Cut the Clutter: Test Ignore Files Feature - sign up to become a beta tester here.
Forum Discussion
peterj62
2 years agoExplorer | Level 3
How can I keep my files and folders online-only?
I want all Dropbox files and folders to stay online and not on my MacBook which is full.
In 'Manage hard drive space' I have ticked them as online only but they later reappear on my MacBook as offline, crashing apps and closing down the MacBook.
How do I ensure they stay online only?
19 Replies
- Hannah2 years ago
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi there, peterj62, and thanks for reaching out to the Dropbox Community.
Have you tried right-clicking on the Dropbox folder itself and choosing to make it online-only?
That should make all your files online-only at once and as long as there's no other app that looks at your files, like an antivirus, another backup service, a third party app that monitors files, etc., they should stay as online-only.
Let me know how it goes!
- peterj622 years agoExplorer | Level 3
Hi Hannah,
On my MacBook right-clicking the Dropbox folder in Finder doesn't give any options but on the pull-down menu there is the option to 'Manage hard drive space' and so I tick all folders (or all files) to 'move to online only'. This then immediately shows no offline files but within seconds the folders (and files) all reappear as online.
- peterj622 years agoExplorer | Level 3
..sorry, I meant they all reappear as offline - on the hard drive again.
- Jay2 years ago
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi peterj62, you should see context menus when right clicking files and folders in Finder, in order to get the online-only option.
Could you attach a screenshot showing what you're seeing when right clicking a folder in the Dropbox folder?
- peterj622 years agoExplorer | Level 3
Hi Jay,
Here is a screenshot of what I get when I right-click a dropbox folder. All I can see is 'manage hard drive space' as above.
- Hannah2 years ago
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey peterj62, would you mind sending us a screenshot of what you see right after you click the "manage hard drive space" option as well?
- peterj622 years agoExplorer | Level 3
Hi Hannah, I get this:
- peterj622 years agoExplorer | Level 3
...then I check the box:
- peterj622 years agoExplorer | Level 3
..so all moves to online only for a brief moment:
- peterj622 years agoExplorer | Level 3
...but within seconds (presumably some automatic synch) the files and folders all move back offline:
About Create, upload, and share
Find help to solve issues with creating, uploading, and sharing files and folders in Dropbox. Get support and advice from the Dropbox Community.
Need More Support
The Dropbox Community team is active from Monday to Friday. We try to respond to you as soon as we can, usually within 2 hours.
If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.
For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.
If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!