local vs online only - how to tell programatically?

[Ed T.2]

I have an app that allows users to store files in Dropbox.  If the local directory is known, I look for the content there, else I use the API.  With the advent of local vs online-only, files that I linked as local are no longer opening since they have not yet or are not going to be local.

How can I tell if a file is local or just has a placeholder locally?  Is there a better way to handle this situation?

[Greg-DB]

Unfortunately the Dropbox API doesn't offer a way to programmatically check the online only status of any particular file or folder, but I'll pass this along as a feature request. I can't promise if or when that might be implemented though.

Online-only files should be automatically downloaded when opened though, except currently on macOS 12.3. That's not part of the API itself though, so if that's not working as expected for you, you may want to open a thread in "Installs & integrations" or contact support.