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Forum Discussion
Deleting files online but not locally. How to do so?
Once again: It is my understanding that Dropbox's definition of "Syncing" is "Making sure that files in the Dropbox ONLINE (CLOUD) location are the SAME as the files on my LOCAL computer.
Now, read the above sentence again, and then tell me whether my understanding is correct or false or incomplete.
BECAUSE, I want to stop syncing. I want to delete files on ONLINE DROPBOX and I want to keep the files on my LOCAL COMPUTER.
For that purpose, I wish to know how to stop syncing.
The fact that someone by the name of Jay here says that "essentially, it is always the user's fault when something goes wrong" does not answer the
question. What answers it, is the KNOWLEDGE of what Dropbox does by default, HOW TO change what Dropbox does by default, and IF IT IS EVEN
POSSIBLE to change what Dropbox does by default.
I can't make any clearer than that, and it seems that so far no one here has the knowledge and understanding to answer properly. To refer me to
unclear and unspecific Dropbox frequently asked questions & answers, does not do it for me.
If you have a complicated, yet reasonable, true and logical answer, that's what I am looking for.
Hi PUZZLED_NEWBY, let's jump right into this!
So, if I understand this right, what you wish to do is delete content from your account online, but keep them locally on your device.
Now, it's important to ask: where do you want to keep these files? Do you need to keep them in your Dropbox folder, or elsewhere in your computer?
Yes, your Dropbox folder syncs with your account online, and any change you make to one, should sync to the other.
However, if for instance you have a file inside your Dropbox folder, that you wish to delete from your account online, but keep it locally, what you can do is move said file outside of your folder, to the desired path on the device.
That will delete the file from Dropbox, but you'll still be able to keep it on the device. You can always pause syncing on Dropbox using these steps, or uninstall the app entirely.
If you have any questions, let me know!
- Megan
Dropbox Staff
Hi PUZZLED_NEWBY, let's jump right into this!
So, if I understand this right, what you wish to do is delete content from your account online, but keep them locally on your device.
Now, it's important to ask: where do you want to keep these files? Do you need to keep them in your Dropbox folder, or elsewhere in your computer?
Yes, your Dropbox folder syncs with your account online, and any change you make to one, should sync to the other.
However, if for instance you have a file inside your Dropbox folder, that you wish to delete from your account online, but keep it locally, what you can do is move said file outside of your folder, to the desired path on the device.
That will delete the file from Dropbox, but you'll still be able to keep it on the device. You can always pause syncing on Dropbox using these steps, or uninstall the app entirely.
If you have any questions, let me know!
This is exactly the clear answer I wanted to hear. I can't even begin to guess how many people lost files, simply because they didn't know that the 'Dropbox online folder' is 'quantum entangled" with the Dropbox folder on the local computer.
I see now that's what "sync" means. It means that one cannot really turn syncing off. One must copy files from the 'local Dropbox folder' to a different the 'safe local folder'.
And it also means, that if anything ever happens to files on the either end (whether accidentally deleted, corrupted, misplaced, destroyed, or when saving the older file version [smaller, unedited, unfinished, incomplete] as the newer file version), then all these errors get perpetuated in either direction.
That should have been made very clear from the start. Inmutations in the genetic code, you'll find that the mutation is carried only forward in time to the next generation, whereas a "mutation or error" in Dropbox gets carried forward and backward, with none of the original file remaining, except IF one makes extra copies outside of Dropbox.
(For the same reason toddlers should not be given matches and certain flammable liquids, and if I may digress, for the same reason certain people with no impulse control should not be free to obtain guns and ammo. Ask your friendly neighborhood drill sergeant if they have a story to tell about this, in boot camp situations. Never mind, this is just me trying to be reasonable. Nothing to see here.)
If I am correct with these observations, then Dropbox truly should make a change to their system, such that copies of files several iterations back in time
are kept available, exactly to prevent this type of 'Data gone - freakout - panic' result.
The fix might include: A question box that appears upon trying to delete files, asking the following questions:
1) Do you want to delete all files in online cloud Dropbox, but not on your own local computer?
2) Do you want to delete all files in your local Dropbox folder, but not those on the online cloud Dropbox folder?
3) Do you want to delete both all files in your local Dropbox computer AND those on the online cloud Dropbox folder, with out a chance to get
any of those files back?
and based on the answer, Dropbox would actually carry out the action of your choice.
That would significantly reduce the error rate just with regard to that particular problem.
A couple more options that only are suitable for people who like snarky questions & answers might be:
4) Do you want to delete everything on your computer and on your Dropbox account, retire to Iceland & frolic there with fairies and trolls?
5) Do you want just be beamed to a happier planet somewhere in a quiet spot of the expanding universe, where everything is fine and
there is never any problem?
In that case, Dropbox cannot help you!
I agree. And the interface, both in the desktop version and the online version really don't have functions that make you feel you are in control of your files unless you open the hood and start wasting a lot of time for something that should be easily available. Not to mention, how buggy it is, I have deleted a ton of files, and it usually gives me an error, and the file could not be deleted. I basically tried to delete all my files at once, it seems it doesn't delete the subfolders or has trouble doing so...
My suggestion is not to ask Dropbox to do more for us customers, they're already established and don't care about improving (Not to mention the lack of gradual plans for instance, when I needed 4 or 5 TB, it was either the 2gb for the free version, the 2 tb for around 12usd, then 3 for almost 20 dollars,and from there, you needed another plan more business oriented.
The solution, check out idrive, I'm paying the same amount of money, but I have 20 TB and both the online and desktop interface really help you have control without having to look deeper and deeper, not to mention their "backup" option, not only the sync one, are amazing.
