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Fowzie T.'s avatar
Fowzie T.
Helpful | Level 6
9 years ago
Solved

Smart Sync storage issue on macOS Sierra 10.12- macOS High Sierra 10.13.3.

I'm really confused, the premise of smart sync is to free up local storage. This is a screenshot of a folder which contains about 2GB of data.  Am I doing something wrong?

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sjd34t39t0q7312/Screenshot%202017-02-18%2012.03.41.png?dl=0

Mac
sync
  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    8 years ago
    Howdy folks,
     
    I’m , I’m working on the Community team at Dropbox & I’m posting here so as to stir this discussion towards a different route. Without further ado, I’m going to split this thread off into a number of different ones, as I’d like to avoid any confusion in regards to the topic or the status of this conversation. 
     
    Why are you splitting the thread?
    For context, this thread has been around since last February & a number of very separate (and now resolved) Smart Sync issues have been reported here. This separation was triggered as we like to group distinct issues together to better help users discover relevant content, advice and to help self-resolve.
     
    Don’t worry, no information is being removed, we are however moving some posts into other threads & for that reason, I’m going to include links to all the new threads at the bottom here. 
     
    As an example, this thread contains a lot of information & troubleshooting around an issue we experienced on Mac OS 10.13.3, something now resolved. We wouldn’t want people on 10.13.4 to attempt troubleshooting steps that weren’t relevant to their current state.
      
    But I still have my issue!
    We’ve moved all the open discussions into separate threads listed at the bottom. Apologies if we missed yours! Regardless, anyone who has opened a ticket with Support, that ticket will remain open and is unrelated to this split. 
     
    So, has this been solved forever? 
    The initial behavior reported here has been, however this thread has become a single point for a vast number of other Smart Sync posts,  some of which should have their own threads, some open, some now resolved.
     
    Where do I post Smart Sync comments now?
    Either in one of the below threads - or, if they don’t match the behavior you're getting, you may feel free to create a new one! :slight_smile: As this thread will remain public, you may also use it as a point of reference, so as to let us know of any troubleshooting steps you've followed from those mentioned above. 
     
    Thanks for your co-operation and please keep the discussion going in the below, or new, threads!
     
     
  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    8 years ago
    For note, issues caught up in this thread, that should have had their own threads included:
     
    Issue 1: I can’t enable Smart Sync at all: 
    • Usually this was the result of an incorrect installation & in such cases, re-installing anew helped fix the issue. Alternatively, if you were running a Beta version of the Dropbox app on your desktop, you may need to check if this works on the most updated Stable version (Note: It's currently 48.4.58). 
    • Status: :white_check_mark:
    Issue 2: I’m on a Professional plan & I can’t get Smart Sync to work either: 
    • Some users on the Professional plan were experiencing an issue utilizing Smart Sync, as they had needed to enable System Extensions previously, which has been documented on this resource. 
    • Status:  :white_check_mark:
    Issue 3: I’ve made my files online-only, though they’re still using up my storage locally: 
    • In some cases, users reported that Smart Synced files might be locally stored in the cache folder a little longer, hence taking up space. Clearing the cache folder should resolve this issue. 
    • Status: :white_check_mark:
  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    8 years ago
    Issue 4: I followed the instructions on your resources & set up my files as online-only, though I can see that they’re still taking up space on my pc/ Mac.
    • The Properties (Win) and Get Info (Mac OS) panel will indicate the actual file size instead of the size on disk, as you may expect. “Size on disk” is the space being taken up by a placeholder file and should be around 0kb.
    • Status: :white_check_mark:
    Issue 5: I can see that my Dropbox folder on my Mac OSX (v.42.4.114) reported file & folder size incorrectly, making it look like files were still residing on my hard disk.
    • After further investigation, we were able to determine that the Finder was showing the wrong size on disk for folders with compressed files.
    • Status: :white_check_mark:
    Issue 6: I can’t back-up my online-only files on the TimeMachine migration assistant & whenever it tries to access them, this action brings them back locally. 
    • This is related to the way TimeMachine reads file sizes and is an on-going issue, though this issue lies with Apple’s software. De-selecting the Dropbox folder when restoring if possible will work around this issue.
    • Status: :arrows_counterclockwise:
    Issue 7: Third-party disk management apps report Smart Synced files are present locally.
    • Some third-party app may read the nominal file size rather than the physical size. This is not a Dropbox issue, but down to the way some apps are built.
    • Status: :white_check_mark:

    That's all from me! As usual, I'll be around in case you'd need me to clarify matters in more detail, so feel free to ping me & I'll do my best to check back with you.

