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Forum Discussion

newtonprints's avatar
newtonprints
Explorer | Level 3
2 years ago

What happens when I delete files and folders?

Hi, I have a lot of files and folders on backed up on 2 computers. If I delete a folder on one computer, will it still be both in the cloud and on the other computer? I need to free up some hard driv...
Delete
Quota
Sync
Jay's avatar
Jay
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

Hi newtonprints, thanks for messaging the Community!

 

If you delete a file from your Dropbox folder, this deletion will sync to the site, and also remove the file from other computers and devices. 

 

If you need to free up space, you could mark files as available online-only, or by using selective sync.

 

If you need any further assistance, please let me know!

newtonprints's avatar
newtonprints
Explorer | Level 3
2 years ago

so how do people get to have complete backups done?

I have a 2TB dropbox, but my computer is only 1TB, I want everything backed up (phone #1 500GB, phone #2 250GB, computer  1TB, etc) but my computer can't handle all of that, obviously.

Are you able to tell / show / diagram the steps that once I have what I want to keep on the computer, the rest can be kept and accesible on the dropbox?

  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    2 years ago

    Could you clarify what you mean by backing up your phone? Are you referring to camera uploads? 

     

    Are you also looking to backup your entire computer, or just the files in the Dropbox folder?

    • newtonprints's avatar
      newtonprints
      Explorer | Level 3
      2 years ago

      Yes, I have my phone's pics backed up to the dropbox, not just the camera uploads, but I also make many folders which separate the photos by category, event, dates or what have you.

      On the computer I have just certain folders backing up, but it's put a copy of everything on my actual computer in the dropbox folder.

      I'm relatively new to dropbox as I found out iCloud was a waste of time and money, because if I deleted off the phone, it deleted from the cloud as well. Now I can free up my phone space by backing up to dropbox and deleting from phone, but now that has moved the storage problem from the phones to my computer.

      So I want to know how to delete folders from the dropbox computer location and still have them in the cloud and accessible when I need them, whether it's via the phone or computer.

      • Jay's avatar
        Jay
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        2 years ago

        Have you tried using this feature to mark files on your computer as available online-only, so they don't take up space on your machine?

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