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Files "offloaded" to dropbox?

I need advice- It seems like my Mac is "offloading" a lot of files from the HD onto Dropbox and when I need the files they have to download from the Cloud.

I have lousy Internet so I want to keep the files on my HD. My MAC has a 1T HD with over 550 Gigs available.

How do I get the files back to my Harddrive and keep them there??

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Megan

Hi @KennyFlaming, I hope you're doing well!

As a first step, can I ask when you first start noticing this behavior?

If you hover your mouse over your little Dropbox icon, the one next to your WiFi on your menu bar, can you let me know the version of the app that you have installed on the device?

As for the content: you should be able to right click on them, and change their status to available offline, if you want to have them synced locally.

If you have any questions, let me know!

KennyFlaming

If I’m understanding correctly the version is
179.2.4721

What is frustrating me the most is: my music files in Apple Music app. It seems like the majority of them are no longer on my computer but in Dropbox.

Due to my location I have to use my phone as internet for my desktop.

KennyFlaming

You said
“As for the content: you should be able to right click on them, and change their status to available offline, if you want to have them synced locally.”

I’m not sure exactly what you are saying.
Could you explain that a little more for me.

Megan

Hi @KennyFlaming, you mentioned: "I need advice- It seems like my Mac is "offloading" a lot of files from the HD onto Dropbox and when I need the files they have to download from the Cloud."

If I understand this correctly, it sounds like your files are becoming online-only, and you want them available offline, is that correct? If not, feel free to correct me, and give me more info as to what you need to achieve.

As for what you mentioned about your Music app, and your files, it sounds like you enabled our Backup feature. You can see more about this here.

KennyFlaming

Thanks for the reply Megan

I believe that you are correct that many files are "Online only"- and I want everything native on my hard drive.

Jay

Hi @KennyFlaming, as this appears to be the case, you can mark your entire Dropbox folder as available offline by right clicking it and choosing that option.

This will force the files to download and remain on your machine.

KennyFlaming

Hello Jay
Thank you for the response. I apologize for the delay, the email notification went to my spam folder.

I cannot seem to find the option to make the files “available offline”

If it’s helpful I am on Mac Ventura 13.4.1 OS
I’m sure it’s something simple that I’m overlooking

Hannah

Hey @KennyFlaming, happy Tuesday!

Would you mind right/control clicking on a file in your Dropbox folder or the Dropbox folder itself and sending us a screenshot of the options you see?

KennyFlaming

I went to dropbox.com, signed in and did as requested (I am hoping that this is correct)

Screenshot 2023-07-26 at 4.26.24 PM (2).png

Walter

Hey @KennyFlaming, sorry to jump in, but I just wanted to point out that this is your Dropbox folder on the website, not on your computer.

If the desktop app is running normally on your device, then you should be able to see your Dropbox folder in Finder.

We'd need a screenshot from there to further look into the issue you're facing, not from the website.

KennyFlaming

Screenshot 2023-07-27 at 8.48.10 PM.png

I=s that what you are referring to:
The dropbox folder in Finder?

Hannah

That's the one, Kenny!

So from there, you can select as many files as you want, or even your entire Dropbox folder, right click on it and choose "make available offline".

This will sync your files to your computer, so you won't have to sync/download them each time you need to access them.