You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.

Forum Discussion

nino2's avatar
nino2
New member | Level 2
7 years ago

Storage Usage reported for online-only folders on Finder doesn't match the "User Info".

So after more than a year of discussion on pretty much the same topic, this  still has not been resolved. Sugesting that issue will be resolved in the next version of software is somewhat unacceptable, and if you try to imagine this in any other profesion, you will agree, it would not be tolerated. We just designed a house for you and although it says its 200m2 it is acctually 150m2. But don't worry we can build another one for you and it will now be 200m2. 

 

When storage gets limited on computer, there is something starting to happen with all computers, that cause them to overheat. I am no computer genious, but many will agree this is just what acctually happens. So basically I had 500gb SSD and becouse of this issue I am acctually using only about 100gb, becouse the rest is taken by files I do not have on my computer but rather on Dropbox online, yet still it makes the rest of my disc unusable. So not only this feature is completely useless, might as well have files on my computer in the first place, it also damages my computer. 

 

I had similar issue with Box before, now Dropbox... amazing. 

  • According to Dropbox team Jane, if the info about the dropbox folder is close or equal to zero bytes, it means it doesn't take any physical space on the hard disc. The problem I guess that the operating system still sees it as if it is taking that physical space and acts accordingly, i.e., full disc or neat full. I don't know what is the way around that.

     
  • slypapp's avatar
    slypapp
    Explorer | Level 4
    Thanks a lot for the tip. I've been fighting with TM a while ago, sending Apple to hell several times that it is not working, and cannot finish the backups.
    • akaraetteh's avatar
      akaraetteh
      Helpful | Level 5
      I don’t use TM to backup my Dropbox folder...again, not sure why you would do that?

      However not seeing the true sizes of folders (ie the space they’re taking up on local drive) is rather annoying
      • Jane's avatar
        Jane
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        Hey akaraetteh, to have a closer look into discrepancies of the disc usage reported when making files available Online-only, please include a screenshot of the behavior in your next reply, as well as any additional details, so as to check back on the matter together. 
         
        Thanks in advance & I’ll be awaiting your next post here! 
  • garczys's avatar
    garczys
    Explorer | Level 4
    Hi

    Did you ever get to the bottom of this? as we have a MacPro here and it's doing the same thing.

    Any help greatly appreciated :)
    • Jane's avatar
      Jane
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
       Hey all, thanks for posting on the Dropbox Forum on this syncing-related matter! 
       
      You may keep in mind that I’ve moved your posts to a new thread, as the issue reported there has been resolved for the users affected & I’d like to perform some initial troubleshooting, so as to determine if you’re experiencing a similar behavior. 
       
      For starters, can you make sure that you’re running a supported version of the OS & the latest version of the Dropbox version of the Dropbox application on your system tray (46.4.65)? 
       
      If so, can you also ensure that Dropbox is actively running (eg. are your overlay icons loading correctly on your files)? Also, can you include any screenshots indicating the behavior (&/or any discrepancy) in your next replies here, so as to check back with you in more detail? 
       
      Please include any other detail in regards to your configuration that would help identify the behavior & we’ll take it from there. 
       
      Thanks in advance & I’ll be awaiting your next posts here! 

About Create, upload, and share

Find help to solve issues with creating, uploading, and sharing files and folders in Dropbox. Get support and advice from the Dropbox Community.

Need more support

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!