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Changing a file to online only does not work. Nothing happens.

Hey!

I've had a problem few weeks now. Even I've tried to put almost everything online only -mode, nothing happens in the hard drive storage. Any ideas what could be wrong? Last month everything worked like a charm.

Thanks!

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Accepted answers

Walter

Hey there @Henkka, thanks for using Dropbox and welcome aboard!

If your app is showing 'up to date' in your menu bar/system tray and you've set your Dropbox files to be 'Online Only' through the Smart Sync feature, then this space might be taken up by your cache folder.

Let me know if that's not the case!

Moderator note: If you're using a Mac, and online-only files still take up space on your device, you might need to check this Help Center article too.

All comments

Walter

Moderator note: If you're using a Mac, and online-only files still take up space on your device, you might need to check this Help Center article too.

Henkka

Thanks, have to keep that cache in mind and check again in few days!

Walter

Let me know if anything else comes up in the meantime @Henkka!

kayte

Why are online only files taking up space in documents (manage storage on my iMac).

I checked the dropbox cache but they are not stored there.

Megan

Hey @kayte, happy Wednesday!

Have you taken a look at the troubleshooting steps shown here?

Provided you have, let me know if you've turned Smart Sync update for Mac on.

Keep me posted!

2579FT

I am still having this problem. All files set to online only and sync is up to date (these files have been set to online only for at least a year). When I get info on one of the files that is online only, it says 'zero bytes on disk' however in MacOS Manage Storage it shows all these online files (~175GB) are taking up my hard disk space.

I followed the instructions for emptying the cache files. No change. Any other ideas?

Thank you.

markhutch

I think you'll still see files on your drive but (on my mac) they're tagged as online-only.

I believe the way it works is that if you try to access that file from your system, it will download the file and then open it.

The problem I have found is that there doesn't appear to be any way of unsetting that. I've changed the preferences to not have ANY folders or files online-only and nothing changes.

For this and a few other reasons, I'm bailing out of Dropbox after being with them since their very early days. It just doesn't seem reliable any more. Which is a shame. Anyway, hope the above (if my understanding is correct of this feature) will explain why you have those files still present.

janeclimber

Online only not working. I am using a mac. I don't even see the option "make it online only" when I right click on my mac laptop.

Jay

Hi @janeclimber, what version of Mac OS are you running on your device?

What options do you see when right clicking a file?

bdoman

I'm also having an issue wherein settings folders to Online Only seems to have no effect. The size of my cache is very small. Where should I be looking to see the "Up to Date" message?

Jay

Hi @bdoman, you can see this message when you click on the Dropbox icon in the system tray/menu bar, on the bottom left.

smoravarsi

Hi! How did you resolve this problem? I am having the exact same problem. Nothing seems to work or be “live” anymore while using the desktop app. Dropbox comes offline without notice and nothing is available.
I have tried multiple times to get Dropbox to assist me and no one seems to want to assist. This is so frustrating, I’m not even sure why we pay for a service

markhutch

I have given up on Dropbox. Nothing I ever complained about or suggested was ever actioned.

I 'fixed' my issue by moving to Sync.com. Not necessarily better or even the best but it works, similar price for the data storage I need and, MOST importantly, when I contact support with issues or suggestions, I got a response and an acceptance for my suggestions.

smoravarsi

It really is a pain trying to get any support from DropBox. I'm looking for another provider. I've been with this same issue for over 2 months and zero assistance and resolution.

Cheers,

iBoxS

I checked all of the settings and the common FAQs so please don't suggest those... Obviously I tried it already. I hope someone who experienced this issue found a solution. Nothing is shared locally yet it is in that folder... If I delete the files in that folder, will it delete them from my account altogether or just from the PC and leave the online files intact? Why is this happening with such a popular service which should work without any issues? Thank you in advance.

iBoxS

Yes I got 0 help as well... I don't understand why even though I set everything to Online Only and made sure there were no exceptions and followed all the FAWs and help links, it's still displaying offline and taking up lots of space.

Megan

Hey there, @iBoxS, let's jump right into this!

Can you clarify the app's current syncing status, along with the Dropbox version that you're using on your end?

You mentioned that some online-only files seem to be taking up space on your hard drive. Can you send me some screenshots as a reference, please?

It'd help to have a visual of the files' icons in your Dropbox folder, and then the properties you see when right-clicking on the online-only files.

As for your account: if you delete online-only, or available offline files, they will both get removed from your account online.

Keep me posted!