Selective sync files coming in Online Only

[lawnchairmaniac]

When I opt in to selective sync a folder, why do the files always arrive on my hard drive "Online Only"? I have to then select the files in finder and actually download them all as "local" files. How do I get the selected files to automatically come in "local" instead? 

 

 

[Lusil]

Hi there @lawnchairmaniac, thanks for checking in. 

Currently, when you choose to sync content from your selective sync settings, it'll be placed on your device as online-only. 

Although there isn't currently a way to change that, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on it with us. 

Would you like to see an option be made available to bypass this behavior in the future?

Let me know and I'll make sure to get back to you as soon as possible. Cheers!

[lawnchairmaniac]

Thanks for getting back to me. I would like that function to be added, yes. I am selectively syncing files because I want to be able to access them locally, not just see them listed on my hard drive ~ I can always just use the web browser view the full directory of files. 

Take care.

[Lusil]

I understand where you're coming from and thank you for your feedback. 

If you have any other questions or thoughts in the future, don't hesitate to give us another shout. 

In the meantime, I hope you have a lovely day ahead of you!

[mike-asi]

Hello,
When choosing one branch of a Dropbox directory tree with Selective Sync to bring files to local machine, some of the files remain "offline-only".  This is what is expected with Smart Sync. However I have Smart Sync turned off and want just a subset of the files in the entire Dropbox tree to be immediately available on a local machine. Why does Selective Sync leave files as offline-only?
Thanks!
-Mike

[Megan]

HI @mike-asi, welcome to our Community! 

As Lusil mentioned above, when you sync content from your selective sync settings, it will currently be stored on your device as online-only.

You can select the content, right-click, and choose to make it available locally, and that should do the trick. 

If you need anything else, let me know.

[mike-asi]

It sounds like the Selective Sync feature implies Smart Sync behavior for the subset of Dropbox files that have been selected. Even though in the preferences in the Smart Sync section the "Save hard drive space automatically" is set to Off.

[Megan]

Hi @mike-asi! 

That setting wouldn't indicate that Smart Sync is off. 

The automatic Smart Sync setting means that files that you haven’t opened from your computer for a few months become online-only automatically, and new files you add online become online-only by default.