I have Committed the Selective Sync of Shame

[phowarth]

One of my five computers stopped syncing to dropbox.  Let's call it Computer A.  In an attempt to explore THAT problem, I went to Selective Sync on THAT computer and checked EVERY folder.

Now, Dropbox.com and every app on all five computers has TWO of every folder.

Yes I'm a dummy.

Every single duplicate folder name ends with "(Selective Sync Conflict).

1. What is the best way to undo what I have done?

1a.  Manually delete all of the duplicate folders?  That's pretty easy.

2.Even though I checked Selective Sync on Computer A only, all of the folders are now checked on the other computers too.  What do I do about all of these checkmarks?  As far as I know, none of the folders on any computer have been checked for all the years I have used Dropbox because I've always synced everything.  (Well not completely true - I only sync a few frequently-used folders on my laptop.)

[Lusil]

Hey there, @phowarth! At first, please note that I removed some personal info included in your image attached for security and privacy purposes purposes. 

Moving on to your query though, in general, if you create a folder with the same name and location as an unsynced folder that you removed using selective sync, you may see that the folder generates something called a Selective Sync conflict (as shown in your screenshot).

In this case, you may see that the folder has a gray circle with a minus sign on it instead of a blue syncing icon or green checkmark, which indicates the folder isn’t syncing to Dropbox.

If the folder begins syncing on its own, or you resume syncing by updating your selective sync settings, you may see that “(Selective Sync conflict)” is added to the name. In this case, both folders (the one with the original name and the one with “(Selective Sync conflict)” appended) will sync to your account online and any other device connected, as you mention happens.

To resolve a selective sync conflict, you can move any files you need from the conflicted folder to either the original folder or somewhere else in Dropbox. If you see the folder with the gray minus sign, you'll need to allow the original folder to sync to your computer before moving the files over. Then, delete the conflicted folder.

You can find more ways on how to tackle selective sync conflicts and avoid them in the future in this article.

I hope this helps. Let me know if I missed explaining anything or if you have any other questions!

[phowarth]

Hi Lusil,

I don't think this helps me yet. 

1. I did not purposefully create a duplicate folder.  It was created by dropbox after I checked "Select All" in the Selective Sync menu.
2. You mention gray circles and minus signs but my screenshot does not show any of that.

So again, here is one example of my problem: I have always had a folder called "Access".  As far as I know, I have never used the Selective Sync menu in all the years I have used Dropbox.  Last week, I was in the Selective Sync menu and checked the box next to the Access folder.  Now I have TWO Access folders and one of them also says (Selective Sync Conflict).

What is the best way to get rid of the new folder that is named "Access (Selective Sync Conflict)"?

Thanks!

[Lusil]

Hey again, @phowarth.

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@phowarth wrote: 
You mention gray circles and minus signs but my screenshot does not show any of that.

Apologies for the confusion, I wasn’t referring to the selective sync settings as you show on your screenshot, but the syncing icons that you see in your Dropbox folder.

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@phowarth wrote:

Last week, I was in the Selective Sync menu and checked the box next to the Access folder.

If there was no check mark when you accessed the selective sync settings next to that folder, that means that the folder called “Access” was not syncing to your Dropbox folder. 

Spoiler

Here’s an example: If I have a folder that was selectively synced called “Example” which I choose to sync to my Dropbox folder again, but I already have a folder with the same name being there, the new folder will be synced with the name “Example (Selective Sync Conflict)”.  

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@phowarth wrote:

What is the best way to get rid of the new folder that is named "Access (Selective Sync Conflict)"?

I’d recommend ensuring that all files you need from the folder with the “(Selective Sync Conflict)” exist somewhere (either in the Dropbox folder or outside of it) and then, if you don’t need it anymore, removing the folder.

I hope this helped clarify my previous post a bit more, but don’t hesitate to get back to me if you need any further assistance!

[phowarth]

Thank you Lusil,

So to be clear, Selective Sync is ALWAYS required?  Even if I install the Dropbox APP on a computer and want everything from Dropbox.com to be on the computer?

[Lusil]

Selective sync is a feature used to save space on your computer. What it does is it unsyncs a folder from your computer, or in other words, remove it from your hard drive without deleting it from your account. 

All subscriptions have selective sync available so when you install the desktop app, you can use it at any point in time. But this doesn’t mean that selective sync must be used. 

If you want to have every folder in your account in your Dropbox folder on your computer, just ensure that all the boxes in your selective sync settings are marked with a tick, as those folders will sync to your hard drive. 

You can find more info about selective sync in this article. 

Let me know if you have any other queries, @phowarth. Cheers!