Cannot see "Make available offline" option on Windows 11

I totally understand what you mean.

It's just a way to see if that makes things better for you in general and subsequently with the "make online-only/available offline" option that's missing.

A way to make sure the app otherwise works as intended.

Hey Hannah​ thanks for your message. I can check that. What I don't understand is why the exact same version of dropbox and the same file library works well in one device and not on the other. I do not want to use selective sync because the whole purpose of having dropbox is to have all my files "visible" on my hard drive, but only have the ones that I need "physically" on the drive. Having to exlude folders from showing up on my computer (even if they are not physically on the drive) defeats one of the purposes of the app. 

At any rate, are you suggesting that if I turn on "Selective sync" the other dropbox options will show up on my context menu? 

Hi again, jpugarte1_, thanks for the screenshots and the update.

From what I could see from a previous screenshot of your Dropbox folder's properties, it seems like you have many files in your Dropbox folder.

The desktop app has a soft limit of 300k files, and if you're on that number (or close, or over that number), the app's performance might decline.

Have you tried using selective sync to remove some folders from the Dropbox folder completely, to see if that helps with the situation?

Hello Hannah​ and Lalia​ .

My computer ran out of hard drive space so I cannot think anything anymore. I have plenty of files that are fully synced, but none of them have a green check mark. I also still don't have the "only-only" option on them. 

Lalia, I have two different computers, both with Windows 11 Pro. I have dropbox in both them. Here's a screenshot of the same file in both computers:

No "online-only" option here (dropbox version v233.4.4938). 

The option does show here (dropbox version v233.4.4938 as well)

That’s a good question to bring up. Sometimes the options that appear can depend on which device or operating system you’re using, as well as the exact sync status of the files. If you’re not seeing the “online-only” option, it might be worth checking if your app is fully up to date or if the feature is available on your current plan.

Hey jpugarte1_, I hope it's okay for me to jump in here as well.

I wanted to let you know that I completely understand where you're coming from.

Do you currently have any files in your Dropbox folder that have fully synced? Ones that have the green check mark on them?

And do you see an option to make those "online-only" when you right-click on them?

Hey Megan​ thank you for your reply. Files continue to update but I have limited internet access right now, so there are still lots of files that need to be downloaded. In any case, my problem is that my files are more than 1.7 TB and my hard drive is only 500 GB. So I don't fully understand how or when I will have synced enough files for the "make available offline" and "make online'only" options to be available, so I can only sync what I need and not my whole library (which doesn't even fit on my hard drive). 

Hey jpugarte1_!

What you mentioned isn't unexpected behavior, especially since the app is still syncing. 

Based on all the info you've provided it sounds like this is a brand-new installation, which would justify it. When you're using an existing installation the app simply syncs and indexes new changes, whereas now it needs to download the content and placeholders first.

This is why I'm suggesting that you're a bit more patient and wait for the process to take place. In the meantime, you can always adjust the limit on the bandwidth in the Dropbox desktop application, and set it to off.

I'll be waiting for your updates!

Hey Megan​ thank you for your reply. The problem is my library is almost 2TB and my hard drive doesn't have that much storage capacity. I don't want to do selective sync, because then only certain folders will show up on my computer. So what should I do then? I just want to know if the behavior I am seeing is EXPECTED by design... or if there is something wrong with my app. 

As a side note, I think dropbox is very poorly thought when it comes to installing it either on drives that already have the files, or in new drives when the library size exceeds that of the local hard drive. It is a shame, because it is an excellent app and service otherwise imo. 

Hey jpugarte1_​!

Here are my suggestions:

-You should wait for the app to be fully synced, and up-to-date to check if the issue remains the same. I'm suggesting this, since the files' functionality might be affected when the app still syncs such a large amount of files.

While you're at it, feel free to close any third-party cloud apps (e.g., Google Drive, OneDrive), as they can sometimes interfere with Dropbox.

-You can always start fresh by signing out of the app on your device. Once you do that, please uninstall using these steps, and then delete your Dropbox folder. After that, you can reinstall the app and upon the initial set-up and specifically under your advanced settings you should see the option to make your files available offline.