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Opting out of cloud storage?
I've been a Dropbox user for about 10 years. Today, I was greeted with a demand from my Dropbox client to move all of my Dropbox synced folders from ~/Dropbox to ~/Library/CloudStorage.
I've done a bit of research and I understand the reason for the change. However, I'm deeply troubled by the implication that on-demand cloud storage is the "new normal" for these files, and that offline storage seems to be a less preferable option.
I'm going to make this clear: I expect all of my synced files to be stored on all of my devices at all times. I have many workflows that depend on local file storage and will either be unacceptably postponed by on-demand access or will simply break. Also, I refuse to accept the possibility of essential files being unavailable because my device is offline or has low bandwidth.
I understand that with the new Dropbox, "individual files and folders" can be marked as "make available offline," and will therefore be stored locally. However, I can't seem to find any indication of how well that marking process works. If one of the base folders on Dropbox is included in Selective Sync on my Mac, and if I mark that folder as "make available offline," will that designation be enforced for all files and folders? Or will this setting have to be managed constantly - e.g., I might find that newly created files were marked as "on-demand" by default and need to be updated?
To be clear, this is 1,000% a breaking change for me, and if I cannot make Dropbox satisfy my needs, I will be terminating my service and moving all of my files elsewhere. It is a shame that Dropbox has taken this one-size-fits-all approach and has broken core functionality in furtherance of a feature that I have no intention of ever using.
Hey sfsdfd, thanks for taking the time to provide additional info on your query.
Allow me to clarify that even if you update your Dropbox application to Dropbox for macOS on File Provider, you'll still have the option to have your files available offline.
Even if you don't make the choice to initially sync them as available offline, you can still manually do so afterwards, with a simple right-click choice.
The usability of the app remains the same, with the added option to switch your files to online-only, to save up hard drive space.
However, we do appreciate your feedback on this and I'll make sure to pass it along to our team.
Let us know if you have any other questions.
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My current pain point is that you took away full functionality on MacOS *years ago* and haven't restored it yet.
For years now, I'm being forced to manually download the files I want to open in the Finder. Before, third-party apps would automatically retrieve them ("make them offline").
Prices have gone up by quite a bit, and no sign of this functionality ever coming back.
Care to share if this is functionality is ever going to be restored?
I am having the same issue as well, as a loyal Dropbox user for 10+ years. I noticed this because files I knew I had saved just magically started disappearing from my Dropbox (which I accessed through a favorites link in the Mac OS). Then I realized through Search that I had in effect TWO dropboxes, one created in November (not by me) that was in the ~Library/CloudStorage and one that worked with all my shortcuts/was local. I too want to have everything available locally. I now have effectively two dropboxes going and files are saving all over -- some times to the cloud, sometimes locally, and it's REALLY ANNOYING especially since files are now not syncing -- there is new material in both the local and the cloud and I have no idea how to reconcile them. I'd like to download everything so I can just switch to a new platform as well because this is maddening. Is there a way to sync these without losing content from one or the other, given that the filed names etc. are duplicated?
That's now my problem two. Working on a legal case and was working on the wrong version. HOW DO I SYNCHRONIZE MY DROPBOX FOLDERS??? WHICH ONE SHOULD I REMOVE?
- Jay
Dropbox Community Moderator
Hi Bruce M.19, which Dropbox folder on your computer has the syncing icons on them? This would be the one currently linked to the desktop app, and should have the latest information synced from the site.
