nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Child Item

Smart Sync storage issue on macOS Sierra 10.12- macOS High Sierra 10.13.3.

Fowzie T.

I'm really confused, the premise of smart sync is to free up local storage. This is a screenshot of a folder which contains about 2GB of data. Am I doing something wrong?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sjd34t39t0q7312/Screenshot%202017-02-18%2012.03.41.png?dl=0

Find more posts tagged with

Sync

Mac

Accepted answers

Jane

Howdy folks,

I’m @Jane, I’m working on the Community team at Dropbox & I’m posting here so as to stir this discussion towards a different route. Without further ado, I’m going to split this thread off into a number of different ones, as I’d like to avoid any confusion in regards to the topic or the status of this conversation.

Why are you splitting the thread?

For context, this thread has been around since last February & a number of very separate (and now resolved) Smart Sync issues have been reported here. This separation was triggered as we like to group distinct issues together to better help users discover relevant content, advice and to help self-resolve.

Don’t worry, no information is being removed, we are however moving some posts into other threads & for that reason, I’m going to include links to all the new threads at the bottom here.

As an example, this thread contains a lot of information & troubleshooting around an issue we experienced on Mac OS 10.13.3, something now resolved. We wouldn’t want people on 10.13.4 to attempt troubleshooting steps that weren’t relevant to their current state.

But I still have my issue!

We’ve moved all the open discussions into separate threads listed at the bottom. Apologies if we missed yours! Regardless, anyone who has opened a ticket with Support, that ticket will remain open and is unrelated to this split.

So, has this been solved forever?

The initial behavior reported here has been, however this thread has become a single point for a vast number of other Smart Sync posts, some of which should have their own threads, some open, some now resolved.

Where do I post Smart Sync comments now?

Either in one of the below threads - or, if they don’t match the behavior you're getting, you may feel free to create a new one! :slight_smile: As this thread will remain public, you may also use it as a point of reference, so as to let us know of any troubleshooting steps you've followed from those mentioned above.

Thanks for your co-operation and please keep the discussion going in the below, or new, threads!

Storage Usage reported for online-only folders on Finder doesn't match the "User Info” here: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Syncing-and-uploads/Storage-Usage-reported-for-online-only-folders-on-Finder-doesn-t/td-p/270125

Smart Synced files & folders set to Online Only but still taking up storage on macOS 10.13.4.: https://www.dropboxforum.com/t5/Syncing-and-uploads/Re-Smart-Sync-set-to-Online-Only-but-still-taking-up-storage-on/m-p/271195#M35882

Jane

For note, issues caught up in this thread, that should have had their own threads included:

Issue 1: I can’t enable Smart Sync at all:

Usually this was the result of an incorrect installation & in such cases, re-installing anew helped fix the issue. Alternatively, if you were running a Beta version of the Dropbox app on your desktop, you may need to check if this works on the most updated Stable version (Note: It's currently 48.4.58).
Status: :white_check_mark:

Issue 2: I’m on a Professional plan & I can’t get Smart Sync to work either:

Some users on the Professional plan were experiencing an issue utilizing Smart Sync, as they had needed to enable System Extensions previously, which has been documented on this resource.
Status: :white_check_mark:

Issue 3: I’ve made my files online-only, though they’re still using up my storage locally:

In some cases, users reported that Smart Synced files might be locally stored in the cache folder a little longer, hence taking up space. Clearing the cache folder should resolve this issue.
Status: :white_check_mark:

Jane

Issue 4: I followed the instructions on your resources & set up my files as online-only, though I can see that they’re still taking up space on my pc/ Mac.

The Properties (Win) and Get Info (Mac OS) panel will indicate the actual file size instead of the size on disk, as you may expect. “Size on disk” is the space being taken up by a placeholder file and should be around 0kb.
Status: :white_check_mark:

Issue 5: I can see that my Dropbox folder on my Mac OSX (v.42.4.114) reported file & folder size incorrectly, making it look like files were still residing on my hard disk.

After further investigation, we were able to determine that the Finder was showing the wrong size on disk for folders with compressed files.
Status: :white_check_mark:

Issue 6: I can’t back-up my online-only files on the TimeMachine migration assistant & whenever it tries to access them, this action brings them back locally.

This is related to the way TimeMachine reads file sizes and is an on-going issue, though this issue lies with Apple’s software. De-selecting the Dropbox folder when restoring if possible will work around this issue.
Status: :arrows_counterclockwise:

Issue 7: Third-party disk management apps report Smart Synced files are present locally.

