How can I keep my files and folders online-only?

[peterj62]

I want all Dropbox files and folders to stay online and not on my MacBook which is full.

In 'Manage hard drive space' I have ticked them as online only but they later reappear on my MacBook as offline, crashing apps and closing down the MacBook.

How do I ensure they stay online only?

[Hannah]

Hi there, @peterj62, and thanks for reaching out to the Dropbox Community.

Have you tried right-clicking on the Dropbox folder itself and choosing to make it online-only?

That should make all your files online-only at once and as long as there's no other app that looks at your files, like an antivirus, another backup service, a third party app that monitors files, etc., they should stay as online-only.

Let me know how it goes!

[peterj62]

Hi Hannah,

On my MacBook right-clicking the Dropbox folder in Finder doesn't give any options but on the pull-down menu there is the option to 'Manage hard drive space' and so I tick all folders (or all files) to 'move to online only'.  This then immediately shows no offline files but within seconds the folders (and files) all reappear as online.

[peterj62]

..sorry, I meant they all reappear as offline - on the hard drive again.

[Jay]

Hi @peterj62, you should see context menus when right clicking files and folders in Finder, in order to get the online-only option.

Could you attach a screenshot showing what you're seeing when right clicking a folder in the Dropbox folder?

[peterj62]

Hi Jay,

Here is a screenshot of what I get when I right-click a dropbox folder.  All I can see is 'manage hard drive space' as above.

[Hannah]

Hey @peterj62, would you mind sending us a screenshot of what you see right after you click the "manage hard drive space" option as well?

[peterj62]

Hi Hannah, I get this:

[peterj62]

...then I check the box:

[peterj62]

..so all moves to online only for a brief moment: