Selective Sync & Deleting Files Locally

Question

Downloaded the App on my work computer. It downloaded all the folders & files from my Dropbox Acct (91g) to my local hard drive. Only wanted 2 folders to download and Sync between that work computer and Dropbox Acct. So, I then went to Selective Sync settings and checked ONLY the 2 folders I wanted to sync between that hard drive and Dropbox Acct. Now I don't want the other folders/files on that computer so I'm thinking I need to delete ALL the other folders that got downloaded locally.

1) In Photo 1 below, is the folder shown with the red arrow where all the local files are located on my local hard drive?

2) Given my corrected Selective Sync settings noted above, if I now delete all other folders I need to be sure it won't delete them from my main Dropbox cloud account.

3) I tried deleting a few of the folders from it.  As seen in photo 2 below, it said, "Recycling 11 Items from Dropbox".  Recycling is a confusing term in this situation so I stopped the delete process worried I'd loose all access to those files. What does "Recycling" mean in this circumstance?

Rich · Accepted Answer

@JM582 wrote:Now I don't want the other folders/files on that computer so I'm thinking I need to delete ALL the other folders that got downloaded locally.

NO! NO! NO! Doing that would delete them from Dropbox which would sync those deletions to your account.

When you uncheck a folder in Selective Sync, Dropbox will delete it from your computer without deleting it from your account online or from your other devices. If you unchecked a lot of folders, just be patient and let it work. Dropbox will eventually remove the folders and store then in a hidden cache for a few days before they're deleted from the computer.

1) In Photo 1 below, is the folder shown with the red arrow where all the local files are located on my local hard drive?

Yes.

2) Given my corrected Selective Sync settings noted above, if I now delete all other folders I need to be sure it won't delete them from my main Dropbox cloud account.

No, don't do it. Let Dropbox handle it.

3) I tried deleting a few of the folders from it.  As seen in photo 2 below, it said, "Recycling 11 Items from Dropbox".  Recycling is a confusing term in this situation so I stopped the delete process worried I'd loose all access to those files. What does "Recycling" mean in this circumstance?

Dropbox doesn't recycle. That message is from your operating system. When you delete a file on your computer, Windows sends it to the recycle bin. That has nothing to do with Dropbox.