About Dropbox For Mac



Online-only explained

Dropbox for Mac is an incredibly useful file storage and sharing program. Because it is cloud-based, you can access your Dropbox files from practically any device with an internet connection. This page refers to the install of Dropbox for Mac, though it can also be accessed from the web, Windows install, and iOS, Android, Google and Windows apps. You can make all files that you add to dropbox.com online-only by default in two ways: Turn on automatic Smart Sync. (Instructions above). Change this setting in your preferences. To do so: Click the Dropbox icon in your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac). Click your avatar (profile picture or initials). Click Preferences. Click the Sync tab.

If you set a file or folder to online-only, it is removed from your hard drive so that it’s only stored in your account on dropbox.com. You can still see the file or folder on your computer, but it’s just a placeholder. You need to be connected to the internet to open it. If you open the file, it becomes local and saves back to your computer’s hard drive. If you move, delete, or re-name it on your computer, even while offline, those changes will be mirrored on dropbox.com once your device is back online.

Smart Sync vs. selective sync

Selective sync also helps you save hard drive space by removing files from your hard drive so that they’re only saved on dropbox.com. However, you won’t be able to see those files or folders on your computer at all and there’s no automatic option for selective sync.

Automatic Smart Sync

You can turn on automatic Smart Sync so that files you don’t open from your computer for a few months become online-only automatically and new files you add to dropbox.com become online-only by default.

To turn on automatic Smart Sync:

  1. Click the Dropbox icon in your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac).
  2. Click your avatar (profile picture or initials).
  3. Click Preferences.
  4. Click the Sync tab.
  5. Under Save hard drive space automatically,select On.
For

If you don’t open a file or folder from your computer for a few months, it’ll become online-only to save you hard drive space. If an application on your computer needs a file to be local to function properly, automatic Smart Sync will set it to local temporarily and return it to online-only later.

Make files added to the web default to online-only

You can make all files that you add to dropbox.com online-only by default in two ways:

  • Turn on automatic Smart Sync. (Instructions above).
  • Change this setting in your preferences. To do so:
  1. Click the Dropbox icon in your system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac).
  2. Click your avatar (profile picture or initials).
  3. Click Preferences.
  4. Click the Sync tab.
  5. Click the dropdown next to Files added on web default and click Online-only.
    • If automatic Smart Sync is on, you can’t choose this option because your files already default to online-only.

Why online-only files may take up a little space

Online-only files take up a small amount of space on your hard drive because the placeholder requires space to store the file name and the shortcut to dropbox.com, but it takes up much less space than the file itself would.

Note: On Mac, online-only files may appear to take up the full amount of space. To fix this, follow the instructions in the “Set online-only files to zero ‘logical’ size” section of this article.

System requirements for Smart Sync

Mac: OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Windows: 7 and up

Note: You can’t use Smart Sync on a mobile device, but you can set your Dropbox files to open on your mobile device while you’re offline.

Before we begin explaining the steps to uninstall Dropbox from macOS, remember deleting Dropbox apps and uninstalling Dropbox are different. Also, removing Dropbox will not delete the account. However, once Dropbox is removed from Mac, you can no longer sync the files present in the Dropbox folder.In case you want to close your account and remove files from Dropbox, you will have to do that separately, in a web browser.

Now, let’s learn how to get rid of Dropbox on Mac.

No one likes carrying extra baggage, be it clothes, electronic devices, or data saved on an external hard disk. Due to these, cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud have become rampant.

But between the omnipresence of iCloud and Google Drive, Mac users no longer like Dropbox. In simple words, Dropbox is obsolete. Hence, they look for ways to uninstall Dropbox from Mac. Furthermore, removing Dropbox will make room for other cloud storage services.

So, in this guide, we will walk you through the steps to uninstall Dropbox on Mac.

How to Uninstall Dropbox from macOS

Additional Tip

If you have already removed Dropbox but are worried about leftovers, we suggest you jump down to the bottom section labeled, how to clean Junk Files, System Cache, and other Unwanted Data from Mac with Disk Clean Pro.

Uninstalling Dropbox

Note: When you uninstall Dropbox, the Dropbox folder is not removed from Mac. To remove it, drag it to the Trash. But before that, take a backup of all the files at a secure location.

How to Unlink Dropbox on your Mac

  1. Open the Dropbox app.
  2. Click the Dropbox menu.
  3. Select your Avatar > Preferences.
  4. Click Account tab > Unlink This Dropbox.
  5. Again, click the Dropbox menu bar.
  6. Choose your Avatar > Quit Dropbox.
  7. Head to the Applications folder.
  8. Look for Dropbox app > right-click Move to Trash.
  9. Empty the Trash.
Desktop

We are moving the Dropbox app icon to Trash to delete all its contents from the Mac.

How to Delete Local Dropbox Folder and Files

What

If you want entirely to delete everything your Dropbox folder holds, drag it to the Trash.

