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How do you stop large team files from syncing to my system, once they are in the process of syncing?
I work for a film media company with team members around the world. Dropbox is a great solution until … someone happens to upload a titanic file, (like a film, or huge special FX sequence that are hu...
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Hi, this idea that pausing syncing or restructuring your file system are solutions is frustrating.
I work in animation with large files, multiple projects on the go and tight deadlines …
Firstly you CANNOT prevent other people saving big files to shared folders. It happens.
Secondly if somebody shares project files I HAVE to sync them just to start the project — pausing is not an option! — but sometimes I have waited hours or days with my computer grinding away while dropbox sorts itself out (which is a special kind of nightmare if there’s some partially up/downloaded behemoth that you didn’t really need anyway hanging out at the top of the queue, the deadline is looming and you can’t even start work!).
As others have pointed out, making a file online doesn’t stop it from finishing syncing before it is removed from your computer, but the problem isn’t only that they can slow down or crash your system, they also clog up the sync queue when the files you want are stuck behind it!
Yes, you can use “sync now” but that doesn’t always help (it isn’t even an option for my scrivener projects — one of which is currently stuck underneath a partially downloaded monster video file and there seems to be no way to push the ones I want up the list!).
Also if you have many files to sync you want to be able to pause the single monster that’s getting in the way, not individually “sync next” the hundreds of other files you actually need for the project.
There needs to be a way to pause or stop individual files that works immediately, and ideally a way to easily change the sync list order to prioritise the most needed files first (Sync next is a bit crude for this).
Please sort this out — it is driving me nuts and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone! It can be very stressful when sync issues stop your work right before a hard deadline.
I work in animation with large files, multiple projects on the go and tight deadlines …
Firstly you CANNOT prevent other people saving big files to shared folders. It happens.
Secondly if somebody shares project files I HAVE to sync them just to start the project — pausing is not an option! — but sometimes I have waited hours or days with my computer grinding away while dropbox sorts itself out (which is a special kind of nightmare if there’s some partially up/downloaded behemoth that you didn’t really need anyway hanging out at the top of the queue, the deadline is looming and you can’t even start work!).
As others have pointed out, making a file online doesn’t stop it from finishing syncing before it is removed from your computer, but the problem isn’t only that they can slow down or crash your system, they also clog up the sync queue when the files you want are stuck behind it!
Yes, you can use “sync now” but that doesn’t always help (it isn’t even an option for my scrivener projects — one of which is currently stuck underneath a partially downloaded monster video file and there seems to be no way to push the ones I want up the list!).
Also if you have many files to sync you want to be able to pause the single monster that’s getting in the way, not individually “sync next” the hundreds of other files you actually need for the project.
There needs to be a way to pause or stop individual files that works immediately, and ideally a way to easily change the sync list order to prioritise the most needed files first (Sync next is a bit crude for this).
Please sort this out — it is driving me nuts and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone! It can be very stressful when sync issues stop your work right before a hard deadline.
Walter
Dropbox Community Moderator
Dropbox Community ModeratorHi there Beeblejuice - thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts on this with us. Your feedback has been noted in our system - you can let us know if you have anything else to add.
I think I need to switch from Dropbox to another cloud service. Dropbox suggested organizing my files, but the interface is confusing. Clicking the checkbox at the top selects everything, not just the visible files. Then I get stuck in the 'make it online only' process. How can I stop this? How can I deal with it? It's frustrating that there doesn't seem to be a solution.
- Hannah
Hey mihau, thanks for the feedback here.
Would you mind clarifying which interface you're referring to?
If you could send us some screenshots showing what seems to be confusing/troubling you, so we can have a visual and guide you better, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
So, after selecting the top-left checkbox, it selected all the files I have on my drive synchronized with Dropbox, even though there were only a dozen or so files on the list to choose from. This is very unintuitive.
But that’s not the worst part, because after starting the "make it online" process, it has been stuck for 24 hours, blocking my routine use of the cloud. I can't turn it off; I can only pause it, which doesn't solve my problems. Please add an option to cancel the process while it's running.
