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Smart Sync enabled still taking up hard-drive space!
I noticed others have had this issue, but I have some files selected as "online only" via smart sync and they are still taking up space on my hard drive, causing my mac to tell me I'm running out of ...
Hey there mike52487 - sorry to hear about this.
As you might know, there are various places to see the size of a file in Finder. 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. Is it possible that this is what you're seeing in your default "Documents" folder?
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, your Mac's OS 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.
I hope this helps and let me know what you find Mike. Oh, and happy Monday!
Walter
Dropbox Staff
Dropbox StaffHey there mike52487 - sorry to hear about this.
As you might know, there are various places to see the size of a file in Finder. 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. Is it possible that this is what you're seeing in your default "Documents" folder?
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, your Mac's OS 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.
I hope this helps and let me know what you find Mike. Oh, and happy Monday!
Hey Walter, thanks. I have turned Sync on and its showing zero file size but it's still showing it as part of the available space and disallowing me to upgrade to MacOS.
Help?
- WalterHey there maryam2021; thanks for joining the discussion here.
Can you please check if this space is being taken up by your cache folder?
If you've ensured that the desktop app is fully synced and showing 'up to date' in your menu bar, you can delete it to retrieve some hard drive space.
Let me know how it goes!
Thanks Walter! Cleared the cache (thanks).
Do you mean delete the Desktop app? Or delete the files that are showing as "large files"?
