Child Item

Unable to make files available 'online-only' despite managing disk space

Application Affected
Dropbox
Device
Laptop
Operating System/Browser (if using the web)
MacOS 14.6
Dropbox App Version (if using the app)
234.4.5591

Question or Issue
I am unable to clear my hard drive space from Dropbox files, despite making them available online only.

After navigating to the Sync & Storage section and clicking 'Manage Hard Drive Space', I select the files I wish to make available online-only, but Dropbox then syncs for about 1 minute and shows the disk as empty however I open it up again straight away and the disk is full again.

I have tried resetting, restarting and clearing cache and none seem to work.

Any suggestions? Thanks

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Comments

Megan

Hi there, @TM100, welcome to our Community!

When did you first notice this behavior? Also, would you mind clarifying the app's syncing status?

You can find this by hovering your mouse over the little Dropbox icon in your menu bar next to your WiFi.

If you navigate inside your local Dropbox folder, and right click on a file/folder do you see the option to make it online-only? You can see more about this here.

Keep me posted, and we'll take it from there!

TM100

Hi Megan, thanks for your response. The syncing status is currently showing 'Indexing (95%)' and has been stuck on this for hours despite logging on/off, uninstalling/restalling, and pausing the sync.

Yes, when i navigate inside my local dropbox folder I can see the option to make it online-only, yet when I click this nothing happens.

Thanks,

Megan

Hey @TM100!

If the app is still syncing that might be the culprit there. Essentially the app needs to be fully updated before any of the changes that you make get applied.

When you say you logged on and off, do you mean that you signed out of the app using these steps? Does the issue go away after rebooting your device or quitting and relaunching the app by any chance?

Lastly, do you have any proxy, VPN, firewall, security software, or even ISP/router settings that could be restricting traffic to the following Dropbox domains? If you do, try temporarily disabling those, to see if that helps.

TM100

Hi @Megan , thanks.

No proxy or VPN, firewall etc.

An yes I tried following those steps and logging out the app and rebooting the devise - still no luck it always shows as 95% indexing.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Walter

Thanks for the additional information @TM100 - much appreciated.

Can you try fixing your hardlinks and permissions and let me know if this persists?

TM100

Thanks @Walter - I just tried this and unfortunately no luck - still persists with showing 95% indexing with no progress.

Thanks

Walter

I see, thanks for giving that a go @TM100

As a last step before we take this to email, can you restart your computer and internet router?

If the app gets stuck again, I'll send you an email to investigate further with account and device specific info.

TM100

Thanks @Walter - unfortunately no luck!

Please let me know next steps, appreciate your support.

Walter

I've just sent you an email so please take a look at your inbox and we'll take it from there @TM100