Create two instances of Dropbox on one machine. This will allow a separate Dropbox to be run, which can help keep managed client backups rational.

Setup Directories

mkdir .name-dropbox: This will contain Dropbox configuration settings.

mkdir name-dropbox: This will contain the Dropbox folder.

Open a terminal and enter:

HOME=$HOME/.name-dropbox /usr/bin/dropbox start -i

This will start the Dropbox setup window. Select a customised location for Dropbox by ticking “I want to choose where to put my Dropbox folder”, which should be located in /name-dropbox.

Make a Control Script

To control the second Dropbox, create a BASH script.

sudo nano ~/DropboxAltStarter.sh

Paste:

#!/bin/bash
HOME=$HOME/.name-dropbox /usr/bin/dropbox start

Make this script executable:

chmod +x ~/DropboxAltStarter.sh

Start the Second Dropbox on Startup

Type “Start” into Ubuntu dash, access “Startup Applications”.

Create a new application with an appropriate name.

Paste the following as a command, replace “Username”:

/home/Username/DropboxAltStarter.sh