Mac -> New files with cloud icon. How to set-it up to sync files available offline?

1. Agreed this is TERRIBLE service by DROPBOX. If DROPBOX cannot be reset to automatically synchronise all files to be available offline on both synced computers then it will no longer we worth paying for - for many users including me.

2. The statement that this can eb resolved (on Mac) by right-clicking on the folder or the sub-folder or the file and selecting 'available offline' is incorrect. This works for some files but not others (uploaded by other people). The only way to make these files marked with a cloud available offline is by clicking on the cloud for each file individually, which then causes it to download and be available offline.

Again, this automatic compulsory downgrade to DROPBOX makes it useless and not worth paying for for some users, including me. Will DROPBOX fix this?

Bizarrely, i've found by chance (since there is no useful help in the incorrect online information about this) that by clicking on the cloud symbol for each folder (in my case, for each of the 8 main folders i have in Dropbox) then this causes Dropbox to download and make available offline all the files in those folders and their sub-folders. This is a useful temporary fix in advance to allow working with DROPBOX files when you know that you will not have internet access. However, it is taking hours and should not be necessary - setting a folder in DROPBOX to be available offline should achieve just that, without having to then also click on symbols for each folder. DROPBOX is not a useful product if it cannot be relied upon to make files available offline.

Will DROPBOX fix this?

My observation (Mac OS 13.3.1 / DB 172.3.7467:

Right-click menu to "make available offline" doesn't seem to work.

Clicking on the Mac OS Cloud icon - that DOES seem to trigger the "make available offline" process.

Is it possible that the right click menu is just not functioning well? I have a bunch of green checkmarks with still offline mac indicators. However I am able to manually make them sync using the OS cloud icon click.

Thoughts?

I am shocked that DropBox will allow this. Some users have capped data, or no WiFi at times and need to access their files. This change to online-only files with the new DropBox update for Mac users was done without our consent.

Over 700 GB of files were removed from my Macbook laptop. It will take days for this to be fixed and to download them again. I have lost hours of productivity because of this DropBox update, and being unable to access my files.

DropBox needs to apologise to users. Already, I am contemplating moving to another competitor like OneDrive or Google Drive. The change to online-only as a default is unacceptable.

Exactly the same problem - very annoying and unwanted.  I am glad I found this thread, it was not easy to find and wasted a lot of time, still haven't solved the issue of how to make the previously seamless service to work without hassle of having to retrieve the files each time I am switching to my laptop at home. Who has time for this? Thank you Dropbox! Are we supposed to look for the alternatives?