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Grant W.1's avatar
Grant W.1
New member | Level 2
8 years ago
Solved

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 ...
desktop
sync
  • atccodex's avatar
    atccodex
    8 years ago

    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.

rivaben's avatar
rivaben
Explorer | Level 4
5 years ago

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?

 

 

Hannah's avatar
Hannah
Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
5 years ago
Hey rivaben, thanks for joining the conversation here.

Can you try the steps outlined in this thread, to see if they help?

Let me know how you do!
  • rivaben's avatar
    rivaben
    Explorer | Level 4
    5 years ago

    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's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    5 years ago

    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!

  • rivaben's avatar
    rivaben
    Explorer | Level 4
    5 years ago

    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.

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