Some third-party app may read the nominal file size rather than the physical size. This is not a Dropbox issue, but down to the way some apps are built.
Status: :white_check_mark:

That's all from me! As usual, I'll be around in case you'd need me to clarify matters in more detail, so feel free to ping me & I'll do my best to check back with you.

All comments

ginger_anne

Hi Fowzie,

I have the same problem. Dropbox automatically started syncing files onto my new laptop (with a very small hard drive). It transfered 20Gb! I have turned off syncing with Selective Sync but there is still 20Gb on my c-drive. Even worse, I can't find any sub folders with more that a few Mb in them so there is nothing to delete.

Have you solved the probelm? Will Dropbox support help?

Thanks!

Mark

Ginger - your issue isnt the same. Fowzie is using a totally different feature which is only available as a Business user.

Your issue is probably that the files you removed are still in the local cache. A reboot of your machine should sort it. If not it will clear in a few days.

ginger_anne

Ah, yes, just getting my head round Selective and Smart Sync. Thanks. This was 2 days ago and have rebooted a few times. The space on my hard drive is going up 2Gb each day!

ginger_anne

Dropbox help does have the detail. Thanks!

https://help.dropbox.com/desktop-web/cache-folder

Sorry Fowzie for hijacking your thread.

Fowzie T.

Thanks Mark...I had a look at the link which Ginger_Anne supplied and found the cache location. I've deleted all of it and rebooted my laptop. Nothing has changed so will have to sit it out for a few days and see what happens.

Thanks ginger_anne too!!

Fowzie T.

I don't think smart sync is ready for a general roll out. I'm still having the space being used on my laptop and have followed the steps in the article anfew days ago. Not impressed really.

Hi Fowzie

Sorry to hear that. Would you mind reaching out to our support team on https://www.dropbox.com/support so they can troubleshoot it further?

Fowzie T.

Hi Ed, thanks...yes I've just requested some help. Hopefully we can get it sorted out.

HoosierRon

Fowzie, did you ever get thi sproblem solved? I am experiencing the identical problem.

Fowzie T.

Hi there, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me

I got talking to 7 people at Dropbox business and none of them had any clues and in the end I came to a shocking realisation. Basically, the video which you watched about Smart Sync should be taken down as that's false advertising (majorly). Billion dollar company and no one internally is aware of this change and no one is communicating to the support team; who can then answer your question.

I've attached a screenshot of one of my folders which is 39.9mb. This folder is only in the cloud and my finder is being 'told' what the size is but it's actually not a local folder taking up space on my HD. Having checked and double checked with various apps to check out my HD usage, it really isn't there. Ok, that's great news, but I genuinely feel sorry for the dozens of folks who were expecting a 'remove' in the menu as illustrated in the video and instead now within the past week or so a new video demo video has cropped up with now only shows 'local' and 'Online Only' as your default 2 options. The guys at DB dropped the ball here.

So summarise....it works...just ignore how your PC or Mac is lying to you

Screen Shot 2017-03-05 at 20.57.55.png

HoosierRon

You are correct. All of the files have left my hard drive. (When I turn wifi off, I cannot access the file; when I turn it back on, I can.) But the computer's operating system is not aware of this fact. So the computer is still reserving all of this space on the hard drive as if the files were still present.

Clearly there is a bug with Smart Sync that needs to get fixed. Otherwise, the whole thing is utterly pointless.

RobertJF

has Dropbox acknowledged this problem? I’m having the same issue. Smart sync is indeed not actually storing files on disk because it has to download them when you try to open, but the operating system (macOS 10.12.3) is still reserving space for the whole file.

HoosierRon

Today I received this.

Hi there,

Thank you for contacting Dropbox Support.

Please note that MacOS 10.11 seems to have an issue that doesn't show the folder size when a folder is set to Online-only, however the files are not taking local storage.
In order to fix the issue, please update your MacOS to 10.12.

Please let me know if you need any clarification or further assistance.

I have not yet tried it, but if you have 10.12.3, I am not hopeful.

zadek

I am on 10.12.3 and my OS is freaking out because despite having a 500 GB hard drive Dropbox Smart Sync is telling the system I have 950 GB of Documents. I can;t even take a screenshot because there is no space to put it anywhere (well, at least that's what the OS thinks)!

That's a huge bug, Dropbox just rendered my Mac completely useless!

HoosierRon

In response to the mail that I received (see the previous post), I updated my OS to 10.12.3. It did nothing. Here is the latest email I sent to Dropbox:

The attached screenshot shows that:

I have updated to macOS 10.12.3

The folder "zzz closed files" is Online Only.

