Not enough space on computer

[21]

I really like the convenience of the dropbox app and I understand that to enjoy this feature my dropbox files must take room on my computer's storage as well. However, is there a way for some files on my dropbox to NOT be stored on my computer and consequently be un-viewable through the dropbox app? I bought the pro version simply to keep a backup of a large folder with my important files, but when I copied it to my dropbox folder I got the message saying I don't have enough space on my computer. Is there a way for me to upload this folder to my dropbox without having it copied on my computer? I don't mind not being able to view it through the app. The only solution that comes to mind is to have two accounts, one with the app that I use for everyday stuff like sharing. And the other being a pro account with my backup folder for which I won't have on my computer. But now that I have only one account with all my shared folders plus the pro version, I would like to know if there is a way. Thank you!

[Mark]

Have you had a look at Selective Sync?
www.dropbox.com/help/175

[21]

Hey Mark, thanks for telling me about selective sync. The problem is that I can't use it until I upload the folder, for which I don't have space. So to overcome this obstacle, I uninstalled dropbox from my laptop and went directly to the website to upload my folder from there. But I can't seem to do so? I can't whatsoever upload a folder to dropbox through the website. Does dropbox not support uploading of a folder? This is rather absurd

[Crotonmark]

This is EXACTLY my problem as well

I have TONS of space in dropbox BUT not much space on my Mac.

I want to upload my 500GB video folder to Dropbox but I don't see a way

it is crazy I am paying for space I can't use

also - Dropbox support is beyond awful - canned replies totally off point

[Mark]

The issue is that, unfortunately, Dropbox probably isnt suitable for your needs in that case Crotonmark. Dropbox isnt designed to be a cloud only solution, it is a syncing tool. It is supposed to (by design) have everything locally on your hard drive.

So, you can use the 1TB of space - you just cant have it all on your hard drive in one go.

[Crotonmark]

Mark - sorry but I dont understand

How can I use the 1TB of space that I purchased from Dropbox?

I will NEVER have 1 TB of space avail in my Mac

[Mark]

Via Selective Sync as I linked to earlier on (www.dropbox.com/help/175).

I'm also on a Mac and have everything I 'need' syncing to it without issue. The rest I have sync'd to Dropbox but not on my machine. For example I have archived data from previous years accounts/classes taught (I'm a teacher) as well as all the ISO's and software installations I only occasionally need stored online but not my machine.

[Crotonmark]

Yes. I thought of that but the 500gb I want to upload is on an external drive so it's not on my Mac.  I understand that selective sync has to be on the machine before you uncheck the box to not sync it down. Am I wrong?

[Mark · Accepted solution]

Sort of.

You can create empty folders on your machine and selective sync off, or, you can upload in batches and have an already created Selective Sync folder which once the files have uploaded you use the web interface to move the folder in to the un-sync'd one. That then deletes it locally.

[Crotonmark]

Thanks. The real issue is also that the upload speed is so slow