How to revert all files from "online-only" and save to local disk?

[secret_username1]

Awhile back I used SmartSync to free up disk space. I'm now trying to ensure all files are on the local disk rather than only online. Is there a way to accomplish this?

One idea: under preferences in the Dropbox.com settings I found an option to drop the Dropbox file extension, which "allows Dropbox to store files as online-only to save hard drive space." When I toggle it on without saving, I'm told "The system extension will be uninstalled and you’ll be signed out of Dropbox on all devices within the hour. When you sign back in, you can choose what folders to download from Dropbox.com. You will no longer be able to make files online-only."  My issue with this is I have 200k+ files perhaps half of which are online-only and Dropbox has limits of file transfer/bandwidth that might prevent me from downloading them all.

[Jay · Accepted solution]

Hi @secret_username1, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

You can mark the entire Dropbox folder as available offline when right clicking it in Explorer/Finder.

This will ensure that all files download to the computer. Depending on your OS, you can also select the default option in the Dropbox desktop application.

If you have any further queries, feel free to message back.

[jobo49]

Hi Jay, this seems to work, so thank you. I've been struggling with this problem for weeks, to no avail.

This issue has been driving me crazy - it's a basic of computing that your files are on your own hardware, so you can back them up. The cloud is a wonderful bonus option, but it's an additional option.  The basics have to work. If your files are not on your computer, you have no assurance that your backup is working correctly.

You can see from the large number of posts on this forum, that since Smart Sync was introduced, this issue has been driving many other people crazy. They don’t want the cloud as the default option. You've been driving people away, to OneDrive or pCloud.

You need to tell your colleagues in the interface design team to make this option far more accessible. I've been using Dropbox for 15 years, so I know my way around all the settings, and I would never have found the right click option by myself. Especially as, on the Mac, the Dropbox is a now disk not a folder. In 15 years, I’ve never used right click for Dropbox in 15 years. It is not an intuitive option.

This option should be in the settings, either on the local device settings or on the web interface settings. I’d even say that  it should be the barebones default, that my files always are on my disk drive, unless I change the settings to say otherwise. The green tick should be unnecessary.

Anyway, thanks for your reply 🙂