My computer thinks the folder "zzz closed files" is taking up 93.96 GB of space on my hard drive.

Please let me know if there is a solution to this problem. If not, your product is quickly becoming unworkable for my business.

I am amazed that Dropbox has put out such a disfunctional product.

Hi HoosierRon - I'm checking this with our support team right now

SteveA

Hi Ed,

Any idea when this problem will be solved. We signed up for Dropbox for business specifically to be able to use Smart Sync. If our system thinks the space is being used, even when it's not, it's a useless function.

Jane

Hey @SteveA,

Thanks for getting in touch on Community and welcome to Dropbox for Business!

Please note that at the moment, Smart Sync is in early access for Dropbox for Business accounts, though our engineers are putting a major effort into rolling the feature out and removing the Beta version. No ETA yet, though really looking forward to making it available in one of our next stable versions. I 'll make sure your comments are passed along to the team.

If there's anything you 'd like to ask, please feel free to follow-up here!

Kind regards,

JaneA

Ross_S

Hi All,

I'm a member of the Dropbox application specialist team so I wanted to provide further clarity here for users on macOS 10.11.

Many thanks for spotting this issue.

While it shows the full size on disk, the folder is not taking up that space if all the files inside are set to "online only" with Smart Sync.

We advised Apple of this issue and they have since remedied it for subsequent OS versions, from macOS 10.12 and onward. This fix is not backwards compatible so it doesn't apply to 10.11 and before.

Rest assured Smart Sync is operating correctly when you open the folder and see grey cloud icons on all the files within it. This indicates that they are online only and taking up no space locally. When right clicking and selecting ‘Get Info’ on them you will see that files within the folder show as taking up 0kbs on disk.

Apologies for any confusion or inconvenience that this has caused.

If you are on 10.12 then Smart Sync should show 0kb on the folder when viewing the folder size. In the event that it does not show 0kb or that it takes up space then please feel free to write in to support and address the support request "For the attention of Luke" and myself or one our team here will handle this personally for you.

Many thanks.

HoosierRon

The attached photo shows:

My computer is running 10.12.3
The folder RHLO admin is set to Online Only
My computer thinks it is taking up 96.8 MB

Thanks for trying.

Ross_S

If you want to submit a ticket via /Support I'll happily have a look into this for you?

Fowzie T.

Ross, as you mentioned a message was sent this morning for the explicit attention of Luke and the usual patronising and disconnected auto response has been sent back by a colleague called Melina. No attempt was made to understand what I had wrote or to clearly see that this needed to be passed on. This is why I don't contact support. See response below to ticket 5676210 for Dropbox Business support.

She went back to the very beginning to explain the difference between smart sync and selective sync

Screen Shot 2017-03-24 at 12.28.32.png

Ross_S

Thanks Fowzie, now I have that ticket I'll take the case over and we'll see what you and I can do here to get this resolved.

I'll reach out to you on that ticket.

Fowzie T.

Fantastic

it's great to have some expert help.

SteveA

I'm also on 10.12.3 and still have the same issue. While I agree that there are 0 bytes actually on my harddrive, if the system thinks that the file is taking up space, the result is the same -- lack of space.

Ross_S

Ok, then I'll send you an email SteveA, lets get this fixed for you, we want to make sure you enjoy using the feature!

RobertJF

If it's useful to hear another example - I just was added to a new folder on my team that was set to cloud only - it still has the cloud only symbol but immediately finder was reporting that it took up around 30GB of space - too quick for 30GB to have been downloaded. This is also not a hard link vs symlink problem that is cosmetic. I just hard linked via terminal a 20GB file and the hard link says in finder that the "size" is 20GB. However, in the volume information, the free space did not decrease by 20GB since the hard link is simply a kind of "pointer" to the same sectors on disk. Dropbox is essentially doing whatever the hard drive version of "malloc" is, and then not actually putting any bytes there.

dropinthebucket

Ross -- I'm having some issues with smart sync as well as a business user. I have been trying for the better part of two months to get assistance on the issue with DB phone support. I have a ticket number. I was once told to restart my computer to resolve the issue -- and secondly told to reinstall as an admin. Both options have failed. I'm at dead end. Can you please provide me advanced assistance?

Ross_S

Thanks, I've reached out to you too @dropinthebucket

dropinthebucket

Hi Ross -- Is there a direct message feature here so we can talk. Luke from advanced support reached out to me after you sent this and I haven't heard from him since. Desperately need assistance here.

Featured Links

Child Item