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Forum Discussion
alanS
3 years agoExplorer | Level 4
Mac seems to think HD is full of DropBox files?
I'm using a Mac and have about 100Gb of DropBox folders, many are local on my HD as well (I have DropBox Plus 2Tb plan).
I went through and changed all files to online only (grey icon) and now my D...
- 3 years ago
Hey alanS, sorry to jump in here, but I just wanted to mention that this space might be taken up by the cache folder that Dropbox creates on your computer.
If the desktop app has finished syncing and it's 'up to date' in your menu bar, you could try deleting it to free up some hard drive space.
Let me know if this helps, Alan.
alanS
Explorer | Level 4
Thanks Nancy,
Essentially I'm trying to make more space on my Mac HD...yesterday it said I had over 100Gb of DropBox files on my Mac (I'm a photographer so that would make sense as I deliver work to clients this way a lot). After I moved all the files (apart from a few) to online only, my Mac still shows no decrease in space being used...?
Here are some screenshots you asked for (showing Documents folder w 300gb but Finder shows it as only 900Mb etc).
Appreciate any help you can offer!
Alan.
Jay
3 years agoDropbox Staff
Hi alanS, it looks like Dropbox is correctly showing the size of the files on disk, being only 308.9 MB for the Dropbox folder, when the full folder would've been 9.48 GB. It seems the OS isn't displaying the correct sizeof the files in the system.
Could you check if the 'Online-only files on Mac' for Mac is enabled here?
Regarding the Documents folder, is it located in the Dropbox folder itself? The last image showing 'Documents' means literally any kind of document located on your machine, not just files in the Documents folder.
- alanS3 years agoExplorer | Level 4
Jay,
Yes, I do have 'Online-only files on Mac' turned to ON (see first message).
You're correct about the issue...my Mac is not displaying the correct storage amount. A few days ago it said I have over 100Gb of DropBox files and only about 15Gb of free space. Now, two days after I've moved all my DropBox files online it's still showing only about 15Gb of available storage.....not possible if I've moved all the DropBox files to online only....why don't I see over 100Gb's of free space on the hard drive?
Thanks,
Alan.
- Walter3 years agoDropbox Staff
Hey alanS, sorry to jump in here, but I just wanted to mention that this space might be taken up by the cache folder that Dropbox creates on your computer.
If the desktop app has finished syncing and it's 'up to date' in your menu bar, you could try deleting it to free up some hard drive space.
Let me know if this helps, Alan.
- alanS3 years agoExplorer | Level 4
Thanks for all the replies...in fact the confusion may have been on my end...I have a large Lightroom preview folder which is using a huge amount of space but I think the initial problem was not having the "Online only files on Mac" unchecked..giving me the impression that DropBox was using a lot more space than it was.
Thank you all!
Alan.
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