Smart Sync is a feature available for all Life.Church Dropbox team members. It enables you to continue to access your files and folders without taking up space on your computer's hard drive. What a relief!
These are answers to some of the most common questions. Feel free to reach out to IT with concerns or questions. File settings can get confusing but we are always happy to help! You just might ask a question we can add here to help others. Win-win-win!
A quick video overview was created by Dropbox - watch it here.
Follow the steps to change the selective sync settings for your folders. Once your folders are no longer selectively synced, they automatically become online-only folders.
> Can I remove content from my hard drive completely without removing it from my Dropbox?
Yes, if you don’t want files to appear in your Dropbox (Life.Church) folder, you can use Selective Sync. Selective Sync allows you to choose which files appear in your desktop application, and which are available online. As per the instructions above, simply choose Selective Sync for each folder you would like to store only at Dropbox.com (you will have to log in to Dropbox.com to see these folders).
Online-only files
Do online-only files use space on my local hard drive?
Online-only files use a small amount of space on your hard drive to store information about the file, such as its name and size. This uses less space than the full file.
Can I access online-only content when I’m not connected to the internet?
No, online-only content isn’t stored locally on your computer. Connect to the internet to access online-only content.
Can I move online-only files within my Dropbox folder?
Yes, you can move online-only content inside the Dropbox folder on your device, and changes sync to your other devices. If you move online-only content outside of the local Dropbox folder, the content downloads to that location.
What happens if I delete an online-only file or move it to my trash?
Any actions taken on an online-only file sync to your Dropbox account and to anyone else who shares that file. Since the file isn’t stored on your computer, the file content will not be available in your trash. You can restore deleted files from your Dropbox account online.
Does changing a file to online-only delete the file from my Dropbox?
No, making a file online-only doesn't delete it from your Dropbox. When you make a file online-only, the file content will be deleted from your computer, but the full file will still be available in your account online and on your other devices.
Can I have local files in an online-only folder?
Yes, if a folder is online-only, you can choose to download individual files inside the folder. Opening it with an application will download it locally to your computer.
Smart Sync is available only for Dropbox Business users. It is not yet available for individual accounts. If you connected your personal and your work accounts, Smart Sync isn’t available for personal files and folders. You can utilize Selective Sync for personal Dropbox files (refer to the first FAQ section on this page about Selective Sync) in order to maximize free space on your hard drive.