Need to see if your shared folder is taking up space on your dropbox 👨💻? Find out how to check here.
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How to free up space in your Dropbox account
I've unshared many folders, permanently deleted lots of files but dropbox still reports that it is full. How can I free up space? I've already followed dropbox instructions with no results
Permanently deleting files isn't needed to clear space. Simply deleting them is enough. Files in the Deleted Files section do not count against your storage quota.
If Dropbox is saying your account is full, then it's still full. You need to remove enough files to bring your account back below your quota before that message will go away. It could be that you're still a member of a large share that just keeps filling your account as you make more room.
You can verify your storage usage on your Account page. It will show you a breakdown of what's using your storage (regular files, shared files, etc.), which hat may help you identify files that you can remove to free up some more space.
Lusil
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHey cmcn2, sorry to hear that you're also having trouble with your storage.
In general, if you're running out of space, have a look at your Plan tab first which will show you what is taking up the majority of your accont's space.
From there, you can follow these instructions if you find that you have shared folders that you want to remove and these steps if you have any unwanted files.
Let me know how it goes or if you have any questions!
Okay, so I see lots of suggestions to look at my plan tab to see what is taking up room. When I look at my plan tab, it shows I have 2.83 of 2.75 GB of shared data taking up space. However, I've deleted every shared folder I have except for one that only has a handful of documents in it. Unfortunately your platform won't show me how much data that folder takes up specifically, but it can't be more than 20 MB. Is it a matter of time so that the system recognizes that I've freed up space by deleting shared folders and files? Or is it actually just impossible to free up space so that I have to purchase a larger data plan?
- Lusil
Hey AndyPants, welcome to the Dropbox Community!
In general, you can calculate the size of folders from the website by following these steps.
When you remove personal or shared content from the website, it's reflected on your Plan tab, but you can also earn storage to increase your quota.
If you find that the shared folder doesn't take up much space but your account is reporting that it is, please don't hesitate to nudge me back here. Thanks!
I'm having the exact same issue. I have Dropbox linked to my Linux laptop. From there I can see that I'm using exactly 5.8GB of space (well below my 7.75GB of space available) however the Dropbox website insists that I'm out of space and reports that I'm using 8.83 GB on the plan page.
Here's the kicker: if I use ncdu to examine the space used by my Dropbox folder on my linux laptop and include hidden files, which includes the .dropbox.cache file, it reports the EXACT SAME VALUE OF 8.83GB.This means dropbox DOES include the cache as used space, despite what they say. Which is horrendous way to get people to buy more overpriced storage.
The worst part is, I deleted the cache locally on my linux machine, but the space still stays used on the Dropbox website. Two thumbs down for Dropbox
- Rich
Super User II
okin33 wrote:
This means dropbox DOES include the cache as used space, despite what they say.
The .dropxbox.cache folder is NOT included as part of your storage space. Only the files in your account online are counted against your storage, and teh cache folder does not sync. The cache folder will also be different sizes on each computer. It has nothing to do with space calculations.
If the website is showing 8.83 GB of used space, then you're account has 8.83 GB of files in it. If you're only going to check file sizes on your local comptuer, make sure the Selective Sync and Smart Sync settings are set so all files are local. If there are any folders or files that aren't syncing locally, they're still in your account and taking up space. Also look for shared folders that you're a member of, that might not be syncing fully (due to you being out of space).
