Request: All files available offline by default

Hello

I also find this completely unbelievable the dropbox would gut the core of what made their service unique and useful. This change has destroyed my workflow. 

Does anyone know of another service that will seamlessly keep files local and synced to the cloud and across machines?

This issue only appeared for me when I migrated to a new PC and the new dropbox app was installed. I guess my machine running the older version was immune but apparently there is no way to run the old app on my new machine?

Dropbox is no longer serving my needs so please offer suggested alternatives!

According to what I read, even if I apply the "make available offline" to all my dropbox folders (can you say pain in the ass?) it would only sync these folders when they are opened? Who thought this was a good idea! The beauty of dropbox was I DIDN"T have to manage the sync process. Also this is not only a Mac issue but the same issue on PC.

DROPBOX YOU NEED TO FIX THIS

"DROPBOX YOU NEED TO FIX THIS". This is a user to user forum. It is unlikely Dropbox officials will see your comments. You need to write to them directly to have any hope of this problem being fixed. In the meantime, I synchronize my files manually with a portable drive.  After the downgrade, it's the ONLY way I can know I have what I need.

I did a bit of experimenting around, and it looks like Dropbox uses the xattr named com.dropbox.fp_hydration_policy to set the policy on how a file or directory is synced.  As best as I can tell, these are the meanings of the xattr:

• 01 = Make available offline
• 02 = Make online-only
• Unset = Inherit from parent directory

When I first upgraded to the version of Dropbox using the File Provider interface, the default value applied to ~/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox was 02 (online-only), and all subdirectories and files had it unset (inherit from parent).  Changing the policy via the right-click menu in Finder changes the xattr for just the selected file or directory (non-recursively), but subdirectories without their own policies will inherit the new policy.

I was a paid OneDrive user and some time ago the "online ony" issue of OneDrive pressed me to Dropbox (not a paid user yet), and now it seems Dropbox is making the same transition...

Too bad that maybe we'll have to go back to the good old time of portable USB sticks... 

If it is Apple behind all these and Dropbox (and OneDrive, etc.) has no choice, is it because Apple wants to kill all the other cloud sync services so that every macOS user will be using iCloud?

Before the latest update (v163.4.5456), when I placed something in my local dropbox folder (Mac), it would automatically sync, and be available offline (green check mark). Now, when I put something in the folder, it only shows a cloud icon to the right of the file, and I have to manually make it available offline. This is pointlessly irritating. Is there a way to make it go back to the previous behavior?

I create a pdf using my phone using Dropbox, which uploads to Cloud.  The corresponding folder on my laptop used to get the file.  It would be seen by HAZEL then moved out to another folder and used for work purposes.  Work flow worked great until I did the recent MAC upgrade that moved the Dropbox folder to the path user/library/CloudStorage.

I have given DropBox full disk access, the FILE is showing up in the folder, but showing as not downloaded.  The online app shows the folders as synched.  But the folder on laptop shows file as not being downloaded.  As a result rest of workflow won't work.  When I click on the cloud, it downloads and all works as it did before.

I have checked the boxes so all files will be downloaded.

Can't find an 'auto download' button that I might have missed.

Thoughts

Be careful with online only files.  Apparently if you move them, the system will just completely delete the files off your system from Finder leaving you with a 0 byte placeholder and it doesn't auto download any online files before moving it.  OneDrive doesn't do this.  Just be forewarned.  

I strongly feel this to be due to certain mandatory rules (not known to the end users) from the Apple side, because neither Dropbox nor OneDrive would voluntarily implement such behavior which completely sabotages their own products.

OneDrive will download the files before it moves the file.  Dropbox will not even try to download the file.  It just moves the placeholder.  Regardless of "oh, this is Apple" or whatever, the fact that it does it means that it should disable online only until it finds a way to fix it.

The fact OneDrive doesn't have this problem seems to indicate that Dropbox could fix it but hasn't yet.

Of course, it's not deliberate.  I had someone from Dropbox say "well, you should just download them first...."  That is a cop-out to the problem.  That's an answer someone gives from tech support when they have no interest in fixing it.  And that's their choice... fine.  I have choices too and now have to consider them because of this bug. 

I have a 30 days to recover what I see as missing files and if even 1 file is missing because it was marked online only inside a subfolder, now I have a problem if I don't realize it's missing in 30 days.  It doesn't make sense why I'd want a 0kB placeholder file and why people think this is "by design" or what someone should see and learn a lesson from.... it's just apathy to the problem.