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mediafp's avatar
mediafp
Explorer | Level 4
5 years ago
Solved

Why are new files marked as online-only with Smart Sync?

I like that Smart Sync will automatically push older files to online only. That makes sense and is indeed "smart."   What I don't understand is why new files are pushed to online only? That is th...
desktop
FAQ
sync
  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    5 years ago
    That would be the Dropbox desktop application you're seeing there, since it shows the files that would be visible in Finder.

    Any changes made on your local machine, adding or moving a file into the Dropbox folder, would make the file local. Editing a file in the Dropbox folder would keep the file local, until you mark it as online-only, or the app does it automatically after a few months.

    New files added onto your account from another machine, or via the website, would appear as online-only on your computer.
Jay's avatar
Jay
Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
5 years ago
That would be the Dropbox desktop application you're seeing there, since it shows the files that would be visible in Finder.

Any changes made on your local machine, adding or moving a file into the Dropbox folder, would make the file local. Editing a file in the Dropbox folder would keep the file local, until you mark it as online-only, or the app does it automatically after a few months.

New files added onto your account from another machine, or via the website, would appear as online-only on your computer.
DJ-Angelfish's avatar
DJ-Angelfish
Explorer | Level 4
3 years ago

Hi Jay,

 

"Editing a file in the Dropbox folder would keep the file local, until you mark it as online-only, or the app does it automatically after a few months."

 

Can you advise the actual time period that elapses before the system will automatically make unused files online-only? Is this configurable?

 

Many thanks,

Dan

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    3 years ago

    Hi DJ-Angelfish, this is mainly referring to the older version of Smart Sync, which no longer applies.

     

    This article for sync icons on Windows should help further on the various states a file can be in.

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