"Make available offline" is not working for me.

[coonrodc]

Generally, I keep my Dropbox files off-line. In the past, if I marked a particular file "make available offline", the circle next to the file name would turn green fairly quickly, and the file would then be available on my driv drive immideately. Now, however, the "make available offline option seems to have no effect. If I try to access a file, the access is veery slow and sometimes fail completely. However, I can usually still access files if I wait long enough. Also, I can move files (very slowly) to a flash drive. why has this change occurred?

[Jay]

Hi @coonrodc, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Could you check the bandwidth in the app to see if this could be affecting the speed at which the files download to your machine?

This will help me to assist further!

[coonrodc]

The download bandwidth is "don't limit" and the upload is "limit automatically"

[Nancy]

Thanks for checking, @coonrodc!

Can you let me know what’s the current syncing status and app version of your desktop app? 

When exactly did you start noticing this issue? Is this something that started happening after an update, for example?

Also, do you happen to have more than 300k Dropbox files currently synced locally to your computer? You can check this by going to your local Dropbox folder’s properties.

[coonrodc]

Thank you.  I am not sure I understand your questions, but I will answer as best i can.  I do not know the app version.  Where can I find that?  I presume it is the current version. I dont know why it would not be.  The app indicates it is "sincing" but the number of files sincing just keeps growing.  In the past, the number of files sincing would drop to zero fairly quickly.  I dont know the exact time the problem started, but I first noticed it about a week or so ago.  Initially I thought it was just some temporary problem that would solve itself, but that has not occurred.  I am not aware of any particular update at that time, but I cannot rule it out. There are 441,443 files in the Dropbox folder.  The app indicates they occupy 3.8 TB of my available 4.0 TB.  The app indicates 11,671 files are sincing, but, as i explained above, there does not appear to be much progress in reducing that number.  Thanks for your help.

[Nancy]

Alright; let’s take a closer look. 

One way to check the app’s version is by hovering over the small Dropbox icon in your system tray/menu bar. 

Now, as per the number of files currently syncing, please note that after 300k files, the performance of the Dropbox app may be affected, so this could be a possible reason why syncing isn’t working properly at the moment. 

Have you, by any chance, used selective sync to remove any large folders from the desktop app? If not, please give that a go, as it may help. 

Let me know if you see any difference afterwards.

[coonrodc]

Thank you

The version indicated in the Dropbox icon in the system tray is 177.4.5399

When you say "the number of files currently syncing", do you mean the number of files in the Dropbox folder? File Explorer counts the number of files in the Dropbox folder at           , but, ordinarily, none are sincing because all have completed their synchonization, and the vast majority are set to "online only."  At least, that is my understanding.  Presently, the Dropbox icon in the system tray indicates 12,066 files are syncing, but that is the reason I am reporting this problem: the sync function does not apper to be working correctly. Ordinarily the number of files syncing would be very small and would quickly diminish to zero.

I would be willing to move files from my Dropbox folder if that is what you say I must do, but that diminishes the value of having  Dropbox account.  I have a plan with 4.0TB, and the Dropbox icon in the system tray indicates only 3.8TB is in use.  So, usuage should not be a problem.  Are you saying I am limited to a certain number of files as well as to 4.0TB of space? What if I zip some of the smaller files together?

In answer to your question about selective sync:  The default is set to "online only", and I generally return files to "online only" after using them.  However, my understanding is that "online only" leaves all the files in my Dropbox.  Changing the setting only affects the file on my local disk.  Is that correct?  If so, I dont see what you mean by removing large files from the desktop app.  Selective sync would keep them off my local disk, but the only way I know to remove a file from Dropbox is to delete the file, in whch case I would lose it from my local disk too, right? That would be counterproductive. Evidently I am confused.

Thanks.

[coonrodc]

In my previous post I meant to say File Explorer counts the number of files in the Dropbox folder at  441,451.  Sorry for the omission.

[Megan]

Hi @coonrodc, you mentioned that your icon on the system tray indicates 12K files that are being synced, do you see this number getting smaller, or it's stuck like that?

You also mentioned that the app is syncing that amount of files, however the question is, since your plan is using 3.8TB out of the 4TB, do you have enough space for these files to sync to your account online? 

[coonrodc]

The number of files indicated as "syncing" has been stuck at 12,174 for at least a few days

I presume space is available in my dropbox.  I believe all or most of the files "syncing" are downloading, not uploading.  Also, if space was unavailable in the dropbox, I presume the indicator would show the full 4.0 TB used, or at least 3.9 TB and not 3.8 TB.  I would also expect some kind of error message or warning that space is low.

However, in order to assure ample space in the dropbox, I started a few days ago cutting and moving some large files to a flash drive.  That is a chore because dropbox will only download them one at a time, and very slowly.