Dropbox Smart Sync is now described in Dropbox Help as online-only files: the files remain visible in your computer’s Dropbox folder, but their contents stay in Dropbox until you open them. That can reduce the space Dropbox files use on your device. The trade-off is that you need an internet connection to open an online-only file; if you need a file without internet, make it available offline instead.
What does Smart Sync mean in Dropbox today?
“Smart Sync” is the familiar name for a storage behavior Dropbox’s current help content calls online-only. An online-only file appears in your Dropbox folder as a placeholder, rather than as a full local copy. Dropbox Help says the placeholder uses a small amount of local space to show the file name and provide a shortcut to Dropbox.com; the file’s contents remain online until needed.
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Opening the file downloads it to your computer, so it then uses local storage. The amount of space saved depends on the contents of the files you keep online-only; Dropbox does not establish a universal savings percentage or productivity benchmark.
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| Dropbox option | Visible in your computer’s Dropbox folder? | Do contents use local storage? | Internet needed to open from the computer? | What the setting applies to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online-only | Yes, as a placeholder | The full contents download when opened; the placeholder itself uses a small amount of space | Yes, to download and open the file | Individual files or folders |
| Available offline | Yes | Yes, a local copy is stored | No, not to open the local copy | Individual files or folders |
| Selective sync | No, selected folders are removed from the computer’s file system | Not for folders excluded from that computer | To access the content from Dropbox online, yes | Folders |
Choose online-only when you want items to remain visible in the Dropbox folder but do not need their contents stored locally all the time. Choose selective sync when you do not want entire folders to appear on that computer. These are different controls: online-only retains placeholders, while selective sync removes selected folders from the local file system.
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How to make files online-only or keep them offline
Change a file or folder from the Dropbox folder
- Open the Dropbox folder on your computer.
- Right-click the file or folder you want to change.
- Choose Make online-only to remove the local contents while retaining the item as a placeholder. To keep a local copy instead, right-click it and choose Make available offline.
Dropbox desktop app settings also provide a default sync preference for new files. The available labels and location can vary by app version and operating system; look in the app’s preferences or settings for the sync preference. A default affects new files within its stated scope, not files already in Dropbox. Change existing items individually if you want to alter their current availability.
Make a file available offline on mobile
Dropbox’s mobile apps let you mark files for offline access. Folder-level offline availability is limited to certain paid plans, so check the options shown in your app and plan rather than assuming every account can make an entire folder available offline.
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What happens when you open, edit, or delete an online-only file?
Opening a file downloads it
An online-only placeholder is not a local copy of the file’s contents. Opening it from the computer’s Dropbox folder requires internet access and downloads the file, which uses device storage. Make sure you have enough free space for the download.
Offline work requires an offline copy first
If you expect to be without internet, choose Make available offline before disconnecting. Changes you make to an offline copy cannot sync to other devices until the computer reconnects to the internet.
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Deleting is not the same as making a file online-only
Make online-only keeps the file in your Dropbox account and removes its local contents from the computer. Delete is a separate action that removes the item from Dropbox rather than simply freeing space on the device. If your aim is to preserve the file in Dropbox while reclaiming local storage, use the online-only command, not Delete.
Why can’t you open an online-only file?
- The computer is offline: connect to the internet so Dropbox can download the contents, or use a copy you previously made available offline.
- The download cannot complete: check that the device has enough free storage for the file.
- You need the file for a trip or outage: while online, choose Make available offline and allow the local copy to become available before disconnecting.
- You are using macOS: Dropbox’s Finder behavior can depend on its File Provider experience and rollout. Dropbox documents this separately, so the exact behavior is not identical across every Mac setup.
What differs on Mac and for Dropbox teams?
Dropbox’s general online-only help article lists Windows 7 and higher and macOS 10.12 and higher as system requirements. That does not mean every supported Mac uses the same implementation: Dropbox has a separate macOS File Provider experience, and its guidance notes that rollout and behavior can differ.
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Some administrators on Dropbox Standard, Business, Advanced, Business Plus, and Enterprise can set online-only defaults for their team. Dropbox’s team guidance says this default-setting feature is not currently available to users with Dropbox for macOS on File Provider. The option shown can therefore depend on the team plan, administrator role, and Mac configuration.
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- Keep the item visible and conserve local space: make it online-only.
- Work without an internet connection: make it available offline before going offline.
- Keep whole folders out of this computer’s Dropbox folder: use selective sync.
Dropbox Help’s “Free Up Space with Online-Only Files,” updated September 15, 2026, states: “Online-only files won’t occupy storage on your local hard drive.” Read that as referring to the file contents: the local placeholder still takes a small amount of space.
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