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Forum Discussion

kmeadows's avatar
kmeadows
Helpful | Level 5
6 years ago

Only want to sync specific folders on my other device

I have all my files in Dropbox on my PC. I want to "some" of them, not all of them on my laptop. When I downloaded Dropbox on the laptop, I ended with "all" files on the laptop. Can someone please ...
desktop
Download
Space and storage
sync
Daphne's avatar
Daphne
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
6 years ago
Hey there kmeadows,
 
If you want to remove some of the folders from your computer but keep them in your account online, I’d suggest using Selective sync. This will allow you to choose folders that you don’t want to sync down to your desktop folder and they will be available via your account online. You can update these settings at anytime with these steps:
 
  1. Click the Dropbox icon from the system tray/menu bar.
  2. Click the gear icon in the top right. 
  3. Select Preferences… from the menu.
  4. Click on the Sync tab
  5. Click on Selective Sync...
  6. Uncheck any folders you want to be removed from your device.
 
Hope this helps - Thanks!
  • kmeadows's avatar
    kmeadows
    Helpful | Level 5
    6 years ago

    Thank you. I saw that option but what I really want is to keep local access on my PC for all files. And only have the 2 main files (or folders, not sure of correct name) on my laptop.

    Can you help with this?

    • lingarajbv's avatar
      lingarajbv
      Explorer | Level 4
      6 years ago

       

       

      Please explain me once again the below lines, as I did not understand here what you are trying to achieve? I am happy to help :)

      "Is to keep local access on my PC for all files. And only have the 2 main files (or folders, not sure of correct name) on my laptop" ?

      Based on my understanding, I think what you want is, to automatically download all folders and files on your PC, while you have Dropbox (on PC) connected to internet?

      Remember: All the folders and files that you have selected under “Selective Sync” will get automated synced based on most recent change. (These Below folders/files having right mark in Green)


      And, when you uncheck any folder from that list, it will only be deleted from Dropbox folder on your PC and will never be deleted on the cloud. And, when you try to delete any file/folder that is checked under “Selective Sync”, by default should prompt a warning like in this picture below (unless you have made changes to settings).

      Advise: Please play with the settings, by creating a dummy folder and a dummy file under it and then by deleting them later. It surely will resolve your doubts.

      Do keep me posted here if you wanted to know anything that I might know, You are welcome. :)

    • Daphne's avatar
      Daphne
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      6 years ago
      Hey again kmeadows,
       
      You can apply different selective sync settings on different devices. So you can apply selective sync to folders on your laptop, so that only certain folder in your Dropbox account sync to the Dropbox folder.
       
      On your PC you can simply leave the desktop app settings as they are and all your Dropbox account content will stay local in your Dropbox folder.
       
      I hope this clarifies the matter, let me know if this is what you wanted to achieve - Cheers! 
  • kmeadows's avatar
    kmeadows
    Helpful | Level 5
    6 years ago

    Nope. I don't want my old files accessable on my laptop at all. I ended up sending myself a link to "share" the files. I opened the link on the laptop and now have access. But I think the problem will be that the files are still just in the cloud and not actually downloaded to my laptop where I can access them easily. 

    How do you upload a photo or document that is only on the cloud, not on your local laptop to something like a website that I am creating???

    • Daphne's avatar
      Daphne
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      6 years ago
       
      If you want to have the files accessible locally on your laptop, you could create a specific folder on the Laptop and choose to have only that one syncing to your Laptop and none of your other folders in your account. You can do this through your selective sync settings. Alternatively, you can use the website to access and manage your Dropbox files on that device.
       
      Selecting files that are not locally on your device is up to the discretion of the website you’re uploading to, so whether or not you have created the functionality to select files that are stored within another service. If you need to upload files from a local location, perhaps as a work around you can download the file from your Dropbox account online then upload to the website.
       
      Hope this helps to clarify the matter - Thanks!

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