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Jcyr66's avatar
Jcyr66
New member | Level 1
11 months ago

Can I delete (old) files from my computer without deleting them from the cloud?

Hi, I just purchased an MS Surface and after finally getting it set up and including my personal and work Dropbox accounts, I find that I have several Personal (Old) and Company (Old) folders with ...
Delete
desktop
Storage space
Rich's avatar
Rich
Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
11 months ago
Jcyr66 wrote:

... I find that I have several Personal (Old) and Company (Old) folders with are taking up quite a bit of space. Can I delete these (old) folders without losing these documents?

If the folders are in your local Dropbox folder, then deleting them will also delete them in the cloud. By default, Dropbox is a file sync service, so any changes you make are reflected across all devices.

If you want to save disk space you can use Selective Sync to completely remove folders from your local drive, or you can mark a file or folder as Online-only so that it still appears on the drive but doesn't take up any disk space until you go to use it.

  • Jcyr66's avatar
    Jcyr66
    New member | Level 1
    11 months ago

    The (Old) folders are not in the local Dropbox folder as identified with the blue avatar.  They do reside on my tablet in a yellow exchange folder.  I am leery of deleting these since they are our company's files.

    • Nancy's avatar
      Nancy
      Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
      11 months ago

      Hi Jcyr66! Hope you’re doing well. 

      Can you send me a screenshot of what you see inside your local Dropbox folder and of the blue avatar you mention, so that I can have a look?

      • Jcyr66's avatar
        Jcyr66
        New member | Level 1
        11 months ago

        Yes.  

         

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