You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.

Forum Discussion

danidar's avatar
danidar
Explorer | Level 3
6 years ago

Is there a way to sync my files from the web to my desktop but not the other way around?

Hello, I want to prevent dropbox from syncing back to the cloud files that are already on my computer.. or I want only to sync from dropbox to computer  I do not have enough space in the cloud to h...
Delete
Desktop
FAQ
Share
Sync
Web
  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    6 years ago
    danidar wrote:

    i just want to have one direction sync.. from dropbox to local storage  and I want dropbox to ignore what is on local storage and not upload it again.

    No such option exists. Dropbox is intended to sync files in both directions. It cannot be configured to only sync from the cloud to your computer.

    I want dropbox to ignore what is on local storage and not upload it again.

    The only way to do that is to move the files out of the Dropbox so they can't sync.

    So, use camera uploads and allow the files to be added to Dropbox. Let them sync to your computer. Then move them out of the Dropbox folder to another location on your local drive. That will also remove the files from your Dropbox account, freeing up space for more photos to be uploaded.

Jane's avatar
Jane
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
Hey there (danidar), I’m unsure that I’m following you 100%, though I’ll try to do my best to try & address your concerns! 
 
If I’m not wrong, you’d like avoid syncing some files you’ve stored locally on your device to your Dropbox account online, am I on the right track? Please do let me know if I’m misunderstanding your request in any way. 
 
Now, if my assumption is correct, then you’re on the right path. If you’d like to keep your files locally (i.e. not synced to your Dropbox account online), then all you need to do is save them on a different location on your device, as Dropbox would see only the files within the Dropbox folder. 
 
On the other hand, if you’d like to avoid syncing content down to your device, then you can utilize our Selective Sync feature, which will preserve all your content safely stored on your account online. (Tip: You may also have a look at this resource here, where Jay explains matters in a bit more detail.)
 
Whenever you find some time, please have a look at my suggestions above & do let me know which one best matches your needs in your next message, in order to further advise on how you can go about on your initial inquiry. Thanks in advance! 
danidar's avatar
danidar
Explorer | Level 3
6 years ago

Hello,

this is basically the problem. my dropbox ran out of space so I synced everything to my computer and remove the copies on dropbox but everytime I connect dropbox uploads everything back..so i am back to square one.  i just want to have one direction sync.. from dropbox to local storage  and I want dropbox to ignore what is on local storage and not upload it again.

selective sync will delete everything I have on local storage unless as you say i remove it from the dropbox folder.

this is the scenario.. i take photos and videos on the phone that are automatically synced to dropbox.. then i connect to the computer and download all the photos taken with the phone to the local hard drive. so selective sync is a no go because new photos taken by the phone will not be downloaded to local hard drive. after a while i remove the photos from dropbox because i do not have enough storage... but as soon as i do that dropbox upload the photo back to the cloud... i want dropbox not to do that. but still download them to the computer when there are new pictures/videos.

hope is clear

thank in advance.

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    6 years ago
    Thanks a lot for taking the time to further clarify matters for me here danidar, that’s mostly appreciated; let me stir a different course to help you get going with the deletion! 
     
    You could completely erase your account contents once you’ve stored your files on a different location on your device that’s outside the Dropbox folder. You can easily drag & drop your files to a selected location or right-click on the ones you wish to remove select Cut  ▶️ navigate to the location you’d like to store them ▶️ right-click & select Paste. Once the deletions sync to our website, you should be good to go. 
     
    (Note: The steps are slightly different for a Mac, so please refer to thisresource here in case you're not working on a pc. ) 
     
    Hopefully this answers your question, though I remain at your entire disposal should you have any follow-up inquiries or in case you need any further assistance in any way. Take care until we talk again & enjoy the rest of your day! 
  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
    6 years ago
    danidar wrote:

    i just want to have one direction sync.. from dropbox to local storage  and I want dropbox to ignore what is on local storage and not upload it again.

    No such option exists. Dropbox is intended to sync files in both directions. It cannot be configured to only sync from the cloud to your computer.

    I want dropbox to ignore what is on local storage and not upload it again.

    The only way to do that is to move the files out of the Dropbox so they can't sync.

    So, use camera uploads and allow the files to be added to Dropbox. Let them sync to your computer. Then move them out of the Dropbox folder to another location on your local drive. That will also remove the files from your Dropbox account, freeing up space for more photos to be uploaded.

About Delete, edit, and organize

Solve issues with deleting, editing, and organizing files and folders in your Dropbox account with support from the Dropbox Community.

Need more support

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!