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

Hi Jay.  

I appreciate you helping, & for clarity, I think what we're asking for is below (excuse the caps, but I want to be clear).  

I've been in many many forums about this and never received clear and concise STEP BY STEP process for how to do the following:

1. Install the Dropbox Desktop interface on a MAC.

2. Have the entire file structure VISIBLE but NOT DOWNLOADED - WITHOUT having to download EVERYTHING in that file structure and THEN select it for online only. 

3. THEN be able to download files as desired.

This was possible years ago.  It is not now, and hasn't been for some time.  My last two installs on new computers have gone poorly for this reason.  Going by all online suggestions, I have to compromise my computer's ability to function for days as I selectively download files one 250 GB grouping at a time (I have about 4TB of files on Dropbox), wait for them to successfully download, select them for online only, wait for them to be removed from my computer's storage, then do that again for literal DAYS.

Please, if it IS possible to do what I listed above, share the steps for this.  If not, please admit it and plead with the people in the development department to create a method to make your users rejoice and use your product, and not suffer and succumb to the easy route - just cancel & use Apple's Cloud.

THANK YOU!  Honestly, thank you, I know you're not the one who made the mess!!

Hi SKSKSKSKSKSK, during the installation steps, there should be an option to have files automatically be online-only when the Dropbox folder is set up, instead of available offline. 

Do you see that option when installing the app on a new device, or when using the advanced reinstallation steps?

Hi Jay,

I have checked them.  That's a bit of the problem.  

If I don't want a folder to download to my computer, it doesn't show up in the file structure.  I have to download it to have it show up.  Once it downloads, I can THEN set it to online only, which will clear it out of my hard drive, but again, that's a process that takes DAYS to manage due to the volume of data and the size of my hard drive.

What I'm asking for is to have ALL the folders be visible on my desktop but not be downloaded - the same way they are when things are "Online Only" - WITHOUT having to download them and then set them to online only.

When I install the desktop app, I want to be able to SEE EVERYTHING immediately that's on the cloud without having to download ANYTHING. And THEN pick the stuff I want to download.

Again, if that CANNOT happen, please just say so.  Please say "nope, you'd have to download everything and THEN set it to online only."  Then I'd know.  But there's a lot of half-completed help forums that end with "wait, didn't you try online only" & that's NOT the problem.  

It's that the workflow on the user end is unnecessarily cumbersome.  It asks way too much of you users, frankly, when you should just have a solve to allow the full file structure to be visible the moment you download the Dropbox desktop app.

Thanks for the details, the functionality you're looking for isn't currently possible with Dropbox.

We appreciate the feedback on this matter and we take all comments into consideration when improving the Dropbox app and services.

Thanks for letting me know! And yes, please do everything you can to get this request up the chain, I'm clearly not the only one who wants this!!

Thank you!