Smart Sync is default to online-only but not working

[pbuckland]

Hi all,

In my Smart Sync settings, I have the default set to online-only. i.e. new files should be set to online-only.

However, whenever someone adds a new folder+files to my shared folder, it selectively syncs to the folder and all files. I thought that it would show in explorer, but only in online-only mode...

Thanks!

[Jane]

Hey pbuckland, 

I’ll try my best to shed some light on your inquiries below & thanks for getting in touch on the Community!

In my Smart Sync settings, I have the default set to online-only. i.e. new files should be set to online-only.

You may bear in mind that, regardless of the default option set by the team admin (i.e. Start new files as online-only), your Selective Sync settings shouldn’t be affected, as the two features can work independently. That being said, if you’ve already Selectively synced your folders, this setting will not change, hence you’ll still be able to see the latest updates online, though these will not sync down to your device. 

Of course, you can change the content you have available locally & switch between Selective Sync/ Smart Sync at any time by re-applying your Smart Sync & Selective settings, following these tips. 

I hope my advice is helpful to you, though it’ll be my pleasure to follow-up with more details, just let me know your follow-up questions in your next post here. Happy Friday! 

[Rich]

@Jane

Although @pbuckland uses the phrase "selective sync" I don't believe he's referring to the actual Selective Sync feature within Dropbox. I believe his complaint is that even though he has his entire Dropbox set to Online Only, new folders that are added within a share are still being downloaded to his computer. I don't think Selective Sync is actually being used here.

[Jane]

Could be so @Rich, though I'm curious as to whether my assumptions matched his experience, hence I focused more on what  @pbuckland described initially. I may be wrong, so if this is the case, I hope I’ll be given the chance to modify my initial advice in my next reply below… 

[pbuckland]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. Let me try to clarify a little.

I have a shared folder, a sub-folder of this, and many many folders under this.

Something like this:

- Shared folder
  - Sub folder
    - Folder 1
    - Folder 2
    - Folder 3
    - Folder 4
    - ...
    - Folder 195
    - Folder 196
    - Folder 197

Before Smart Sync started for us yesterday, I had selectively synced only Folder 1 and Folder 2, so only those two showed on my local PC.

When the Dropbox app set up Smart Sync for me, I selected the option to make all other non-selectively synced folders online-only. I then made all of "Shared folder" sync in the selective sync preferences, and the online-only folders now show without syncing locally. All is good in the world.

However, when another user creates a new folder, say "Folder 198", that folder is downloaded to my PC immediately. I would like any new folders like this one to show up, but in online-only mode. I don't want to have to manually set it to online-only once it has syced locally. I thought the setting would make any new folders online-only by default.

Cheers,
Paul

[Minato]

Hey @pbuckland,

Can you send us a screenshot of the the Sync tab and of the Selective Sync settings, so we can perform a more thorough investigation?

Both of the above are located on the Preferences of the app and to go there just click once on the System Tray icon, then click on the Gear icon and select Preferences option.

I hope to hear from you soon!

[pbuckland]

Hi,

Here are my settings:

If another user adds a folder under "projects - active only" (so another new black rectangle), that folder is selectively synced to my PC and all it's contents downloaded. I expected it to automatically be selectively synced - that's no problem - but I expected it to default to online-only, but it has defaulted to local instead, and all it's content has downloaded.

This is a problem for many of our employees, as these folders can be huge and unknowingly take up their hard drive space.

Thanks,

Paul

[Norah]

Hey pbuckland, thanks for all the information provided!

As this is an issue that needs thorough investigation could you raise a ticket with our team here so that we can troubleshoot further for you? 

Once you’ve raised the ticket please include the ID and I’ll make sure that a colleague handles your case asap. 

Thanks in advance for your reply!

[pbuckland]

Many thanks, appreciate it.

My ticket number is #7804597, although I suspect it has been logged against my personal Dropbox account instead of my business one.

Cheers,

Paul

[Norah]

Hey pbuckland!

I’ve located the ticket you created and we’ll handle your case from there.

Let me know if you need anything further!