We are aware of the issue with the badge emails resending to everyone, we apologise for the inconvenience - learn more here.

Forum Discussion

joshfree's avatar
joshfree
Explorer | Level 4
2 years ago

All files synced AND available offline

I'm using an Intel Macbook Pro running OS Ventura 13.3.  I back all my files up to an external drive (a NAS, in fact). My backup software has now replaced many of my files with a Zero KB alias (or whatever the file is that Dropbox uses to track its offline files). I need to get those files back, and back up the actual files up externally.

Questions:

  1. I have now right-clicked on my Dropbox folder and selected Make Available Offline. I am assuming this will download any offline files and put the actual data back on my hard drive. Is that correct?
  2. I want all that data to continue to sync normally and reliably so I can work on active projects with my team. Will that happen?
  3. I have read that I can set this permanently in my preferences, but I don't see that setting. Can someone tell me precisely where to look and how to set it? Maybe a screenshot?

Thanks for any help!

  • Hey joshfree, thanks for posting on our Community!

     

    When it comes to your first concern, you're right - you'll just need to give the desktop app enough time to sync those changes until it shows 'up to date' in your menu bar.

     

    As for your second query, note that this option is not available to the new desktop app for Mac OS. You can read more about it along with the other expected changes here

     

    Let me know if you have any other questions, Josh. 

  • Walter's avatar
    Walter
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

    Hey joshfree, thanks for posting on our Community!

     

    When it comes to your first concern, you're right - you'll just need to give the desktop app enough time to sync those changes until it shows 'up to date' in your menu bar.

     

    As for your second query, note that this option is not available to the new desktop app for Mac OS. You can read more about it along with the other expected changes here

     

    Let me know if you have any other questions, Josh. 

    • joshfree's avatar
      joshfree
      Explorer | Level 4

      Thanks for the quick response! 

       

      I know that Chronosync is working on a fix for this, but I assume that would involve downloading any files as it backs them up, which sounds like a slow and intense process. Best practice seems to me to be what I'm doing: not allowing Dropbox to remove files from my hard drive and replace them with "pointer" files.

       

      If there is a better way to handle this that you're aware of, please let me know. Thank you again!

      • Walter's avatar
        Walter
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

        I can't think of a better way to achieve this to be honest, Josh. 

         

        I'll leave this thread open though, in case another user has something additional to offer. 

About Settings and Preferences

The Dropbox Community is here to help if you have questions about your account settings and preferences. Learn and share advice with members.

Need more support

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!