How can I remove certain files from my external drive backup but keep the other ones backed up?

Question

Hello Dropbox community,

I use Dropbox Basic on my MacBook Air M1

My SanDisk external-drive backup contains Photos and Excel files.  I want to keep my photos on my physical SanDisk drive and in my Mac Photos Library, but remove the cloud backup of Photos to free Dropbox storage.  I need to retain my XL (Excel) files and other important files in Dropbox.

my Dropbox storage shows approximately 3.44 GB used out of 5.88 GB. About 3.4 GB is listed under Backups and 14.5 MB under Regular files

I deleted a seperate backup called "untitled" but my storage usage did not change. The SanDisk backup is currently paused.

In Dropbox desktop settings, the Choose folders window shows seperate check boxes for Photos and Excel files, but the only buttons are Cancel anf Backup

Could someone please explain the correct procedure, step by step, to remove Photos from the cloud backup while retaining XL files and protecting my physucal Sandisk drive?

Thank yoy

MacBackupHelp2026 · Answer

Hello, thank you for your reply.

Yes, I used Dropbox Backup to backup my external drives. Kingston and SanDisk.  I deleted the Kingston backup and my Dropbox storage now shows approximately 3.44 GB used out of 5.88 GB.

My current concern is the SanDisk external-drive backup.  It contains Photos and Excel files.  I want to remove the cloud backup of Photos to free up Dropbox storage, while retaining the Excel files in the backup and keeping all the original photos and files safely on my physical SanDisk drive and in my Mac photo Library.

The setting window I mentioned was accessed through the Dropbox desktop app's Manage backups for SanDisk followed by choose folders.  It showed seperate checkboxes for Photos and Excel files, with only cancel and backup buttons.

I believe these settings relate to the external-drive backup, rather than folders in my local Dropbox folder, but I would appreciate your confirmation.

I will send a screenshot of that window so you can verify it before recommending any changes.

The screen shot shows the choose folders window with the Cancel and backup buttons clearly visible. only some of the folders are visible in the screen shot because the list is longer.  I have not changed any checkboxes or clicked Backup.  I also ren

Screenshot 2026-10-28 at 17.51.14.png

amed the Physical drive yesterday, so its current preferred name appears instead of SanDisk.  It is the same external drive.

Thank you for your help.

Hannah · Answer

Hey @MacBackupHelp2026, thanks for taking the time to post to our Community!

If I understand correctly, you used the Dropbox backup feature to back up your external drive and you'd like to remove certain files (Photos) from the backup while keeping your other files (Excel) backed up in order to free up some space in your Dropbox account.

About what you said here:

In Dropbox desktop settings, the Choose folders window shows seperate check boxes for Photos and Excel files, but the only buttons are Cancel anf Backup

Can you please send me a screenshot of those settings, so I can have a visual?

Does the setting refer to your external drive backup or the folders you've placed in your local Dropbox folder (selective sync feature)?

This might be the key to what you'd like to do, so let's see what we can find.

Thanks in advance!