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brett_mileshko's avatar
brett_mileshko
Explorer | Level 4
2 years ago

Explain "Syncing" in Desktop App

Hey everyone!   When the Dropbox desktop app is syncing or indexing, most of the time it shows you the amount of files remaining in the sync and the time it will take to do so.  However, there are ...
Desktop
desktop app
Sync and upload
Syncing
  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    2 years ago

    Yes, using selective sync, you can limit the number of folders that are online-only on your machine. 

     

    Once the number of files in your Dropbox folder (including the online-only files and folders) are fewer than 300,000, then the performance of the app will improve.

Hannah's avatar
Hannah
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

Hey brett_mileshko, thanks for reaching out to us!

 

We appreciate your feedback here and I've made sure that your comments are passed on to our team.

 

Can you let us know a bit more about the 'syncing' message and when exactly do you see it?

 

And even though it doesn't indicate number of files or timeframe, does it always get 'up to date' after a while?

 

Let me know.

brett_mileshko's avatar
brett_mileshko
Explorer | Level 4
2 years ago

Hi Hannah!

 

This type of situation often happens when I boot up my computer in the morning.  The "syncing" status lasts anywhere from 1 minute to 30 minutes, but it eventually goes away.  The question is: What exactly is syncing when everything in my Finder window (Mac) shows that it's synced?  If it's indexing files from someone else uploading them to an online-only folder, shouldn't the notification read "indexing"?

  • Hitch's avatar
    Hitch
    Helpful | Level 7
    2 years ago

    I get this same nonsense every. single. morning.  For months now, it claims it's "synching 63 files," which it is not. Those 63 files don't exist.

     

    Dropbox used to show you the files (filenames, directories) it was synching, but it no longer does. Utterly worthless function now; don't know why they bother with it since eliminating  the other functions and before anybody says anything, yes, I discussed this with DB support and NOPE, can't get/find the filenames of the alleged synching files. 

     

    (Now, watch the suggested "fix" to the infamous synching Mystery 63 Files will be to uninstall and reinstall Dropbox. Never fails.) 

     

    I have a commercial subscription and the functions that have been eliminated are really mind-blowing.  sigh.

     

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