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Captcurrent's avatar
Captcurrent
Explorer | Level 4
27 days ago
Solved

The list of local Dropbox files on my Mac are different from the web

Ok when I started on drop box about when It first came out was good..  Several Macs. later.  and storage locations later.   the directory of files on dropbox is significantly different then what the application shows.   I have a limited number of files or folders then I want to keep on my local Mac because I need to keep the local files on an external drive.   I think the difference was caused by the external drive being disconnected while the Dropbox application was open..  I only recently found out this is a bad thing.   How so I "sych" up the list dropbox files shown in the application with what is in the cloud? 

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    26 days ago

    By default, the files and folders should already be online-only when re-checking a folder, however, if this isn't the case, you can mark them as online-only manually.

14 Replies

  • Mark's avatar
    Mark
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

    Is Dropbox running on your machine? 

    However, if it ISNT and you have had a drive disconnect you probably want to backup what is stored locally first as there is a very, very good chance it will wipe things.

    If it is running what does it say if you mouse over its icon on the status bar. 

  • Captcurrent's avatar
    Captcurrent
    Explorer | Level 4

    Yes it is running on my local machine   the stays say "Dropbox 220.4.4126 Up to date"

  • Captcurrent's avatar
    Captcurrent
    Explorer | Level 4

    OK I think I have figured this out.  My dropbox application only shows the folders I physically have on my Mac.   The only way I cans ee what is have stored in the cloud is to use a web browser or elect the globe tin the dropbox icon in the status bar on the Mac right??

    • Mark's avatar
      Mark
      Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II

      That isnt how Dropbox should work. 

      Do you happen to have multiple Dropbox folders on your machine at all OR have you set up Selective Sync?

      • Captcurrent's avatar
        Captcurrent
        Explorer | Level 4

        Now I see. There is one way I can see even the file structure of Dropbox unless the whole content of the dropbox is on my machine. So it saves me nothing.  in term of storage  on my Mac.  .. Got it.  

  • Captcurrent's avatar
    Captcurrent
    Explorer | Level 4

    the only files I can see in my dropbox folder are the files that have been down loaded to Cloudstorage  in my library.  I have no visibility in my app for field and folders only in the cloud

  • tiffanywalkEr's avatar
    tiffanywalkEr
    Helpful | Level 5

    You probably disconnected your external drive while Dropbox was open, causing the sync to fail. To fix this, close the Dropbox app, reconnect your external drive, and reopen Dropbox. This should sync your files and update them to what's in the cloud. If that doesn't work, try manually syncing from Dropbox settings.