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Moving available offline folder to online only folder sync

I have a top level folder set to "online-only" within file explorer on windows using the latest dropbox client.

Nested under this top level folder are 2 folders - 1 (current project) is set to "available offline" and is completely/constantly synced and the other (complete projects) is set to "online-only".

Previously when I had finished working with and adding files to the current project "available offline" folder and moved a project subfolder folder to the sister complete projects "online-only" folder, the moved subfolder would then still remain synced and available offline on that machine only (until I manually set back to online-only) but all other machines running the client would inherit the parent "online-only" and therefore wouldn't download all the contents (many gb of extra files after finishing a project!).

Now, presumably since a dropbox update, all the other machines running dropbox client will try to download the folder that has been moved to the complete projects online-only folder and therefore is filling up hard drives very quickly and causing chaos.

Is there a way to prevent this happening, and return to how dropbox previously worked, where when a folder is moved to a parent folder that is set to online-only, it keeps/inherits those preferences and doesn't start to download gbs of data?

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Nancy

Hey @prior2that! Welcome to our forum.

Can you share with me a few more details on the Dropbox update you recently had on your computer? What’s the OS version of your device?

Also, does this behavior occur for other users that move folders around their desktop app or only when you take these actions on your Dropbox account?

Let me know when you’ve got more updates!

prior2that

So I'm only assuming that dropbox has updated due to the sudden change in behaviour, I haven't specifically noticed an update going through.

The dropbox version on all machines is v173.4.6706 and the OS version on all machines is Win10 21H2 on build 19044.2846

I'm not sure if it happens for other users as most tend to just use dropbox.com rather than the client.

My specific workflow if it helps is - working parent folder with project subfolders with pdf notes and assets etc set to offline on all machines so it's fully synced and downloaded.

Then on my editing machine, pause sync indefinitely on dropbox client while filming and creating large video files. Add these files into it's particular project folder, then move this project folder from the working parent folder to the completed parent folder (which is set to online-only).

Then resume sync on dropbox client which starts uploading the project and created media files. I then re-mark the completed project folder as online-only on this machine once sync has completed.

In the past there was no activity on the other computers clients other than a brief sync to update the moved folders location - as the parent completed folder is set to online-only on those machines too. But in the last week or so, the client starts downloading the moved folder in full.

I can guess this is because the project folder was originally in a parent folder that was set to be available offline so presumably it's taking those permissions with it now. But it's strange how this never used to happen until now - I only discovered it when a computer that's rarely used suddenly ran out of hdd space due to syncing tbs of projects!

Let me know if you need any more info, hopefully that explains the workflow better.

Nancy

Thanks for the extra details! Appreciate it.

Can you perhaps check the default sync status of your other devices (when it comes to new files), and let me know what you find there?

Also, what’s their current OS version?

prior2that

No problem, thanks for looking into this!

So the default sync status is: let admin manage is unticked, save hard drive space is off (I've also tried with it on), new files default is online-only.

All OSes are the same - Win10 21H2. I've even tried completely signing out of dropbox, uninstall, remove dropbox folder and reinstall and sign in again.

My workaround on one machine is selective sync and removing/hiding certain folders to overcome the problem, but I can't do that on other machines as I do need occasional access.

It's a real mystery to why it suddenly started, my only other thought is a recent windows update going through and breaking something.

Walter

Hey @prior2that, sorry to jump in and thanks for the additional information.

Do you have any 3rd party app that might be monitoring your files somehow? I'm asking as this would explain why some of your files are made available offline on your machine (synced).

Can you try with a test file that's initially online only and notice when it reverts to local? When that happens, are there any apps running at the same time on your computer?

prior2that

Hey Walter, there's nothing else running that monitors files etc on these machines. They're all used for video production/conferencing so had a clean install last summer and only essential applications installed.

So if I create a file that's initially online-only then it will stay online unless I either move it into a folder that I've selected to be available offline on a machine - in which case that machine will start downloading it, or specifically select the created file/folder to be offline on a machine where it will start downloading of course.

There must have been a change perhaps on how dropbox client app receive a "this folder has been moved" message, and how it deals with it.

Previously if the client app was "sent the message" that someone has moved files/folders from within a folder that particular client app had been set to "fully sync offline" into another folder that particular client app had been set to "online-only do not sync" - it would then set the moved files/folders to "online-only do not sync" - which looks like it was respecting the settings of the new parent folder which is "online-only".

Now however, it seems that moving files/folders, the client ignores the settings of the new parent folder (online) and goes with the settings the moved folder previously had (offline sync).

So if we were in the same dropbox account, and I was working on files within a folder you had set to sync and be offline on your pc. I would then stop syncing on my pc (so I'm not offline effectively), work on the files, add 35Gb of video files etc to that folder then move it to a "completed" folder - which on your pc is set to online-only.

As soon as I tell my dropbox client to resume sync, the folder move would be reflected on both our file structures, and now your pc will be downloading 35Gb (and filling up your drive).

Whereas before, your client would briefly sync to acknowledge the folder move and be done - it would now be online-only for you as I've moved it to somewhere you've set to online-only on your client.

Does that make sense?

Walter

Thanks for the additional information there @prior2that

The thing is that folders do not inherit their sync behavior when moved and this is not something that has changed recently.

Have you tried setting the desired sync status, be it available offline or online only, before moving the folder in question?

prior2that

Hi @Walter

I haven't, but I'll try and remember to try that at some point and see what happens.

It's just very strange how it worked perfectly in a way that made sense up until a few weeks ago, and has now since changed behaviour after no changes or intervention by me.

I'll be doing a complete OS clean install over the summer as part of routine maintenance, so will be interesting to see what happens after that point all.

prior2that

Hi @Walter

I just tried that, but there's no option to set the project folder to "online-only" either before or after moving, while the dropbox client is set to pause syncing.

Once I resumed syncing I could then set the moved project folder to online-only, but then dropbox clients on other machines still started to download the moved folder, despite it now being located in a folder which had been set to online-only on those pc's.

Something must have definitely changed somewhere for all the clients to suddenly change behaviour at the same time.

Are there any admin settings on dropbox.com that I should look into that might explain this? It's a dropbox business advanced account.

Jay

Hi @prior2that, there is this option for team admins to make files local or online-only. Could you check with your admin what setting they've enabled on the team?

Additionally, there is team selective sync, which could potentially affect this, if the setting has been changed recently.

prior2that

Hi @Jay

I dropped a note to the admin and he said the team admin is set to online-only. I also have all my clients set to not let admin manage sync settings.

He also confirmed that he hasn't changed any settings recently - selective sync or otherwise. Plus the documentation suggests my current settings on the clients would be overriding any admin settings anyway.

I think short of waiting till I run maintenance with a clean windows installation and see how the clients behave then, it'll be a mystery.

I've also got 2 other things to resolve with dropbox on the todo list, but they'll be for another thread. (slow up/down sync speeds, and how to use a NAS as local dropbox mirror)