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Joseph Parks's avatar
Joseph Parks
Helpful | Level 6
5 years ago
Solved

New Sync Feature is auto cloud only. I hate it. How do I turn it off permanently?

Prior to a recent Dropbox update, all of my files on my PC were automatically synced into the cloud. I've always had smart sync off, so that I get to choose what folders I want on my PC. I want them ...
Computer Backup
desktop
sync
  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    5 years ago
    Thanks for updating me here, Joseph!

    And if you select your files, right click on them and choose 'Smart sync' > 'Local', do they get downloaded?
Hannah's avatar
Hannah
Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
5 years ago
Hey Joseph Parks, sorry to jump in here. 

Can I ask a couple of things, so I'm clear on what happened exactly?

Were your desktop files all moved inside the Dropbox folder?

Or did all your Dropbox files get the cloud icon on them and are no longer available locally on your PC?
Joseph Parks's avatar
Joseph Parks
Helpful | Level 6
5 years ago

Hannah,

 

Thanks for jumping in! I'll take all the ideas I can get! 🙂


All of my Dropbox files suddenly acquired the cloud icon on them and are no longer available locally on my PC.

~ Joseph

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    5 years ago
    Thanks for updating me here, Joseph!

    And if you select your files, right click on them and choose 'Smart sync' > 'Local', do they get downloaded?
    • Joseph Parks's avatar
      Joseph Parks
      Helpful | Level 6
      5 years ago

      Quite by accident, I discovered that if I right click on a file I get an option to choose syncing between local and cloud. I never saw that before and never designated my files to sync like that, so it's new to my knowledge. I was able to right click on my entire dropbox local drive and force all of my 25,000 file the cloud back onto my PC, so that's good.

       

      One big question remains: How do I force new files added and new folders I add to stay on my PC, but upload also to the cloud where my other computers (or other people) automatically get a copy of my files and folders? Surely, I don't have to constantly tell each new file to not only upload the file to the cloud but to keep the local copy as well?

       

      ~ Joseph

      • larsdennert's avatar
        larsdennert
        Collaborator | Level 10
        5 years ago
        Look in the sync preferences. These features have been around for many years. Look at the option for save space automatically and turn it off

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