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Forum Discussion
MacOS 10.14 SmartSync files included in disk storage calculation
So I don't think I'm the first to ask this, but I don't see any real solutions, so here goes...
I have 2016 MacBook Pro 13" 250GB which is now showing storage issues.
For example, one of the docu...
Thanks for the swift and elaborate response thefc - most appreciated.
First off, thanks for using our BETA versions - I guess you've opted in "early releases" on your Dropbox account, right?
[Kindly note that as beta builds are still in the testing process, you could experience some issues or an inconsistent experience.]
Now, as per the matter at hand, from what I see in your last screenshot this specific file is physically taking up no space (i.e. this is what the "Zero bytes on disk" means). Read on for more context:
As there are various places to see the size of a file in Finder, it's good to know that some of these locations will display the logical size, others the physical size. A Smart Sync placeholder takes up approximately 0kb, this is the pysical size. The logical size of the file is the actual size of the file, if it were downloaded to the device (the size reported through your "Large File Report" is the physical size of the file).
To see both the logical and physical file size:
- Right click on a file/folder
- Select 'Get info'
- In the properties window you will see the original file size, followed by the actual on-disk size:For example:428,510 bytes (0 KB on disk)It is important to be able to view both sizes, not just to reassure you that the file is not taking up space, but also to understand the space and speed implications of returning the file(s).
In other views of Finder, the operating system will report the logical size. For this reason you shouldn't be concerned if it initially appears that the placeholder is taking up space. To confirm the file or folder is not taking up space, please check via the above steps. Files that are not taking up space on disk will have an icon overlay that changes from the usual green tick to the grey cloud icon, denoting that the file isn't locally present.
Please note that third party disk management software may not read the physical size of a Smart Sync placeholder, therefore that software may not correctly report disk usage.
I hope this inforrmation helps and please let me know if there's anything else I can do.
Walter
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHey there thefc - sorry to hear about this. Do you the "Online Only" icon on this specific file to begin with?
Could you share a screenshot of where you located the space discrepancy as well?
Also, can you let me know which version of our app are you running (our latest stable version is 61.4.95) and what it reports at the moment (meaning, is it up to date or still synicng changes)?
Thanks in advance for your reply and cooperation on this one!
Hi Walter
The version on my Mac is v62.3.93
Below are two screenshots - the first from the storage report of the Mac showing large files to declutter - the top file is 828MB
And below the second image of the actual folder where the file is located on the Mac showing the online-only icon (it's the last one on the list)...
The issue is if you "CMD I" the file for information, the box shows the file size reported in the storage management list, but that it takes up no disk space as shown below...
So what do you or anyone else think of this confusion between the MacOS and the Dropbox sync system?
- Walter
Thanks for the swift and elaborate response thefc - most appreciated.
First off, thanks for using our BETA versions - I guess you've opted in "early releases" on your Dropbox account, right?
[Kindly note that as beta builds are still in the testing process, you could experience some issues or an inconsistent experience.]
Now, as per the matter at hand, from what I see in your last screenshot this specific file is physically taking up no space (i.e. this is what the "Zero bytes on disk" means). Read on for more context:
As there are various places to see the size of a file in Finder, it's good to know that some of these locations will display the logical size, others the physical size. A Smart Sync placeholder takes up approximately 0kb, this is the pysical size. The logical size of the file is the actual size of the file, if it were downloaded to the device (the size reported through your "Large File Report" is the physical size of the file).
To see both the logical and physical file size:
- Right click on a file/folder
- Select 'Get info'
- In the properties window you will see the original file size, followed by the actual on-disk size:For example:428,510 bytes (0 KB on disk)It is important to be able to view both sizes, not just to reassure you that the file is not taking up space, but also to understand the space and speed implications of returning the file(s).
In other views of Finder, the operating system will report the logical size. For this reason you shouldn't be concerned if it initially appears that the placeholder is taking up space. To confirm the file or folder is not taking up space, please check via the above steps. Files that are not taking up space on disk will have an icon overlay that changes from the usual green tick to the grey cloud icon, denoting that the file isn't locally present.
Please note that third party disk management software may not read the physical size of a Smart Sync placeholder, therefore that software may not correctly report disk usage.
I hope this inforrmation helps and please let me know if there's anything else I can do.
Hi Walter
First of all thanks for the reply.
However, I think we're not talking about 'third-party' views of the Mac storage, we're talking about how Apples OS measures disk space.
My concern is how other applications such as Photoshop interact with the disk storage management system to know the free space available. The incorrect reporting based on the logical size in effect causes alerts that at best are irritating or worst prevent an application completing a task. This is also true of the OS as it was the MacOS that alerted me to the lack of logical space.
I'm guessing that there is no answer to this right now, but perhaps Dropbox could talk to Apple about how they manage what is effectively an 'alias'. I've just created one on another Mac of iMovie a 2.79GB application. The alias on my desktop shows both a logical and physical size of just 4k. Whilst I know this is acting more like a bookmark than potentially a locally stored file, it has no impact on my local storage.
Thanks again for your help and time in replying.
Stuart
Hi,
I'm bringing up this old post to point out that, in fact, this problem hasn't been solved yet.
As has been made clear in the above and below posts, most (if not all) applications actually only look at logical space files occupy. This means that, in practice, online-only syncing is useless.
In other words, what use is having an empty hard drive if every application (including those from Apple such as Boot Camp) still sees files as though they were never moved in the first place?
Maybe I'm getting this the wrong way so I'd love to stand corrected, but I don't think this problem has been solved.
Hi
I raised this a while ago and am a 'beta adopter' of the Dropbox system that is supposed to have resolved this - admittedly I only started using it last week.
Initial results looked OK and I did regain 10-15 GB of space, but now I have a new lump of storage referred to as 'Other' and like 'System' storage, I can't drill down to see what is in the 'Other' 102 GB.
So I too would like to know if there really is a solution or if I should just look at other solutions - perhaps not have Dropbox on my Mac or exclusively the projects I'm currently working on?
Look forward to others thoughts and experiences.
Hi. So is there any solution yet? I see the difference between logical and physical size. But that still is not enough. The Mac still don´t see the difference between those two. And I don´t think You can say that this is a Mac issue. OneDrive has solved this, and it works. So I will have to convert to OneDrive if this will not be fixed soon. Please fix it.
Wow, one hour ago, I'm so glad people are still talking about this. By now I think dropbo would have solved this, and not in BETA. I love dropbox, and have been a paying customer since 2010, but they really need to fix this, I have music and a lot of other things I create taking up massive space on my hard drive!
