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Dropbox syncing online-only files when a third-party app tries to access a synced folder on Windows
Operating System/Browser (if using the web) (Windows 11 and Windows 10) Dropbox App Version (if using the app) (238.4.6075)
Question or Issue This problem has bothered me for a while, I don't r...
Rich
Super User II
Super User III suspect accessing the folder through an app ... would trigger Dropbox to believe you are trying to access all the files in that folder.
That's usually the exact cause. If any process attempts to access an online-only file, Dropbox has to sync the file back down to your local drive. It doesn't matter if the process is trying to write to the file, or simply access it to show a thumbnail, etc. Any access of a file will cause it to sync down again.
- Megan
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hey Jincheng W., thanks for posting here!
As both you and Rich mentioned, that behavior is usually expected when a third-party app is involved with your Dropbox folder.
Examples of such include backup services, antivirus, recently used file lists or third-party applications that monitor files in general.
Although you can turn your available offline files into online-only by simply right-clicking on them and selecting the relevant option, if there are apps that constantly/persistently look at your files, they may come back as local, just as you described in your posts.
For this reason, try temporarily quitting or disabling apps systematically, until you see that the issue is resolved. The last app that you closed when the behavior in question no longer occurred may be the one performing this action.Keep me posted!
