How To Prevent Dropbox From Storing Locally?

Set a file or folder to online-only or local

  1. Open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
  2. Open the Dropbox folder.
  3. Right-click the file or folder you’d like to set to online-only.
  4. Hover over Smart Sync.
  5. Click Online Only. If you’d like to save your file back to your computer’s hard drive again, click Local.

Contents

How do I stop Dropbox from saving locally on Mac?

How to reduce the space Dropbox uses

  1. Launch the Dropbox app from your Applications folder.
  2. Click on the double arrow at the bottom of the sidebar.
  3. Choose Preferences> Sync.
  4. Press Choose folders.
  5. Uncheck the box next to the folders you don’t want to be saved locally.
  6. Press Update.

How do I remove local files from Dropbox?

Delete files from your Dropbox

  1. Launch the Dropbox app and navigate to the file you’d like to delete from your Dropbox.
  2. Tap the blue down arrow to the right of the file.
  3. Tap Delete to delete the file from Dropbox, your phone, and all computers connected to your account.

Why are Dropbox files taking up space on my computer?

When you save a file to Dropbox, it syncs with all of the devices you’ve connected with your Dropbox account. This means that it takes up space on each computer hard drive. This can create problems if your hard drive doesn’t have enough available space to sync everything in your Dropbox folder.

How do I remove files from Dropbox but keep them on my computer?

If you want to delete a folder from the Dropbox account online but want the file to remain on your local Dropbox folder, Dropbox does not have an option to make it happen. However, what you can do is move the file or folder from the local Dropbox folder to outside the Dropbox folder and keep it as a backup.

How do I remove Dropbox from Explorer?

How to uninstall Dropbox on Mac, Windows, and Linux

  1. Click the Dropbox icon in the menu bar.
  2. Click your avatar (profile picture or initials).
  3. Click Quit.
  4. Open Finder.
  5. Click Applications.
  6. Drag Dropbox to the Trash.

Where does Dropbox store files locally?

By default, the Dropbox folder is located in your user folder. If you moved your Dropbox folder, or if you connected a work and personal, it may be located elsewhere or have a name other than “Dropbox.” You can programmatically find the folder path through a JSON file.

Are my Dropbox files stored locally?

If you’ve never turned on Smart Sync or set a file or folder to online-only, then all of the files and folders in the Dropbox folder on your computer are “local”. This means that they take up space both on your computer’s hard drive and in your Dropbox account and are available whether you’re online or offline.

Does deleting files from computer delete from Dropbox?

When you delete a file from Dropbox, it’s no longer visible in any of the folders you see in your account. However, the file isn’t permanently deleted until after your recovery window: Dropbox Basic, Plus, and Family accounts can recover deleted files for 30 days.

Will I lose files if I uninstall Dropbox?

Nothing will be lost or affected by uninstalling the Dropbox app, as your files remain inside the app, as it’s only the app you’re removing/uninstalling/deleting).

How do I hide Dropbox folder in Windows 10?

Step-by-step solution

  1. Open the downloaded file and run Hide Folders setup to install it.
  2. Click Edit list button to switch to the list of the protected objects.
  3. Drag Dropbox folder shortcut from Favorites into Hide Folders window.
  4. In the Shortcut dialog, select “Both, shortcut and target”, then press OK.

How do I change my Dropbox to local?

To sync a file or folder without opening it immediately, you can make it local:

  1. Open the Dropbox folder on your computer. Click the Dropbox icon from the menu bar.
  2. Locate the content that you want to make online-only.
  3. Control-click or right-click the file or folder.
  4. Choose Smart sync.
  5. Choose Local.

How do I Unsync my desktop from Dropbox?

Here’s how:

  1. Sign in to the Dropbox website.
  2. Click on your name in the top-right menu → Settings → Security.
  3. In the Devices section, you’ll see every device you currently have linked to your Dropbox. Just click the X next to the device you want to unlink.

How do I Unsync Dropbox from my Mac without deleting files?

Find the Dropbox icon in the desktop system tray, right-click it, and click Preferences in the menu. Step 2. Then under the General tab to select the Unlink this computer… button to remove Dropbox from this computer without deleting files.

Do I need Dropbox?

One of the key reasons to use Dropbox is how easy the service makes it to share files. You can control permission levels and share files and folders with specific people using a link, or make files public so anyone with the appropriate link can access your data.