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How can I completely disable Smart Sync?
How can I completely, 100%, disable Smart Sync so that Dropbox will always download all of my files?
The settings I have found all apply to NEW files and seem to have no impact on old files.
What...
Hey there Whatever2018 - how are you today?
I'm sorry to hear you would like to opt out of Smart Sync. Depending on the account you're on now you can do it following the steps mentioned below:
Individuals that no longer wish to use Smart Sync can do so with the steps found in the following Help Center article:
https://www.dropbox.com/help/desktop-web/filesystem-integration#optoutIf you're the Admin of a Dropbox for Business team and you'd like to opt all members of your Dropbox Business team out of Smart Sync, I'd also suggest to see the following Help Center article specifically under the section "Dropbox Business team admins: how to opt out your whole team from the system extension":
https://www.dropbox.com/help/desktop-web/filesystem-integration#optout
Also note that some of your team members may have connected a work and personal account. If you opt out your team from the system extension, team members won't be able to use Smart Sync on any personal devices (or personal accounts) where they're also signed in to their Business account.
I hope this information helps and please keep me posted on your progress!
Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
Dropbox Community ModeratorSorry to hear you feel this way Seager1.
If you would prefer not to use Smart Sync, then you can do so by setting your default sync preferences for new content to "local" and by recalling any files that are currently "online only".
For instructions on syncing online-only content and choosing the default setting for new content, please see the following Help Center article:
https://www.dropbox.com/help/desktop-web/smart-sync
If there are any issues with this process please don’t hesitate to reach back out with screenshots depicting the problem at hand and I'll be more than happy to follow up.
I don't think anyone is having trouble specifying "local" such that new files and folders are stored both locally and within the cloud. The difficulty is getting the old files to change from "online only" to "local".
You mention in your post .... recalling any files that are currently "online only"
Is there a way to recall currently "online only" files such that they become "local"? @Walter, this is not explained in your provided link.
- Walter
While the most straight-forward way to achieve the mentioned recall would be to right click on the said folders/files and set them to 'Local', there's also a number of applications that can cause Smart Sync files to be recalled.
The most common of them include anti-virus applications and programs such as Microsoft Word and Adobe Photoshop which have "recents" menus, because, in order to fulfill these requests from these processes, Dropbox syncs the files locally to your device.
Some examples are:
- Backup services
- Antivirus
- Recently used file lists
- Third party applications that monitor files in general
If a file has been set to 'Online Only' that you would prefer to have locally available, simply right click on it and select 'Local' from the Smart Sync menu.
I hope this helped trosny!
Yes. Thanks for the answer.
On Windows 10, right-clicking a high-level directory and selecting 'Smart Sync' and then 'local' did the trick. All the subfiles and subfolders were subsequently switched from "online only" to "local", i.e. the files were downloaded to my local machine.
It seems strange that such a simply solution was so difficult to find. Moreover, it would be nice if such an option were availalbe under the "sync" tab within the "preferences" of Dropbox. This is where I (and it appears many other users) were looking for a solution.
- Walter
Glad I could help trosny-all's well that ends well - right?
On a side note, I've also forwarded your suggestion to the team for future consideration -thank you for your feedback on this one!
Enjoy the rest of your day and feel free to reach out should you come up with a Dropbox question; we're always happy to assist :grinning:
