On macOS on File Provider, online-only folders disappear from the Dropbox app

[ldoose]

I installed File Provider on my MacBook Air (running Sonoma 14.5) in the Dropbox app. When I did this, all the folders having Online Only status (via Selective Sync) disappeared. The way to make the folders appear is simply to remove the Online Only status for these folders. This is done using the Dropbox app by selecting your initials -> Preferences -> Sync and clicking the Modify button under Selective sync. Then putting check marks in the boxes next to the folder names. This will make the folders themselves visible, while all the files and sub-folders in those folders remain Online Only.

I was at first reluctant to do this, thinking that checking the folders would cause the contents of the folder to be downloaded to my hard drive. This isn't the case. Hard drive space decreased by a very small amount, which I assume is just the information pointing to the files which remain in the cloud.

[Hannah]

Hi there, @ldoose, and thanks for your post today!

What you're describing is actually how selective sync works; when folders are unchecked in the selective sync settings, they get removed from the Dropbox folder.

Once you check them back, they get synced again, as online-only.

You can read more about selective sync here.

Are you having some kind of issue with this, or need any additional info?

Let me know.