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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 unacceptable, and if you try to imagine this in any other profesion, you will agree, it would not be tolerated. We just designed a house for you and although it says its 200m2 it is acctually 150m2. But don't worry we can build another one for you and it will now be 200m2. 

 

When storage gets limited on computer, there is something starting to happen with all computers, that cause them to overheat. I am no computer genious, but many will agree this is just what acctually happens. So basically I had 500gb SSD and becouse of this issue I am acctually using only about 100gb, becouse the rest is taken by files I do not have on my computer but rather on Dropbox online, yet still it makes the rest of my disc unusable. So not only this feature is completely useless, might as well have files on my computer in the first place, it also damages my computer. 

 

I had similar issue with Box before, now Dropbox... amazing. 

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.

     

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  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    8 years ago
    Hey edwincar, 
     
    Thanks for checking in on our Community in regards to the progress of this matter, I’d happily discuss that with you in a bit more detail below! 
     
    You may keep in mind that the behavior described on this thread has now been acknowledged on our “Known Issues” report, therefore Ed (our Community Manager) will make sure to post an update when our engineers release a fix. 
     
    Following, as I’d like to follow-up on your request as closely as possible, can you please check the following for me?
     
    • As an initial step, can you make sure that you’re running the latest stable version of the application on your iMac (52.4.58) & it’s syncing correctly on your system tray :arrows_counterclockwise:/ :white_check_mark:? 
    • If it’s not too much trouble for you, could you include a screenshot of your Dropbox folder’s “User Info”? Do your files take up any hard disc space, despite being marked as online-only? 

    Secondly, when it comes to your Macbook Pro, I’d like to point you towards third party apps that may be obstructing our updates in the background (eg. some users have reported that the application "Boxifier" blocks the installation from being carried correctly). To bypass this, could you disable any Security/Antivirus programs & give our offline installer a try?  

     

    Once you do, please let me know of the outcome in your next post, so that we work on that as closely as possible. Thanks again & enjoy your weekend! 
  • Juunas's avatar
    Juunas
    Experienced | Level 12
    8 years ago

    Hi Jane,

     

    I stumbled upon this thread trying to troubleshoot the same issue. Your latest post from June says it's a known issue and being investigated, however I couldn't find a post mentioning it having been resolved. What's the current situation? I found a newer thread about the same problem and submitted a ticket with screenshots (ticket id 

    #8217407).

     

    Joonas

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    8 years ago
    Hey Juunas, you may keep in mind that each individual case should be best addressed on a private discussion (i.e. via our Official Support channel), as we'd need to access sensitive account-specific info in order to get a clearer picture of the space usage (& that’s mostly the main reason why we have a few active discussions on the Forum, though each one is- usually- separate from the others).  
     
    If I had to briefly wrap up this thread, I’d have to say that the request concerns the space reported on the Finder Window, which doesn’t match the “Get Info” & how that affects the sorting options on the OS. As I haven’t got an update on the progress to share with you at the moment, I can make sure to ask our higher-level technicians & circle back here once I have more info. 
     
    Following, because I’d like to address your concerns in the best possible way & I appreciate all the time you took to write in to us, I’ve made sure to forward your request to a specialized colleague, who’ll clarify matters in more detail for you on your email communication. 
     
    I hope my reply is - even slightly- helpful to you & I hope that you sort this out soon. Thanks for posting us on our Forum & enjoy the rest of your day! 
  • HGohar's avatar
    HGohar
    Helpful | Level 6
    8 years ago

    Dear Jane, I have the same problem. Has it been solved yet? I've been going thru the forum and don't seem to find a final answer / solution. Thank you

  • mikkokan's avatar
    mikkokan
    New member | Level 2
    8 years ago

    Still not working, using latest update and OSX Mojave.

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    8 years ago

    Hey HGohar & mikkokan, can you please share the relevant info with me in regards to your concern, in order to follow-up with you in a bit more detail? Thanks in advance!

  • HGohar's avatar
    HGohar
    Helpful | Level 6
    8 years ago

    Thank you Jane for coming back to me. My dropbox shows that my files are synced to the cloud, however, the hard disc on my mac shows that these files still exist and occupying the same space. Therefore smart sync isn't freeing any space on the hard disc. The sync is complete and I can access it from other devices.

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    8 years ago
    Hey HGohar, thanks for reaching back out to me on this discussion elaborating a bit on your initial post! 
     
    Your best course of action to determine how much space your your Dropbox folder is currently taking up on your device would be to refer to the Get Info on your Mac (or Properties on a pc). 
     
    As there are various places to see the size of a file in Finder, some of these locations will display the logical size, while others will show you the physical size. (Note: Smart Sync placeholders takes up approximately 0kb, which is the physical size. The logical size of the file is the actual size of the file, if it were downloaded to the device.)
     
    To see both the logical and physical file size:
    - Right click on a file/folder
    - Select 'Get info'
    - In the properties window you will see the original file size, followed by the actual on-disk size
     
    For example:428,510 bytes (0 KB on disk)
     
    It is important to be able to view both sizes, not just to reassure you that the file is not taking up space, but also to understand the space and speed implications of returning the file(s).
     
    In other views of Finder, the operating system will report the logical size. For this reason you shouldn't be concerned if it initially appears that the placeholder is taking up space. To confirm the file or folder is not taking up space, please check via the above steps. Files that are not taking up space on disk will have an icon overlay that changes from the usual green tick to the grey cloud icon, denoting that the file isn't locally present.
     
    Please do let me know how these pointers apply in your current setup & I’ll do my best to check back what’s happening. In order to follow-up more closely with you, I’d appreciate a screenshot of what you're seeing in your next post as well; I’ll be awaiting your next reply!
  • HGohar's avatar
    HGohar
    Helpful | Level 6
    8 years ago

    Thanks Jane, I followed the steps you mentioned. The Dropbox info shows it occupies 840kb (physical size 35 GB) however when comparing it with the "About this mac" ----> Storage---->Documents---->file browser it shows that it occupies 35 GB of the hard disc. So I'm not sure if my mac sees it at 840KB cause it is calculating the available space based on the physical rather than the logical size. I've tried to include a screenshot but I get an unexpected error message.

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    8 years ago
    I appreciate your prompt reply here HGohar & please accept my apologies for the slight delay in getting back in touch with you. 
     
    Now, I’m also interested in seeing whether your Documents folder that’s taking up the 35 GB of your hard disk space consists entirely of files stored in Dropbox. If you can’t upload a screenshot directly on our Forum, could you upload it on your account & post us a shared link here, so as to get a better understanding of what’s happening? Thanks in advance! 

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