how long does it take to sync files to online only vs my hard drive? Approx 247 GB
Hi @Etwhalen9090 - how are you today?
To be completely honest, syncing can take some time with this amount of data; worry not though for you should be able to adjust your bandwidth settings to boost this process up a bit (or more - always depending on your needs).
You can always check the app's status within your computer's system tray/menu bar for more information.
I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any additional questions; I'll be happy to follow up.
By the way, welcome to the Dropbox family!
Hello, Walter, and thanks for the reply. I have been using Dropbox for several years now, but apparently not very well. Also, I meant to say selective sync, not smart sync.
It does not seem to be syncing anything. All the files are still on my hard drive, unless I go to each individual file and do it manually, which is obviouly out of the question for so much data. Is there a way to start it and then be able to monitor the progress of the sync to the cloud, and then check files are there before I delete from my hard drive?
Thank you so much.
Oh, I see now. Thanks for clearing this up for me @Etwhalen9090!
Just to make sure we're troubleshooting the right thing here now, could you send me the exact status of the desktop app as shown within your computer's system tray/menu bar?
Hello, Walter. It looks like I have the green check marks, but that's only showing the last 30 days. When I look at the files actually on my DB folder on my laptop, they are all still there, which is my main concern, and those I have to upload to the cloud manually at this point.
If I have to change my plan, I can if that will help.
Thanks again for your super prompt response.
Thanks for the extra details there @Etwhalen9090.
I'm afraid you lost me now :scream_cat:
Can you take a look at the Dropbox icon in your taskbar (Windows) or menu bar (Mac) and see if it is done syncing?
When Dropbox is fully synced then you should see a tick followed by the words “Up to date” on the menu. If you do not see this then can you please let me know what the message being displayed reads?
In addition, as I'm still unsure about this, could you send me screenshot of the following so I can have a visual to better advise as to what the next steps should be?
@Etwhalen9090 wrote: It looks like I have the green check marks, but that's only showing the last 30 days. When I look at the files actually on my DB folder on my laptop, they are all still there, which is my main concern, and those I have to upload to the cloud manually at this point.
It looks like I have the green check marks, but that's only showing the last 30 days. When I look at the files actually on my DB folder on my laptop, they are all still there, which is my main concern, and those I have to upload to the cloud manually at this point.
Thanks!
Thanks for those @Etwhalen9090 - they're really helpful!
If you're on a plan that offers Smart Sync, just right (or control) click on the folders you'd like to mark as Online Only and set them as such.
If, on the other hand, you'd like to utilize the selective sync feature which helps free up space on a computer, you'll need to mark the folders you'd like to remove from your computer's hard drive (in this case you won't see them at all on your computer, in your Dropbox Folder - they'd only be accessible through the website) to be removed from within the desktop app's preferences and, specifically, through the Sync tab.
After you're done with this, make sure to give enough time to our app to perform those changes until it reports to be 'Up to date'.
Let me know how it goes!
Hello again. I do have Dropbox Plus, so I can use the selective sync feature. I am doing it on one laptop at the moment, and it seemed to be finished really fast. How can I make sure the files are all online before I delete from the hard drive? Then I can repeat the process on my other laptop.
Thanks for all your help.
Thanks for getting back to us here @Etwhalen9090!
Before removing the folder with Selective Sync, if the desktop app is showing "Up to date" then syncing should be complete and everything should be available online.
If you'd just like to double check, you can go to the folder and make sure that it's showing the :white_check_mark: icon too.
When you apply Selective Sync it should remove the folder locally automatically.
If you're referring to Smart Sync, the files will show a grey cloud icon to show they are not taking space on your hard drive. In this case, you don't need to delete the file from your Dropbox folder as doing so would remove it from your account.
I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions - cheers!
Hello, Daphne. I am just a bit confused when you say removing the file from my DB folder will delete it. I am afraid I will delete something when I remove it from my hard drive. I may be making this more complicated than it is, but I am confused. I run two laptops, and it's pretty much the same info on both, but I cannot delete things until I know they are in the cloud.
Sorry if I sound like I don't get it, I just need to be more clear.
Thank you.!
Hello again, Daphne. I am still confused. I apologize. I have DB Plus, so I guess I have smart sync. I just need to make sure that it's set up properly, because I still am showing everything on my hard drive.
Looking forward to your response.
Thanks again for your patience.
Hey @Etwhalen9090, no problem I'm here to help!
When you make a file online only with Smart Sync, it should appear with a grey cloud icon to show this has been applied, and the size it takes on your disk should be reduced.
If you apply Selective Sync to your files, it will remove the local files for you automatically. Either way, you shouldn't need to delete any files manually as doing so would just delete the files from your account.
Let me know if this helps!
Thank you for your response, Daphne. I did an online "chat" this morning with a DB person, who was as helpful as you have been, and I am now in the processing of converting all my DB files to online only, and have set it up so that all future files will automatically be onlline only.
Thanks again!
I'm very glad to hear that @Etwhalen9090!
If there's anything else that I can help with, feel free to just give me a nudge here. I'd be more than happy to help.
I hope you have a great start to the week - cheers!
