There are MANY similar questions in the community about this, but none answer the problem: I can't get files to download local on my machine.
Environment :macOS 26.5, latest Dropbox downloaded and installed, Dropbox has Full Disk Access
Steps to reproduce:
- In the Finder, select a file that is Online Only
- Right click → File Info. Displays "Online Only"
- Right click on same file → Select Make available offline
- [wait minutes]
- Right click on a single file → File Info. Displays "Online Only"
Even after requesting the file to be offline, it still exists only in the cloud.
This is maddening. I need files to be local to my machine, as I may be offline.
Issues with the current product:
- The procedure above should download the single file. I should be able to select a folder and have it download all files in that folder.
- Selecting "Make available offline" for folders via the Finder applies only to new files - this breaks historic Dropbox behavior.
- It's not clear that selection "Make available offline" when right-clicking a folder would apply only to new files. Had I not spent an hour in these forums, I wouldn't know that.
- There is no clear option to force ALL my files and folders to be local. Again, this breaks historic Dropbox behavior.
Is this a conscious decision by the Dropbox product team or a technology issues with the OS CloudStorage API's?
I've used Dropbox for 15 years. There has to be a fix for this. If not, it's time to move on from Dropbox as it's not the product I'm looking for anymore.
