Does backup make a backup of all files inc those set to "online only"?

Question

OK guys fairly simple question on Dropbox Backup.  Does it make a backup of all files inc those set to "online only"?  Reason I ask is that I have over 50% of my files set as "online only" to save disk space, BUT I really need these files to be included in my backup.  Please do not say I have to make all files "available offline" as this will crunch my current hard disk free space as well as take forever to download to my PC.  I have already done this method for large folders such as CAMERA UPLOADS in order to then use a 3rd party backup solution (Microsoft file history) to copy them to an external SSD.  I then had to make them "online only" again to get my HDD space back again.  Took hours and too hard.  Surely Dropbox has a solution to take cloud folders & files (large eg over 500Gb) and transfer them to a local ext backup drive for customer multi level security?

Walter · Answer

Hey @johnlink, sorry to confirm this, but I'm afraid there's no direct way to achieve what you had in mind and you'd need to follow the process you mentioned.

That said, perhaps you'd be able to utilize a walk-around similar to the one outlined here?

johnlink · Answer

OK thanks for your reply Megan.

This is my story.  I use Dropbox as a normal file sync solution with all of my document folders included in the sync settings.  To save some space I have set around 50% of my folders/files as "online only".

Now I want to have a second line of file defense against cyper attack IE a copy of ALL my files held on Dropbox to be saved to an external SSD.

My issue is this; only 50% of my files are stored locally on my PC, 100% of my files are stored on Dropbox. So how can I backup all my dropbox files to my SSD?

I have understood so far that I may need to get them all back on to my PC storage (set my whole dropbox to "available offline") and then run a backup from my PC to my SSD.  One drawback is making all my DBox files avail offline triggers a massive download process which takes a very long time and burns a lot of data transfer with my ISP.  Second drawback is I then believe I will need to set the same 50% of my files back to offline only to get my HDD space back - another major event.

Is there any way I can just back up my entire dropbox to an SSD without jerking around (online/offline/online) as above?  Surely I am not the only dropbox user who wants to easily get a copy of my whole dropbox and save it away on an external SSD as a final as a precaution against disaster.

Megan · Answer

Hi @johnlink, I'd be happy to give you more info on this!

Dropbox Computer backup lets you back up certain key folders, such as “Desktop”, “Documents” and “Downloads” to Dropbox. Any changes you make to files and folders on your computer will automatically reflect in Dropbox Backup as well.

Now, this is why it's important for me to ask if you're referring to Computer Backup, or the general process that's used to backup your local Dropbox folder to your account online. If you could clarify, that would be amazing.

In any case though, any files that you keep inside your Dropbox folder are backed up to your account online, unless you've chosen for them not to.

Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there!