This will delete all local files and local Dropbox folders.

Note: If the files aren’t synced, you won’t see them at dropbox.com. Therefore, before moving the Dropbox folder to Trash, make sure you either have the backup of the files that aren’t important.

How to delete Dropbox via contextual menu

  1. Launch Finder > Go menu > Go to Folder.
  2. Here, type /Library and press Return.
  3. Look for the DropboxHelperTools folder right click and Move to Trash.

That’s it. You have now successfully deleted and unlinked Dropbox from Mac.

In addition to this, to remove Dropbox application settings, follow the steps below:

Clearing Dropbox application settings

  1. Launch Finder > Go menu > Go to Folder.
  2. Type /.dropbox and hit Return.
  3. Select all files present in the folder and drag them to Trash.
  4. Empty the Trash.

This way, you get rid of Dropbox from Mac along with its settings.

Even after following all the steps explained above, if you are still unable to uninstall Dropbox, don’t worry. Move to the next step.

What to do if you face a problem while uninstalling Dropbox?

  1. Head to Applications>Utilities > launch Activity Monitor.
  2. Look for any processes named Dropbox or related to it.
  3. Choose them, one by one, and hit the Quit Process (x) button.
  4. Once all Dropbox processes are closed, exit Activity Monitor.
  5. Now, try to uninstall Dropbox; you should be able to remove it.

Using any of the steps explained above, you can quickly get rid of Dropbox on Mac. However, if you already know this and are just looking for a way to delete all corresponding files, here you go.

How to delete Junk Files related to Dropbox from Mac?

If you are still looking for ways to optimize Mac and free up more storage space, there’s an easy way. Disk Clean Pro – a robust Mac cleanup tool that helps clean junk files, system cache, logs, unwanted languages, and much more. In short, it is the best Mac Optimizer you can find on the App Store. Moreover, it is the cheapest of all the Mac cleaning tools available.

To use it, follow the steps below:

  1. Download and launch Disk Clean Pro
  2. Click the Start System Scan button present at the home screen.
  3. Wait for the scanning to finish.
  4. Once your Mac is analyzed, Disk Clean Pro will enlist all junk files, system cache, partial downloads, and other unwanted data.
  5. Click Clean Now to get rid of them.

Note: If you want to see what each area brings as a scan result, click them individually. Once you are sure that all the data is unwanted, click Clean Now.

About Dropbox For Mac

The product doesn’t clean anything without user consent. This means you have the control in your hands. Once you clear all this unwanted data Dropbox and all other uninstalled applications’ data will be gone.

So, this is all from our side on how to uninstall Dropbox from Mac. You can pick any of the steps and can get rid of Dropbox. However, before taking any action, make sure you have backed up the data. Also, using Disk Clean Pro will help keep Mac optimized. It is one of the most trusted applications on the Mac App Store.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can’t I delete Dropbox from my Mac?

Dropbox Download Windows 10

  1. way, you will close all running processes.
  2. Now try to uninstall Dropbox; you will not face any problem.

How do I remove Since Dropbox is a cloud service that syncs data, if you cannot delete a file or folder, it’s because it still exists on one of the connected devices. And when Dropbox sees that a file is missing, it replaces it. To obliterate it and reduce the chances of it reoccurring, follow the steps below:

  1. Open Activity Monitor
  2. Look for Dropbox and all related files.
  3. Select all the files one by one and click Force Quit

This Dropbox from my Mac without deleting files?

If you want to get rid of Dropbox without deleting files, follow the steps below:

  1. Launch Dropbox
  2. Click the Dropbox menu.
  3. Select your Avatar > Preferences.
  4. Click Account tab > Unlink This Dropbox.
  5. Go back to the Dropbox Click Preferences > Quit Dropbox.
  6. Head to Finder > Application > Dropbox > Move to Trash

What does Unlink Dropbox on Mac Mean?

Unlinking Dropbox taking up space on my Mac?

Yes. Since macOS has changed the way it calculates the size, Dropbox takes up space. To change it, adjust Dropbox settings so that online-only files have both logical and physical size set to zero.

Does deleting Dropbox means once you sign out for Dropbox and delete it. All its corresponding files and folder should also be removed.

Dropbox For Mac Download

Is files on Dropbox free up space?

Yes, deleting files from Dropbox will help free up space. To verify your space usage, head to the Account page. Here, you can see a breakdown of what’s using the storage.

Why is Dropbox using so much memory?

If the number of files stored in your Dropbox folder is too big, you might see high memory RAM usage. The more files in the Dropbox folder, the more memory Dropbox will use to keep track of them. In addition to this, if any third-party app conflicts with Dropbox, then too, you’ll face the High CPU usage problem. Furthermore, suppose the Dropbox folder is installed on NAS drive, or there are incorrect file permissions, or the file system doesn’t support extended attributes. In these cases, you will also face high memory usage.





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