MAC OSX - Can someone explain the how the Dropbox folder within Finder works?

[pbum]

I really need help here as my brain has never been good with organisation and I'm easily confused by technology. 

SO... I need to understand how the dropbox folder within finder on my Mac works. Should i MOVE stuff into it or COPY stuff into it? Is it pointless to copy into it cos i'll end with 2x version of the same file on my laptop? Or is it like a virtual folder that doesn't actually live on my laptop?

Initially I dragged folders into it and watched with horror as my hard-drive space started disappearing before my eyes. So yeah, i'm confused. 

So there is the APP the WEBSITE and the folder on my FINDER on the mac. And I'm struggling to understand which to use and why (and how)

(I never used to be this way... I'll put it down to ageing, 👴but dropbox should make something easier to use; having been on this forum I can see there are many others like me!!)

thanks for any friendly advice! 🙂

[Megan]

Hey there, @pbum, welcome to our Community! 

My friendly advice, and explanation is coming your way, and hopefully we'll clear things up!

When you install the Dropbox app on your laptop, or computer, the app creates a Dropbox folder in your Finder. Now, what is this Dropbox folder? 🤔

Your point of contact, and the content of your Dropbox account. Essentially, any files that you have when you visit your account online (website), should be synced and reflected there. Like a mirror.

You can either move, or copy stuff in there, but like you very correctly pointed out, copying files or folders in there, will have you with two files: one in your hard drive, and the other one within your Dropbox folder.

You can use our website, or the app. Whatever is convenient to you. 

The folder takes up some hard drive space indeed. But there are solutions to that. I'll be happy to share them with you if you wish, all you have to do is ask. 

If you have any other questions, I'll be one post away! 😊

[pbum]

Hi megan, thanks for the reply. 

This is helpful to some extent... I need further clarification. 

Is the dropbox folder on my laptop LOCAL or REMOTE? If its a reflection of my online dropbox storage I would have assumed its remote, in which case why is my hard drive space vanishing when I put files in there?

[Rich]

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@pbum wrote:

Is the dropbox folder on my laptop LOCAL or REMOTE?

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It's a local folder and anything you put in it takes up space on your local drive. Files and folders within it can also be set as Online-only, in which case the file is stored on Dropbox.com only and a marker file is left in its place. This allows you to save local drive space while also allowing you to open them if needed (an Online-only file is re-downloaded if you try to open it locally).

[pbum]

Hi rich, 

thanks for further clarifying this. 

So... why does drop box need to duplicate the file and have it in 2 places at once on my computer? this is the part that seems crazy in light of the fact that most people are looking to SAVE space on their computer. 

Is my file less 'safe' if i just move it into the dropbox folder instead of having it also in its original location?

[Nancy]

Hi from me too, @pbum! 

If you don’t want to have duplicate files on your computer, you can move them within the local Dropbox folder, instead of copying them, which would leave you with two copies indeed; one within the Dropbox folder and one in the original location. 

Keep in mind that the Dropbox folder functions like every other folder on your computer and same goes with copying and moving files within it; the only difference is that this folder actually syncs to your Dropbox account online and the rest of your devices, if you have them linked.

While it's true that some users wish to save up hard drive space on their device, others may also want to use Dropbox as an additional backup for their files, where they only keep a copy of the original content. 

Hope this helps a bit!

[Wilfis]

I am interesting in learning how to use Dropbox on my Mac (where I use finder to navigate my Dropbox folders) when I don't sync all Dropbox files and folders.

How do I change the folders that are synced? I can sign in to Dropbox.com using Safari or Google Chrome, but I can't work out how to select additional folders and files to sync locally.

Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer.

[Megan]

Hey @Wilfis, thanks for posting here! 

It's not entirely clear to me, if you're referring to our selective sync feature, or something different. 

"Selective Sync" is a feature that allows you to choose which folders to sync to a particular computer. 

If you're talking about something different, feel free to clarify what you mean when you say that you wish to sync folders locally and let me know more. 

Thanks a bunch!