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Smart Sync and removing local files
Hello,
I'm attempting to convert my dropbox folder on my desktop to smart sync, so that I'm not storing any local files on my harddrive in order to save space. Currently, my folder has some local ...
Hi Grant W.1
So first and foremost, Dropbox is a sync solution, not a backup. When sync is turned on, it sync the local file to the cloud. If you delete the local file, it will also destroy the cloud copy. You can directly upload your files for storage using the web client https://www.dropbox.com/home and then that will be stored independently of your local files.
As for the status, if you click on the little dropbox logo in the system tray, it should give you the current sync status of your files.
Hi,
If anyone still needs a quick solution, I simply uninstalled dropbox app on my Windows 10. This completely breaks the link, so you can delete the local files no problem, then go back and re-download the app if you'd like and be a little more selective with your selective sync ha!
Hey guys,
I am facing the exact same issue: I marked a folder to use smart sync online only mode but it seems the files are still there occupying a lot of space on my HD. Just to be clear: it's not only the file name, the full files are still there.
How can I solve this?
Hi Hanna,
Thanks for your answer. I read the thread you mention, however my computer is a PC, not a mac. Does the solution work for a PC as well?
- Hannah
Dropbox Community Moderator
Thanks for the clarification rivaben!
Does this folder that you switched to online-only have the cloud icon on it, instead of a green check mark?
What is the syncing status on your Dropbox application? You can check that, by hovering your mouse over the Dropbox icon in your system tray.
Let me know what you find! Hi Hanna,
I'm on version 120.4.4598. The sync status is "up to date".
The folder and all its children shows the grey cloud icon instead of the green checkmark.
- Hannah
Thanks for updating me on this!
Since online-only files aren't supposed to take up space, can you check if this is related to the Dropbox cache folder? The files might not have been removed from it yet.
The cache folder is cleared out automatically every 3 days, but since the Dropbox application is "Up to date", you can manually clear it using the steps here.
Let me know if that helped!
Hi Hannah,
I followed the steps and cleared the cache but it didn't work. The folder is still occupying more tham 100 GB of my HD.
I don't know if it could be related but just to give you more info: the folder is shared with another person.
Do you have any idea on how can I free this space?
- HannahThanks for the additional info!
Would you mind sending me a couple of screenshots showing this situation, while hiding any personal info?
Like, a screenshot of the size of the folder from the folder's properties and a screenshot showing the cloud icon next to the folder in your Dropbox folder, would be really helpful.
Thanks! Well Hannah, Today I was going to take the screenshots, and suddenly I noticed now it is displaying the correct size (just a few MBs)... so something that I've done worked. I am going to add other folders to online only mode and see if I can notice this issue again...
- HannahThat's great! Let us know if you need anything else.
Have a great week ahead!
