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Luworth's avatar
Luworth
Explorer | Level 4
11 months ago

Folders automatically changed to online-only

Dropbox folders suddenly all went to on-line mode and won't sync to mac. Have re-installed the software and have checked that there are no firewall, security, anti-virus or network restrictions. There is plenty of disc space. Can anyone suggest please why the sudden un-requested change and how to restore normal syncing.

  • Hannah's avatar
    Hannah
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

    Hey Luworth, thanks for posting to the Dropbox Community.

     

    If you right-click on your files, do you see a "make available offline" option that you can choose?

     

    Does that help sync your files down to your device again?

     

    Also, are you currently using the Dropbox for macOS on File Provider version of the app, with the Dropbox folder in ~/Library/CloudStorage?

     

    Let me know and we'll go from there.

    • Luworth's avatar
      Luworth
      Explorer | Level 4

      Thank you very much for replying. Have checked both points you raise and unfortunately neither has resolved the issue. Any further advice would be appreciated.  Luworth

      • Hannah's avatar
        Hannah
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

        Hey Luworth, thanks for getting back to me.

         

        Would you mind clarifying a bit? Did you right-click on your files and choose to make them available offline, but it didn't work?

         

        What happened instead? Did you get any errors?

         

        If you can also reply to my second question from my previous reply, I would appreciate it very much!

    • Hannah's avatar
      Hannah
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hi again, Luworth!

       

      Pretty strange that the application is not doing anything; what's the sync status and version of the app when you hover over the Dropbox icon in your menu bar?

       

      When you add/delete files from the Dropbox folder, does the change sync to your account online?

       

      And is your Dropbox folder located in ~/Library/CloudStorage?

      • Luworth's avatar
        Luworth
        Explorer | Level 4

        Thanks Hannah. It is bewildering, especially considering it worked perfectly until the last sync dats (15 Jan) and then suddenly refused to sync anything further to the Mac. Fortunately the files are still accessible on-line, but I would very much like to restore off-line access.

         

        Could it be a virus? I have a clear scan reading from Bitdefender, but perhaps I should invest in something more robust?

         

        The sync status is 'Indexing'.  The sync tab says that the storage is in ../Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox

         

        Thanks again Hannah. Your continued engagement with this problem is much appreciated.

        Luworth

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