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  • Sanchez's avatar
    Sanchez
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    9 years ago
    Hey m_a_l_c_o_l_m, welcome to our community! 

    This is very interesting indeed. What version of our app are you using? The latest stable version is 37.4.29. If you’re using a beta, you’ll see something like a xx.3.xx, instead of the xx.4.xx, and we recommend going to a stable build. 

    Let me know when you have a chance. 

    Thanks for posting this! 
    Cheers 
  • m_a_l_c_o_l_m's avatar
    m_a_l_c_o_l_m
    Helpful | Level 5
    9 years ago

    Now that I followed the steps I outlined in my last post it's version 37.4.29. I don't know what version it was before I followed that step. Is there a way that I can look that up for you?

     

    I'm pretty sure that the little program that was installed is called "Dropbox system extension". I see now that, in my settings, under General, there's a little toggle to turn that on or off and the information mouse-over says that it's necessary for Smart Sync to work (see screenshot below).

     

  • David D.99's avatar
    David D.99
    Helpful | Level 6
    9 years ago

    Windows 10 does show the actual size of the folder in Dropbox and in disk, this is a screenshot of a folder with Smart Sync where some subfolders are actually synced locally.

     

    BTW, I do not like that I have to pay 100$ more for using Smart Sync! 

     

  • Sanchez's avatar
    Sanchez
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    9 years ago
    Thanks for getting back to me. Don’t worry about trying to find the last version you were on. 

    Yeah, I see now what was going on… the Dropbox System Extension must be allowed! I’m glad that you figured this out! 

    So, how is the Smart Sync working out?

    Cheers
  • Sanchez's avatar
    Sanchez
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    9 years ago
    Hey David D.99, 

    Thanks for stopping by with the screenshot and the confirmation that Smart Sync is working out for you! Not much I can do about the extra $$, except to let the team know how you feel about it. 
     
    Cheers! 
  • CMParrish's avatar
    CMParrish
    Explorer | Level 3
    9 years ago

    I'm on 10.13 and having the same problem...what OS release is the fix tagged to?

  • m_a_l_c_o_l_m's avatar
    m_a_l_c_o_l_m
    Helpful | Level 5
    9 years ago

    Hi CMParrish,

     

    Have you gone through the steps to allow and install the Dropbox sytem extension? You can find the instructions here: https://help.dropbox.com/desktop-web/filesystem-integration I don't know if it's tagged to a specific OS release. At the top of the instruction page it says, "The system extension for macOS is currently in closed beta for select opt-in users only." So I think you will need to follow the steps to install it and allow it. It won't just happen automatically by installing Dropbox. Good luck!

     

    I've freed up about 40GB of space using Smart Sync.

  • m_a_l_c_o_l_m's avatar
    m_a_l_c_o_l_m
    Helpful | Level 5
    9 years ago

    Hi Sanchez,

     

    I would recommend that when someone upgrades their plan to Professional (which is likely to be because of Smart Sync) that Dropbox should send them an email which includes some message saying, "You will need to make sure that the Dropbox System Extension is installed for Smart Sync to work. Here's how you can do that."

     

    It could also be good to explain that people won't necessarily see immediate space being freed up as soon as you mark a file or folder "Online Only" - it may take a couple of hours to start to see the changes.

  • Sanchez's avatar
    Sanchez
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    9 years ago
    m_a_l_c_o_l_m, I’m letting our team know about your suggestions. 

    Thanks for posting! 

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