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Forum Discussion
Edgemont
4 years agoExplorer | Level 4
How to identify what files are "online only" and change them to local?
I hope someone can help. I have never intentionally turned on Smart Sync. I always want all my files and documents to be local as well as in Dropbox. After adding a 3rd Mac, last month when I laun...
Edgemont
Explorer | Level 4
Hi Lori!
Thank you so much for your response! I can't explain why, but now it suddenly all seems normal again!
The Syncing Status always said "Up to Date" - which is why this made no sense.
The main folder in Finder ("Dropbox") had a clear circle with green checkmark and green circumference, which indicates "contains both local and on-line only files" - when I hovered over that check it said "some files are on-line only" which I could not understand why or see exactly which of the hundreds of files I have in DB these could be!
I have this account set up on 4 separate Macs and an iPhone, but all I could think to do was log out and login, but it still did this. However inexplicably the next day it was solid green and local like it always used to be.
Hopefully it will stay this way, but if you make some be online only, how do you tell which files or documents those are if they have disappeared from your Mac? I never use the actual application, just have folder and aliases on my desktop that I drag & drop files into, and rarely go online.
Thanks for your help!
Megan
4 years agoDropbox Staff
Hey Edgemont, I am happy to see that everything works smoothly now!
Keep in mind that Dropbox doesn't support aliases, and this could be the main root of the issue.
In order for files to sync, they would need to be placed within your Dropbox folder.
Also, with Smart Sync, your online-only files should be visible within your Dropbox folder and the icons next to those files should show up as grey little clouds.
I believe you should also read this article, which you will most likely find useful.
Keep in mind that Dropbox doesn't support aliases, and this could be the main root of the issue.
In order for files to sync, they would need to be placed within your Dropbox folder.
Also, with Smart Sync, your online-only files should be visible within your Dropbox folder and the icons next to those files should show up as grey little clouds.
I believe you should also read this article, which you will most likely find useful.
- Edgemont4 years agoExplorer | Level 4
Hi Lori:
I'm a bit confused about the alias comment, since I've been successfully using dropbox aliases for years on my desktop without issue.
The main Dropbox folder is in my Mac (Mac HD>User>UserName>Dropbox)
The alias of that folder is visible on my Desktop, as are certain other alias folders for other folders inside that main Dropbox folder.
This way I can drag and drop things I want into a folder on the Desktop of each of my Macs (like "Bills to Pay") and they are there when I am home or at work or on my iPhone. I've never experienced any issues with that and they still all work as expected. To be honest, its the main reason I use Dropbox instead of iCloud (and that iCloud forces you to use your AppleID and I don't like the idea of sending people links to anything connected to my AppleID.)
Re: Smart Sync
I never ever have anything set to online only, but what is still completely confusing about Smart Sync or "online only" is the language it has in the explanation that says that 'items you haven't used in a while Dropbox moves them to be online only and removes them from your computer to save space' (yikes). If it does that, you wouldn't see a little cloud because the item would no longer be in your Mac, correct? - which makes me presume that the only way you'd see this is if you logged into and looked at all your actual Dropbox items in the actual Dropbox online cloud, which would mean having to open hundreds of nested folders online to find some item with a little cloud. (LOL)
- Rich4 years agoSuper User II
Edgemont wrote:
The alias of that folder is visible on my Desktop, as are certain other alias folders for other folders inside that main Dropbox folder.
Your aliases are outside of Dropbox, looking in. That's fine as Dropbox doesn't know they exist. Dropbox only knows about the actual folders inside your Dropbox folder. What isn't supported is when you have a folder located elsewhere on your computer and an alias inside the Dropbox folder looking out. In the past, Dropbox would sync the files at the other end of the alias, allowing you to sync folders and files that weren't located within the Dropbox folder. That behavior changed a couple years ago and is now no longer supported.
- Edgemont4 years agoExplorer | Level 4
Thanks for that explanation Rich! That makes total sense. I never knew once upon a time DB could see an alias that the original wasn't inside its DB - that's wild.
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