Uploading a large file directly to the cloud and checking the status

Hey Poindextrous - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

You should be able to select the folder you'd like to upload this file to and drag and drop it or use the relevant button to upload it directly from your external drive using a web browser.

If you're having issues with this, please send us a screenshot so that we can make sure we're on the same page. 

Thank you. 

Poindextrous wrote:

How can I transfer this large file on an external drive directly to the cloud version of Dropbox?

If you're comfortable working with a command line...

Create a new folder in your local Dropbox folder, then use Selective Sync to remove it from your local drive so it only exists online. Then use the dbxcli utility to upload the file from your external drive directly to the folder you created.

Since you removed the folder with Selective Sync, the file won't sync back down to the computer when the upload is complete.

Here's my screenshot. I checked out the command line option, but the latest update was 2019, so that seems sketchy. Besides, when I first saw a computer (late 70's, it was a black screen with green DOS commands. I;m a GUI kind of guy.

See the massive file at left in folder. Then I drop it in the browser window... and nothing happens

What happens if you use the button to upload it instead Poindextrous? Have you tried clearing your browser's cache  or using another browser? 

Hi Poindextrous​,

Thanks for reaching out. Uploading a 165GB file through the Dropbox website won't work due to the 50GB upload limit for web uploads. Since your file exceeds that, here's what we recommend:

1. Temporarily move your Dropbox folder to an external drive. Follow the steps outlined here: 👉 Move Dropbox folder to an external drive (Mac)
2. Once your folder is moved, drop your 165GB file into the Dropbox folder on the external drive. Dropbox will start syncing the file to the cloud from there.
3. After the file finishes syncing, you can move your Dropbox folder back to your Mac by following the same step from the article. When prompted, you can select your existing folder on your Mac so Dropbox can reindex it without redownloading everything.
4. To save space on your Mac, I recommend marking all files (especially the large one) as online-only, so they stay safely in the cloud without taking up hard drive space.

Let us know if you hit any snags along the way!

- Vlad

OK! This is super helpful. Wondering if the 50GB limit appears anywhere else in support docs.

But we have a problem- I can't move the Dropbox folder from its default location.

Is there a workaround to this?

See message:

Hey Poindextrous​ 

Thanks for your patience so far, its very much appreciated. We may have a workaround for you. 

It looks like you may be on File Provider which doesn't support Move Dropbox. Instead, you'll have to sign out of Dropbox (in the app) and then select the external drive when signing back in

Note: You will have to re-download your Dropbox when the move it to an external drive which could take a while.

If you have another computer to use, you could:

1. Use the new computer, set up Dropbox on the external drive with the large file. You can use selective sync to avoid downloading your entire Dropbox.
2. Copy the large file into Dropbox and wait for it to upload.
3. Now the file will be in Dropbox but not on your original machine which it can't fit on

Try this out and let us know how it goes.

Poindextrous​ just following up with you, did the workaround work for you? were you able try out the steps recommended by Vlad? Let us know!