Very confused with regards to Smart Sync

[OkeyDokeRodeo]

Hi all, I just upgraded my account to Business with the 5TB storage. Prior to this I was using the basic plan which only comes with 2GB. I would use dropbox to upload files (such as videos, and music) from my Mac to my iPhone for auditioning.

Now that I've upgraded, i'm very confused on how Smart Sync works. In essence does it backup whatever folders you tell it too, then make changes based on how you change the original files? What is the main difference between Smart Sync and Local only? (I read the article on it but however still confused)

My goal with the upgrade is to use Dropbox as central storage, for my team, as well as for personal storage. I would prefer for dropbox to not make changes based on how I edit files on my system. I would like to be in total control of how files on Dropbox itself are edited/deleted.

Can anybody point me in the right direction? I've dug through countless articles, watched some outdated videos, and looked in the community but still haven't fully found an answer to how I can accomplish this. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!!

[Mark · Accepted solution]

Hi @OkeyDokeRodeo 

There is no real different between how Dropbox works on each plan - its more the quota that changes and extra bits on the site that change. 

So, SmartSync is just a way of having things inside Dropbox but not using up hard drive space. 

There is no way, with ANY Dropbox plan, to have Dropbox sync things outside of its own folder structure. To do any of what you asked you need to relocate the files/folders in to the Dropbox directory. 

[This thread is now closed by moderators due to inactivity. If you're experiencing a similar behavior, feel free to start a new discussion in the Dropbox Community here.]

[OkeyDokeRodeo]

Understood. I was confused as to where the desktop app is but I have found it and figured out where preferences are.

So, if a file is LOCAL ONLY then that means it's taking up physical space on the drive, and can be accessed offline.

If a file is ONLINE ONLY then that means it's only taking up a placeholder space on the physical drive, and you must be online to access it/edit it?

And if a file is Online Only, any changes made to the original files are then synced and updated in dropbox? Or is that just for things that are affected by Smart Sync?

I may be over complicating things just a bit lol.