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sergedb's avatar
sergedb
New member | Level 2
6 years ago

Smart sync on multiple computers

Hi, I upgraded my account to start using Smart sync. I have two deskop computers at home and my laptop to travel around. I started with moving all my finished project 'online only' to free up space...
desktop app
Sync and upload
  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    6 years ago
    Hey Serge (sergedb), I’d happily clarify matters for you below; thanks for checking with us on the Dropbox Community! 
     
    It would be worth noting that Smart Sync is a Dropbox feature that helps you save space locally on your hard drive & that’s mainly the reason why Smart Sync settings are unique to each device you link to your Dropbox account. That said, as long as your files are updated on your account online as expected (:desktop: ➡️🕸️), you can easily revert them to Online-Only ☁️ on your second device by right-clicking on them ➡️ choose Smart sync & then choose Online-only. Once you do, this will free up space on your hard drive almost instantly. (Note: It might take a bit of time for cached items to be removed from your hard disk initially, where we recommend a system restart.)
     
    From there, it’s advisable to adjust the default setting on your desktop for newly added content to Online-only as well (which denotes that all content will automatically be synced from our website to your desktop/laptop as Online-Only however you can manually download files to your computer when you need them by reverting them to Local :white_check_mark:). 
     
    I hope that this is the answer you were seeking Serge however please do let me know if I you have any follow-up queries. Thanks again! 
Rich's avatar
Rich
Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
ScreenMachine wrote:

is it possible to use Smart Sync to have mainly online files (accessible on demand) on the Mac's Dropbox, and local/online files on the PC Dropbox (which I can also locally backup), or have I misunderstood what SmartSync can achieve?

Yes, that's possible. Smart Sync settings are specific to the computer, not your account. I have three different computers using Smart Sync and each one has a different set of folders set to Online-only, with my main computer having everything set to Local.

ScreenMachine's avatar
ScreenMachine
Explorer | Level 4
6 years ago
That’s great, thanks for the reply.

A couple more questions since you’re using it that way, if I may?

- can you set sync settings at a folder or file level? So, e.g., I could have a current documents folder I’m actually working with on the Mac synced locally, but all other folders online only on the Mac and local on the PC? Or is this at an account level, so that all the folders on the Mac have to be online only, and all of them local on the PC?

- what’s the best way to do the initial upload? I’m guessing I set the account/folder on the Mac (depending on the answer to the above) to online and just copy the files over to the PC?

- if I’m editing photos on the Mac (which I will since it’s the faster machine) how intelligent is the local-on-demand feature? E.g., if Lightroom tries to access a file, will Dropbox download the file? Or would I have to do this manually each time before editing?

Thanks!
  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    Icon for Super User II rankSuper User II
    6 years ago
    ScreenMachine wrote:
    - can you set sync settings at a folder or file level?

    Smart Sync is set at the file and folder level, per computer. You can set any file or folder as Online-only or Local, on each computer independently.

    - what’s the best way to do the initial upload? I’m guessing I set the account/folder on the Mac (depending on the answer to the above) to online and just copy the files over to the PC?

    If you don't want the files on the Mac at all, then yes, set the folder as Online-only on the Mac, then add the files to the folder on the PC. They'll sync to the Mac as Online-only, but will be Local on the PC.

    if Lightroom tries to access a file, will Dropbox download the file? Or would I have to do this manually each time before editing?

    Dropbox will download a file and mark is as Local when ANY process attempts to access a file. This could be from virus scans, backups, thumbnail or preview generation, etc. If something tries to access a file, Dropbox will download it. When you're done with the file, you'll need to mark it as Online-only again.

    • ScreenMachine's avatar
      ScreenMachine
      Explorer | Level 4
      6 years ago

      Thanks, that's really useful.

      OK so my only concern with using Dropbox this way is that I don't know whether Lightroom will try to download the entire photo library as preview, or only do it on-demand when I actually try to edit a file as opposed to just viewing the film-strip.

      I might try doing a test on a small library, with a small amount of files to try and find out.

      • Jane's avatar
        Jane
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        6 years ago

        Hey ScreenMachine, if I may chime in on your discussion with Rich, let me quickly suggest checking out this resource that should further address your follow-up inquiry! 

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