I have a shared storage space with colleagues at work, and the problem is that the space takes up the device’s space. I tried all the methods on the Internet to solve this problem and it did not work, knowing that my device is an Apple MacBook Pro.
Hey @Essa2! Thanks for posting on our Community today.
If I got this right, you’d like to free up hard drive space on your Mac device, correct?
What methods/features have you tried so far to achieve this?
Did you right click on your files within the local Dropbox folder and made them online-only? Or did you try to use selective sync instead?
Let me know and we can go from there.
Are you seeing any other Dropbox options, when right clicking on your files within the Dropbox folder?
If not, make sure to check your menu bar (where your clock settings are located) to see if the small Dropbox icon is still showing.
Hi, I'm also facing the same problem.I have 2 dropbox accounts. Account A is an old account on free plan. Account B is new account and on paid plan.I was using Account A on my mac and was able to make my file online only without any issues. When I switched to Account B on the same mac, the online only function no longer exist. There's no 'Manage Hard Drive' options too.
Heres a screenshot.
Please help. Thanks.
Hey @ashleyjoeann, thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Are the options in the screenshot the ones you see in the Dropbox application preferences, while logged in to the paid account?
How about when you right-click on files in your Dropbox folder, do you see any Dropbox options there?
Also, what's the sync status and version of the Dropbox app?
You can see that, by hovering over the Dropbox icon in your menu bar.
Hi @Hannah,
Yes, the screenshot earlier was taken while logged in to the paid account. Usually, there should be a 'Manage hard drive space' under the preference if I'm not mistaken. But when logged into the paid account, that option disappears.
Here's the screenshot of when I right-click on files in my Dropbox folder.
My Dropbox app version is 203.4.4857 and status is 'Up to date'.
Thanks for the screenshots and the additional info, Ashley!
Just to confirm, does the app sync fine otherwise? Meaning, if you add files to your Dropbox folder, do they sync to your account on dropbox.com, and vice versa?
Yes, they sync without any issues both ways.
And are both those Dropbox accounts still linked to this computer, Ashley?
Also, have you tried restarting both the computer and the Dropbox application, to see if that helps at all?
Currently, only the paid account is linked to this computer.
And yes, I have tried restarting both the computer and the app. I've also tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app.
Thanks for the confirmation, Ashley!
One more thing I'd like you to check, assuming you're currently signed in to your paid account, is if the 'Dropbox system extension' is enabled in your account settings here.
Apologies @Hannah, I'm unable to locate the 'Dropbox system extension'.
Oh, you should be able to see it in the 'general' tab of your account settings (the hyperlink I added in my previous reply).
It should be in the 'Preferences' section.
I don't see it.
@ashleyjoeann, are you sure you’re currently logged in to your paid Dropbox account on the website? What do you see, if you go to your Plan page here?
I am on Lenovo Dropbox subscription.
But does this have anything to do with free or paid plan? My old account on free plan has no issue at all.
Hi @ashleyjoeann, just to check, is the paid plan a Dropbox team plan?
Are you able to switch between two accounts on your computer, or are you signing out of one account, and then signing into another each time, manually?
No, it's not a team plan. I'll have to sign out manually.
Thanks for the info, could you try reinstalling the Dropbox desktop application, without uninstalling it first by clicking this link?
I've tried twice. Nothing's changed. Maybe the problem is not the application. I used the same application to log in to my old account, and it works fine.
Hey again, @ashleyjoeann! What I’d like you to do next is to go to the Account tab of your desktop app preferences and send me a screenshot of what you see there (while hiding your email address).
I'll be able to investigate further after that.
Hi, here you go.
Hi @Nancy, any updates to this issue? Thanks.
Hi @ashleyjoeann
As you are not on a paid account (the Lenovo one is a free one) and you are signing in and out are you moving the Dropbox directory to a different place on the Mac each time? I suspect that is why it isnt working as the cloud only sync needs to be in the specific place for it to work (Cloud Storage location). That would be why it works for one and not the other.
Dropbox as a program isnt intended or designed to be signing in and out of all the time.
Hi @Mark,
Thank you for your input.
The Lenovo, although I'm on the 90-day free trial, it will start charging after the trial. But that's not the main point here, as online-only is available on the free plan as well.
I understand the Dropbox folder must be in the cloud storage location for online-only to work. There should be an option to update the Dropbox location to the cloud storage here:
"Learn more" should be the button "Update now" as I've seen it before.
I am curious as to why this new account does not have this option. Is it due to this account being created with the Lenovo ID and signed into Dropbox via Single Sign-On?
I do not intend to sign in and out all the time, but I had to do this to check due to this issue.
You can link two accounts together if one is a paid business one via https://help.dropbox.com/account-access/link-unlink-two-accounts
Note that it has to be a paid BUSINESS one (i.e. a minimum 3 user licence) to apply to that.
Paid accounts dont.
My suspicion is that as its not in the default Dropbox location its not working as it should. The software itself is working as its letting you do it on the default install one.
Hi all,
Thank you for trying to help. I truly appreciate it, as I was really frustrated.
I seemed to have solved the problem. I suspected that my account was new and that the updates (Dropbox for macOS on File Provider) had not yet been rolled out to my account. This is just my suspicion.
So I went to Dropbox web > Settings > General > Preference and turned on 'Early access'. Then, I proceeded to quit and relaunch my Dropbox desktop application. To my surprise, the option to update the Dropbox folder actually showed up. After going through the updating process, my Dropbox folder is successfully transferred to the cloud storage location.
Here's the latest screenshot of my Dropbox application 'Sync' tab.
Now, I finally have the option to make my files online-only.
Thank you.
