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Forum Discussion
How can I make my files online-only on my new computers?
I have two new computers and want to have online only files, but have all the folders and structure on my computer. Clicked off of "all sync" because I did not want the files on, but I can't see any ...
For the folders/files you want to be visible on computer but not take any space, you can mark them online only using one of the options below:
1. Right click on that folder, and choose `Make Online-Only`
2. Click on Dropbox tray icon, then click on your profile image, choose `Manage Hard drive space` and there you can bulk choose which folders you want to mark online-only.
I want to make all my dropbox files online only. Every time I view a file it downloads to my hard drive. How can I stop this, and make ALL files online only permanantly?
Walter
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHi Kneth - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.
Could you please clarify your device's OS version, and the version and status of the Dropbox desktop app as shown in your system tray/menu bar?
Hello Walter,
Thank you for your response.
My device's OS:
Edition: Windows 11 Home
Version: 23H2
OS Build: 22631.4391
Dropbox version: 212.3.5649
Thank you and best regards,
Kneth
- Nancy
Hi Kneth! Hope it’s OK if I jump in.
Do you mean that you’d like to open the files on your desktop app and make sure they’re not made available offline even then?
If yes, I’m afraid that’s not possible, as the Dropbox app needs to download the content of the file first for you to access it on your device. When you don’t need the file downloaded/offline anymore, you can always make it online-only again.
If I’ve misunderstood something, please let me know.
Hi Nancy!
Thank you very much for your response. Yes, you have indeed answered my question.
How this issue came up was, once I opened a file on my PC and a couple of days after, when I was away from home I wanted to access that same file again, on my phone - then I realised it was missing.
On my return, I realised it was not 'online' and I had to do it manually. Although I had been using Dropbox for many years, this was the first time I experienced this. Hence I thought I was doing something wrong.
What if I uninstalled the Dropbox app on my PC, and accessed Dropbox from my PC via the browser? Will this solve the issue?
Thank you and best regards,
Kneth
