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Can't switch to online only
I've got a file that's pretty big and I've put it up to dropbox with selective sync. The original version of the file is on an external hard drive. When I switched the dropbox folder to online only (...
Hey there ajbentley - sorry to hear about this; let's take a look now.
When using Selective Sync, and choosing to sync a folder you had previously excluded on the desktop client, you may notice the files appearing with a grey cloud icon beside them. This means that the files are ‘online-only’. You can see and interact with these files as normal, but they take up practically no space on your computer.
Through our Smart Sync feature you now have greater control and can sync only the folders or files you need by right clicking, choosing Smart Sync and then selecting 'Local'. This helps optimize your hard disk usage.
Once we have returned these 'online-only' files/folders through Selective Sync you can now see the files and folders and then proceed with re-downloading only the content you need and want.
If a file has been synced locally that you would prefer to have online-only, simply right click on it and select online-only from the Smart Sync menu.
Let me know how this goes Joshua.
Same problem. On my MacBook Pro when I select "Online Only" for a folder or file in Selective Sync, the icon changes to the blue circle with the arrows, to show that it is loading or thinking. Then after that it goes to "Local". I've checked and the Dropbox extension is installed without any problems. I clicked on some large folders to go "Online Only" that had some files that were already "Online Only" and some that weren't. The trouble is they all seem to be going to "Local" and right now the drive is filling up and is close to be critically full.
Lusil
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHey there Peter S.106, I just wanted to follow up and check if you're still having trouble with selecting content to be Smart Synced on your computer.
If you are, could you please let me know what you see when you hover over your Dropbox icon that's next to your computer's clock and, if possible, send me a screenshot (without any personal info) of it?
Thanks in advance!
I cannot use the on-line only feature. I go to the app, right click, hover over smartsync, select online only.... nothing happens. Reverts back to Local.
- Lusil
Hey there Roth, let's see what we can find.
Many processes on your machine look at files that you may not have manually opened and, in order to fulfill these requests, Dropbox syncs the files.
If there are apps that constantly do this (such as backup services, antivirus, and other third party apps that monitor files), your files may go back to local, just as you described.
For this reason, try temporarily quitting or disabling apps until you see that the issue is resolved. The last app that you closed when the issue no longer occurred may be the one performing this action.
Let me know how it goes!
I am having the exact same problem. I have tried multiple times to switch a file and folder from local to online only. And it will just switch back. I have tried removing the files from the drop box folder then reuploading them in folder already designated to be online only, and again the file is local. I'm almost completely out of space on my hard drive and have no idea what to do. I need help resolving this.
I tried hard right-clicking and selecting "Online Only". but nothing changes
Had the same problem. Dropbox seems to want to download it all, only when complete the local/online options will work. But as my dropbox contains more files than my hard drive has space, this is not an option. Tried a couple of things, this workaround worked:
- First, in preferences, select "Save hard drive space automatically". I put it to online-only, for new files.
- In preferences, go to the selective sync options and DESELECT all the folders. Click Apply.
- Wait untill all the folders from dropbox are gone from your local drive.
- Go back to the selective sync options and select all the folders you want visible on your computer. They will then be added online-only.
...and then you can right-click on the folders to mark a few of them Local!
It doesn't work. Cant switch content to online only. clicking but it just keeps reverting to local. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
- Lusil
Hey zj, thanks for nudging us on this thread.
If you have files that are being set to local instead of online-only, you can have a look at this article which gives some additional info on the matter.
Check it out and let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks!
