Child Item

Why are some online folder not on my computer?

Dimitriu

Hello

Just got a new computer, running the latest Mac OS.

I installed the latest dropbox version and chose the folders I need to have locally on my computer.

However, I can't see the "cloud" folders in my finder, I only see my local content.

Any idea on how to fix that ?

Thanks by advance,

🙂

Find more posts tagged with

Desktop

Sync

Insightful

Closed - Partially Delivered

Accepted answers

Megan

Hi @Dimitriu, it's absolutely clear.

However, as both Walter, and Hannah mentioned, if you have selectively synced the content, that would explain why you can't see them in your Dropbox folder anymore.

Feel free to send us a few more screenshots of your selective sync settings, along with the app's syncing status, just for us to check if the app is maybe still syncing content.

All comments

Jay

Hi @Dimitriu, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Are you referring to the selective sync feature? This prevents the folders from even appearing on your machine.

This will help me to assist further!

Dimitriu

Hey Jey

I used to have both online and local folders in my dropbox displayed, with a cloud or a green check, now I only see the one with the green check, idk if that is more clear for you ? 🙂

Jay

Could you check the selective sync preferences using the steps in the previous article I provided to see if those folders are unchecked?

Dimitriu

Hey,

Yes I understand but i dont want to download them, i just want to see them in the finder. If i do what you sent me, it will download

Walter

Hey @Dimitriu, sorry to jump in here, but I just wanted to mention that selectively un-synced from your computer won't be visible in your Finder as they're not locally available to your computer's OS.

Is it possible that you were referring to online only files instead?

Dimitriu

Hey Walter,

Yes exactly

I want for the files which are online only to display in my finder

Hannah

Hey @Dimitriu, if the folders you see on dropbox.com have been removed through selective sync from your local Dropbox folder and then you add them back, they will sync as online-only.

Meaning, they will download so that you can see them in your Dropbox folder, but they won't take up space; you'll just see the names.

I hope this clarifies things!

Dimitriu

But how do i do that ? Because the folders i checked have been downloaded and take up space

Megan

Hi @Dimitriu, that is normal if you have these folders checked.

If you uncheck a folder, that folder and the files and folders inside it are removed from your hard drive, and are only stored on dropbox.com.

Can you send me a screenshot of your selective sync settings please, in order for me to have a visual too?

Dimitriu

To be clear :

This is what i used to have on my dropbox folder

Capture d’écran 2023-10-13 à 01.41.15.png

this is what i have now on my new computer :

And i dont want to download everything. I want it to display as only online content

is tat more clear ?

Megan

Hi @Dimitriu, it's absolutely clear.

However, as both Walter, and Hannah mentioned, if you have selectively synced the content, that would explain why you can't see them in your Dropbox folder anymore.

Feel free to send us a few more screenshots of your selective sync settings, along with the app's syncing status, just for us to check if the app is maybe still syncing content.

joecl

I had the same issue. I fixed it by...

going into the dropbox app,
clicking on the profile icon with my initials,
clicking on preferences,
going to Sync,
clicking on Select folders under Selective Sync,
selecting the folders that were online-only and not visible on my file explore locally,
clicking Update, and clicking Update again. Yes, they'll start to sync, but go to next step
As soon as the online-only folders show up in your file explorer locally, right click on the folder, and select the option to make them online only

That worked for me. Now I can see all my folders, including the online-only folders.

fcinterfields

brilliant, I had been looking for this for ages and it was so simple after seeing this. Thank you.

Theresa

Hi @fcinterfields and welcome to the Dropbox Community 👋. I'm delighted to read here that you've found your answer from this thread.

I’m Theresa a community manager here at Dropbox, and I always enjoy hearing all the creative, clever ways our community members use Dropbox every day 👩‍💻🙌.

If you're open to sharing, I’d love to listen to your Dropbox story and of course, I’m here to help if you have any questions along the way 🤗💫.

T 😸 (Dropbox Community Manager)