to a role." It disappears once you have connected Dropbox and saved at least one rule.

Next step: Create the Dropbox app and connect your account.

If something goes wrong

• "The link you followed has expired." The zip is larger than the upload limit set by your hosting. Ask your hosting provider to raise the maximum upload size (upload_max_filesize and post_max_size), then try again.
• "Destination folder already exists." A copy of the plugin is already installed. WordPress offers the button Replace current with uploaded: click it to install the new copy over the old one. Your settings are kept.
• "Plugin could not be activated because it triggered a fatal error." Your site probably runs a PHP version older than 7.4. Ask your hosting provider to switch the site to PHP 7.4 or later (8.x is fine), then activate again.
• "Two copies of Dropbox Portal are installed." You still have an older copy (version 1.2 or earlier) in a folder called lr-dropbox-portal. Go to Plugins, click Deactivate under the old copy, then click Delete under it. Your settings, the Dropbox connection and the licence are kept: the new copy holds a backup of them and puts them back automatically after the old copy is deleted.