Child Item

Cannot see "Make available offline" option on Windows 11

Device
Lenovo Legion with Windows 11
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
N/A
Dropbox App Version (if using the app)
231.4.5770
Syncing Status
Downloading

Question or Issue
When I right click on a file or folder, I don't see the option "Make Available Offline", which I do see in my other computers. This is a fresh dropbox install. I need this option because I like having my whole library synchronized, but only download files as needed.

This is my dropbox current status

This is how the context menu look like:

As you can see, there is no "Make available offline" or "Make online-only" options in the menu.

I have checked different threads in the forum but nothing seems to work for me.

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Comments

Walter

Hi @jpugarte1_ - sorry to hear you're having issues with this.

I'm not seeing any syncing icons in your screenshot - could you let me know their syncing status since I can't tell by your screenshot?

Since this is a fresh install you should have gotten the option to select the folders you'd like to be synced to your computer during the installation process and you can even adjust your sync settings through the desktop app's preferences as needed.

That said, note that it would be normal to not see the options to make available offline or online-only on files or folders that haven't fully synced yet.

In any case, please keep me posted on your progress.

jpugarte1_

Here, the png and pdf file are synced, but there is no syncing icons. If I right click, these are my options:

jpugarte1_

Any help with this?

@Walter I have dropbox installed in other devices and the "make available offline" and "make online-only" options show even if they library is not completely synced. In fact, my normal modus operandi is to install dropbox, and once all the folders and files are indexed, I simply turn everything to "make online-only" and then change to "make available offline" on an as need basis.

It doesn't make any sense to download 2TB of data I don't really need to have on my computer, to then make it all be available online only.

I do agree though that is weird that the sync icons don't show up, so perhaps both things are somehow related?

Nancy

Thanks for the screenshots, @jpugarte1_, and apologies for the delay.

The fact that your Dropbox app isn’t fully up to date may still affect some of the app’s features on your computer, even if the same thing doesn’t happen on different devices.

To tackle this first, can you clarify the current syncing status of your desktop app? Is it still stuck downloading more than 100k files?

Finally, I’d like you to right-click on your local Dropbox folder and go to its Properties; please send me one more screenshot of the next window you’ll see.

jpugarte1_

Hello @Nancy thank you for your message. This is the current status:

As you can see, the internet connection is extremely slow where I currently am, which is one of the reasons why I need to have everything online-only. The folder structure is ready, but the folders have not been populated with files (whereas I would expect to see the files, even if they have not been downloaded yet).

Here are the properties of the Dropbox folder:

I am also trying to reinstall dropbox, but the installer downloads dropbox, and then restarts and says "downloading dropbox" again. Maybe my installation is corrupt. Should I try uninstalling and reinstalling?

Megan

Hey @jpugarte1_!

Here are my suggestions:

-You should wait for the app to be fully synced, and up-to-date to check if the issue remains the same. I'm suggesting this, since the files' functionality might be affected when the app still syncs such a large amount of files.

While you're at it, feel free to close any third-party cloud apps (e.g., Google Drive, OneDrive), as they can sometimes interfere with Dropbox.

-You can always start fresh by signing out of the app on your device. Once you do that, please uninstall using these steps, and then delete your Dropbox folder. After that, you can reinstall the app and upon the initial set-up and specifically under your advanced settings you should see the option to make your files available offline.

jpugarte1_

Hey @Megan thank you for your reply. The problem is my library is almost 2TB and my hard drive doesn't have that much storage capacity. I don't want to do selective sync, because then only certain folders will show up on my computer. So what should I do then? I just want to know if the behavior I am seeing is EXPECTED by design... or if there is something wrong with my app.

As a side note, I think dropbox is very poorly thought when it comes to installing it either on drives that already have the files, or in new drives when the library size exceeds that of the local hard drive. It is a shame, because it is an excellent app and service otherwise imo.

Megan

Hey @jpugarte1_!

What you mentioned isn't unexpected behavior, especially since the app is still syncing.

Based on all the info you've provided it sounds like this is a brand-new installation, which would justify it. When you're using an existing installation the app simply syncs and indexes new changes, whereas now it needs to download the content and placeholders first.

This is why I'm suggesting that you're a bit more patient and wait for the process to take place. In the meantime, you can always adjust the limit on the bandwidth in the Dropbox desktop application, and set it to off.

I'll be waiting for your updates!

jpugarte1_

Hey @Megan thank you for your reply. Files continue to update but I have limited internet access right now, so there are still lots of files that need to be downloaded. In any case, my problem is that my files are more than 1.7 TB and my hard drive is only 500 GB. So I don't fully understand how or when I will have synced enough files for the "make available offline" and "make online'only" options to be available, so I can only sync what I need and not my whole library (which doesn't even fit on my hard drive).

Hannah

Hey @jpugarte1_, I hope it's okay for me to jump in here as well.

I wanted to let you know that I completely understand where you're coming from.

Do you currently have any files in your Dropbox folder that have fully synced? Ones that have the green check mark on them?

And do you see an option to make those "online-only" when you right-click on them?

Lalia

That’s a good question to bring up. Sometimes the options that appear can depend on which device or operating system you’re using, as well as the exact sync status of the files. If you’re not seeing the “online-only” option, it might be worth checking if your app is fully up to date or if the feature is available on your current plan.

jpugarte1_

Hello @Hannah and @Lalia .

My computer ran out of hard drive space so I cannot think anything anymore. I have plenty of files that are fully synced, but none of them have a green check mark. I also still don't have the "only-only" option on them.

Lalia, I have two different computers, both with Windows 11 Pro. I have dropbox in both them. Here's a screenshot of the same file in both computers:

No "online-only" option here (dropbox version v233.4.4938).

The option does show here (dropbox version v233.4.4938 as well)

Hannah

Hi again, @jpugarte1_, thanks for the screenshots and the update.

From what I could see from a previous screenshot of your Dropbox folder's properties, it seems like you have many files in your Dropbox folder.

The desktop app has a soft limit of 300k files, and if you're on that number (or close, or over that number), the app's performance might decline.

Have you tried using selective sync to remove some folders from the Dropbox folder completely, to see if that helps with the situation?

jpugarte1_

Hey @Hannah thanks for your message. I can check that. What I don't understand is why the exact same version of dropbox and the same file library works well in one device and not on the other. I do not want to use selective sync because the whole purpose of having dropbox is to have all my files "visible" on my hard drive, but only have the ones that I need "physically" on the drive. Having to exlude folders from showing up on my computer (even if they are not physically on the drive) defeats one of the purposes of the app.

At any rate, are you suggesting that if I turn on "Selective sync" the other dropbox options will show up on my context menu?

Hannah

I totally understand what you mean.

It's just a way to see if that makes things better for you in general and subsequently with the "make online-only/available offline" option that's missing.

A way to make sure the app otherwise works as intended.