Need to see if your shared folder is taking up space on your dropbox 👨‍💻? Find out how to check here.

Forum Discussion

giant2130's avatar
giant2130
New member | Level 2
12 months ago

Is it possible to have the directory of files visible locally, without downloading them?

I have a new computer and want all my Dropbox files online only (10TB). Is there a way to have the directory of files visible locally without downloading all files? My old desktop was set up to show ...
desktop
Mac
sync
JadeB's avatar
JadeB
New member | Level 2
3 months ago

Thanks Jay. I had paused syncing because I didn't want my HD to fill up. I resumed syncing and then I had the right-click context menu to "make online only."

So, I've selected that. But I'll just have to wait and see if it continues to create the local folder structure or if it will leave whatever folders hadn't yet synced invisible on my local computer.

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

It should populate the Dropbox folder with placeholder files of your entire folder structure, as you didn't hide any folders using the selective sync feature.

This can take a little time depending on the number of files and folders on your account. 

Let me know how it goes!

About Apps and Installations

Have a question about a Dropbox app or installation? Reach out to the Dropbox Community and get solutions, help, and advice from members.

The Dropbox Community team is active from Monday to Friday. We try to respond to you as soon as we can, usually within 2 hours.

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X, Facebook or Instagram.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!