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Forum Discussion

nino2's avatar
nino2
New member | Level 2
8 years ago
Solved

Storage Usage reported for online-only folders on Finder doesn't match the "User Info".

So after more than a year of discussion on pretty much the same topic, this  still has not been resolved. Sugesting that issue will be resolved in the next version of software is somewhat unacceptabl...
desktop
Dropbox Basic
sync
  • HGohar's avatar
    HGohar
    8 years ago

    According to Dropbox team Jane, if the info about the dropbox folder is close or equal to zero bytes, it means it doesn't take any physical space on the hard disc. The problem I guess that the operating system still sees it as if it is taking that physical space and acts accordingly, i.e., full disc or neat full. I don't know what is the way around that.

     
akaraetteh's avatar
akaraetteh
Helpful | Level 5
8 years ago

Hi Jane

 

Here's a photo that gives you an indication of all you need to know

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4CTpPG8HVFDtzVwd2

MacOS Sierra

Latest stable dropbox build

my folder is 160GB (reported by OS), but "taking up" approx 40GB

 

Also view the 2 online-only folders: Demig0s...XYZ - both reported as 1.74GB, and the parent folder as 3.5GB...

Jane's avatar
Jane
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
8 years ago
Hey akaraetteh, & just to add to Walt3R’s comment that, when it comes to the screenshot, I can see that your “Acara” folder is a Mixed state folder, meaning that it contains both local and online-only content, therefore it’s my understanding that the 40 GBs being reported as used are in fact residing on our Mac at the moment. 
 
Following, if it’s not too much trouble for you, could you repeat the same process for your "Demig0s” folder (the one that you’ve already marked as “Online-only” on the screenshot) & send me one more screenshot in your next post here? What do you see on the “User Info”? Does your folder report as taking up space, despite being Smart Synced? 
 
Thanks again for your ongoing cooperation here & I’ll be awaiting your next post on this discussion. Happy Friday! 
  • akaraetteh's avatar
    akaraetteh
    Helpful | Level 5
    8 years ago
    Hang on. I’m not disputing the 40GB. I (and many others) are frustrated that every folder reports its size as the size of the full folder, as if the OS doesn’t know files are online only

    Eg I KNOW my Akara folder is only 40GB on my disk. But I can’t tell from my OS which folders are taking up the most space on my disk because the OS doesn’t report that. So if, for example, I want to free up some space on my disk, I can’t go to MacOS Finder, sort by size, and make the biggest folder online only. Because doing that won’t affect what is the “biggest” folder as reported to the OS.
    The BIGGEST folder reported by the OS is only the folder that’s taking up the most space in the cloud, not the one taking up the most space locally

    Furthermore I’m away for a week and so won’t be at my work computer. But if the update is available for Sierra I’ll make sure it happens (we’re very careful with upgrades as they often break something critical)
    • Jane's avatar
      Jane
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      8 years ago
      I understand akaraetteh & thanks for clarifying the specifics of your initial inquiry for me here, now I’m right on the same page with you. I’ve made sure to gather all the info you’ve included here & I’ll send that to the relevant team in form of a question. 
       
      Once I have more details on the matter, I’ll update the thread here. I hope you have a great weekend ahead & thanks again for posting your question on the Dropbox Community! 
      • akaraetteh's avatar
        akaraetteh
        Helpful | Level 5
        8 years ago

        Thanks for the replies and splitting of threads.

         

        Now that you've investigated that Finder reports sizes incorrectly, what are next steps? Do we live with this forever?

         

        Surely the point of Smart Sync is to allow us to save space. And in order to save space, we need to conveniently know how much space is being taken up. Having to individually "Get Info" on files/folders defeats this process. 

         

        Can we (as in dropbox) get in touch with Apple and get something about this behaviour updated?

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