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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 folders.
I would like to
1. Convert local folders to smart sync. I've initiated this process and the files are currently displaying the blue sync logo and the other files are showing (i think) that they are already exclusively in cloud storage and not local. The ones that I've smart sync'd have had the sync logo for a while, and I can't tell if there is any progress with the sync'ing. How do I confirm that they are fully sync'd?
2. Once the smart sync is complete, I would like to get rid of the local storage of these files on my harddrive. My hesitation is that deleting the files directly would instruct dropbox to remove them from the smart sync'd ones in cloud storage. How do I proceed with removing local files while keeping them in cloud storage?
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.
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- Daphne
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey Grambles12,
In that case, would you mind if I reached out to your email address associated with your Community profile so that we can look into this a but further through our Support channel? This will allow us to look into more account specific info.
Let me know - thanks!
No problem @daphne, thank you.
- Daphne
I've reached out to your email address Grambles12, please just check your inbox when you have a moment and we'll go from there.
Thanks!
Ok. I have one more question. How about later copied files? I copied some folders to my online folder and after sync they have green icon. I suppose the smart sync should sync them and then "delete" or "minimize" them and then they should have grey icon.
I have to select them manually as online ... shouldn't be this automatic? I put it inside a online folder and I suppose it should be considered as online!
So please, can someone explain to me how this case works? Am I right that after sync to online the files are minimized afterwards? Or how? Thanx?
- Lusil
Dropbox Staff
Hi there Uli_D,
Thanks for checking back in with us! I'd be more than happy to help.
When you move/paste a new file into your Dropbox folder, since all relevant info is already stored on your computer, the file stays local and the desktop app syncs it. Once it's completely synced, you can manually select it to be online-only.
From there, the file will automatically be online-only in any other device that you've chosen for new files to be Smart Synced as such.
Finally, if you want to set content in a folder as online-only in one go, you can simply right-click on the folder itself and select the relevant option.
I hope this helps, but let me know if you have any other questions!
Hello. I changed to Smart Sync yesterday, but am unable to switch any of the folders manually from Local to Online Only.
My hard drive is full, do I just need to give it more time?
I changed to Smart Sync but all files are still shown as Local, and I can't manually change.
Changed to Smart Sync: online in Admin and my User and on desktop yesterday
Do I just need to give it more time for the local files to be removed?
Or do I need to take more steps to clear my (nearly full) hard drive?
Thank you!
This isn't true at all. It is not a neglible amount, I still have "smart sync" files that take of GB of space. It's extremely frustrating.
- Lusil
Hey tracymcgravy, thanks for nudging us on this thread.
I just wanted to ask if you could send us a screenshot (without any personal info) that shows the space discrepancy you mention?
Looking forward to hearing back from you!
I'm having a similar issue to others in this thread: I am smart syncing files to 'online only' but a large amount of my hard drive space is still occupied. When looking further into it, my computer still registers as is those synced files are fully downloaded on my computer and taking up 100's of MBs or GBs on my hard disk. Any fix for this?
Another issue I'm having is that, every time I open PowerPoint, all .ppt files that are 'online only' get downloaded onto my computer. I changed my Dropbox settings so that PowerPoint is not one of my Connected Apps but the problem continues to occur.
