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Forum Discussion

shahaf's avatar
shahaf
Explorer | Level 3
4 months ago

How can I view all Dropbox files on the desktop app and have them not take up space?

New to Dropbox

just downloaded the app, when installing it asked me to choose which Files I wanted to Sync to my pc.

I don't have a lot of storage left on my PC so I selected none.

 

I want to view all my dropbox files from the folder on my desktop.

the same as I do with my ONEdrive or Google Drive

these two don't take and space from my PC and I can view all the files I have there.

 

Thank you

 

Shahaf

 

 

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

    Hey shahaf, let's jump right into this! 

     

    When you install our desktop app locally, that creates a local Dropbox folder with all of your files to the device.

     

    That folder will naturally take up your local hard drive space. If your hard drive space is low, your option to choose which folders to sync when installing the app was the wisest.

     

    It sounds like you used selective sync to remove these folders. You can check our relevant Help Center article, in order to see how to revert this setting and choose which folders to sync to the device.

     

    If you have any questions, let me know!

    • shahaf's avatar
      shahaf
      Explorer | Level 3

      Thank you Megan

      but now all my files have this tiny gray x symbol next to them, that disappears only after I open a file and then I get a notification that the file has downloaded.

      + it takes a long time for images to upload to the folder (image attached)

      again, just looking for the same thing I have with my ONEdrive or Google Drive, a folder on my PC that doesn't take space and I can access to my files quickly.

       

      I found an article  that says it means there is a syncing problem
      I quit and reopened Dropbox- still slow  upload and gray x

      https://help.dropbox.com/sync/files-not-syncing

       

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