"Can't sync, not enough free disc space" but I am trying to make it "online only"

[dcordell]

I use Dropbox on two different Mac computers (a laptop and a desktop). I constantly do work on both computers day to day but they have different files. I also have several external hard drives with different files as well. What I want is all my files to be online-only in one place on Dropbox. I only want to retrieve a document as a local copy when I need it. My understanding was that "Smart Sync" was my solution to this problem.

However, somehow when I set up Dropbox and started uploading files from each computer and from external hard drives, Dropbox began downloading ("syncing") all the files as local copies to each computer. Supposedly I have Smart Sync turned on, but it still keeps downloading everything as a local copy. Now, my 500 GB hard drive on my laptop is full and when I click the Dropbox menu, it says "Can't sync. Not enough disk space".

In order to rectify this problem, I take my laptop and navigate to a particularly large 50 GB folder. I right-click on the folder and go to "Smart Sync" and then select "Online-only". I clicked this button days ago and it does not appear to be doing anything. If it is doing something, there doesn't appear to be anywhere that I can check the progress. My laptop still says the hard drive is full, and the Dropbox icon still says "Can't sync. Not enough disk space".

If Dropbox can't "sync" due to disk space issues, then how can I make something "sync" to be online-only?

Any help is appreciated.

[Walter]

Hey @dcordell, welcome to our Community and thanks for using Dropbox!

It seems that the desktop app can't sync any changes because your computer's hard drive is (almost) full. 

Have you toggled on the Smart Sync update for Mac through your account's settings online?

Has the original syncing of your files finished completely? Do you see all of your files when you log into your account through a web browser?

If you do, you can try an advanced reinstall and try the advanced options upon that process which will allow you to choose which folders you'd like to be online only through our Smart Sync feature. Just remember to delete the old Dropbox folder during the process to make up some hard drive space.

I hope this helps to some extent - please keep me posted with your progress! 
 

[Jon P.11]

SAME PROBLEM here. I can't l back up my iPhone because it says my hard drive is full. The "large files" shown in Apple System Information > Reduct Clutter show that all my Smart Sync files, which are "zero bytes on disk", are misread by Mac OS as being complete files.

I need a solution or will drop Dropbox after years of paying you for this service. Thanks. 

[Megan]

Hey @Jon P.11, welcome to our Community!

Have you enabled the 'Smart Sync update for Mac' on  this page?

Feel free to also share with me your app's syncing status.

Keep me updated with any progress!