Selective sync is not clearing space on my laptop

[JennyC]

Hello-

I've been getting notices from my Macbook that I'm running out of space. I investigated and realized that I was not using selective sync on Dropbox, so I've implemented that. I unchecked a ton of folders, but it has made no difference in the amount of space available on my Macbook. (I've shut down/re-started the Macbook twice, and I've also closed/re-opened Dropbox.) I have made sure that I have the latest version of Dropbox.

I saw that someone else posted this problem a while ago, but there was  no solution listed. 

Please help!

thanks...

[Mark · Accepted solution]

How long ago did you do Selective Sync?

The space is not recovered for a few days until after its activated. The files etc. stay within a local cache folder so that you can quickly recover things if you realise you did it wrong or have lost data.

[JennyC]

Hi, Mark. Thanks for letting me know. I'll sit tight for a few days.

I appreciate the help!

-Jenny

[Andries du Toit]

Thanks for this answer.

Where can I find this cache on my MacBook?

I unselected a very large folder (140 GB) on selective sync, expecting the space to be freed up.

The offending folder has disappeared from my hard drive... but the space has not appeared.

Macbook's storage analysis still shows the space to be occupied - as 'Other Files' - but I can't seem to find where the hidden files are.

What do I do"  Just wait for days until Dropbox releases the space? Or can I find some way to get the freed space to actually show up as free?

Thanks

Andries

[Walter]

Hi there @Andries du Toit; thanks for joining the discussion here.

If you're still interested in this, you may find this Help Center article helpful. 

Let us know if you have any follow up questions, Andries. 

[Andries du Toit]

Yes, I saw that article.  Didn't solve the problem.

[Walter]

If the app has finished syncing and shows up to date in your menu bar, could you reboot your computer and let me know if you still get the same, Andries? 

[Andries du Toit]

I have rebooted several times. No change.

A

[Andries du Toit]

OK, I did a scan with DaisyDisk

It has found 200g in hidden files, which looks about right.

But Daisydisk is not able to delete it.

Even when I give DaisyDisk full hard drive access, it can't access those files. In the screenshot below, I have already given it full disk access, but it still does not have access.

What do you recommend?