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Forum Discussion
Download files from dropbox to laptop as Cloud ONLY
We have dropbox professional- use it on two desktops- Our laptop got maxed out-1.7TB in the dropbox on our laptop- So we disconnected from dropbox on the laptop and deleted the 1.6TB of data-- Obviously it is still in the cloud--Now our laptop has lots of space- we plan on downloading the dropbox app to the laptop- and are hoping we can then download the Folders in out dropbox account to the laptop as CLOUD ONLY-- will we get a promt for that when we see to download the files-- Naturally we do not want to download the full files and then make them Cloud only-- it would take forever to download the files that are that large---SO will there be a way to download the folders from our Dropbox account to the laptop as CLOUD ONLY-- we have spend many many hours fussing with this so any help will be much appreciated,, Robert
- Megan
Dropbox Staff
Hi Robert C.91, let's jump right into this!
Upon downloading the Dropbox desktop app to your device, and during the set-up process, you will see the advanced settings on the bottom of the set-up screen.
If you click on these settings, it'll ask you how to wish to download content to your device. That way, you can choose to make them online-only. Of course, you can always change these settings later on.
I hope that clarifies!
In the process of installing Dropbox we received a "Selective Sync" prompt which says "Select folders to sync to this PC". "Deselected folders will be available only on dropbox.com."
There is no option for "advanced settings".
Are we to understand that if we select folders to sync with our PC, they will be downloaded in full (taking up space). Are we corrrect in assuming this? We have 1.6 TB of data in our Dropbox folders.
I thought if we got the "advanced settings" option ( which we did not) we would see all the names of folders on our laptop, but with just a bit of data, as one of the videos we looked at online said this was a option. When we wanted to use those folders/files, we would actually be going on line to work on the folder.
It sounds like if we do not select any folders, we will not see any of the folders on our computer. We would have to go to Dropbox.com and open them there?
Is this what working ON LINE ONLY means??
Sorry for seeming dumb, but like I said we never received an option to choose "On Line Only" or prehaps we did, just not the way we expected.
- Megan
Hi Robert C.91, there are two different features:
The first one is selective sync. With that option the folders you choose will be removed entirely from within your Dropbox folder, and you'd only be able to see them online. You can always change the settings, using the app's preferences.
And then there's the online-only feature, that allows you to use it on individual files and folders, instead of folders only. And you can see the content locally, but it uses zero hard drive space.
Did you see the option for files to start as online-only during the set-up process?
Many Many thanks for the advice, I sorta thought that was how it would work, but am very relieved to be reassured.
Thanks,
Robert
