iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
This Itechguide explains Dropbox Smart Sync.
What is Dropbox?
Smart Sync is a Dropbox technology available on its desktop clients that allows you to manually or automatically set some files and/or folders to be available only on Dropbox.com – saving you hard drive space on your PC or Mac.
This technology saves you hard drive space by not saving or syncing a copy of the file and/or folder to your computer.
What makes this tech great is that, even though a copy of the file is not saved on your local hard drive, the file or folder still appears on your hard drive – not as an actual file but as a placeholder.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Dropbox Smart Sync Terms Explained
To help understand this Dropbox technology, this section explains some of the terms associated with Smart Sync.
Popular on Amazon
- Easily store and access 2TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
Online-Only
This allows you to decide which files are only available online – on your account on Dropbox.com and not saved on your local hard drive.
As I already mentioned in the first section of this guide, when you set a folder or file as Online-Only, the file is saved only online and not on your PC. However, you can still see the file or folder on your computer but is is not an actual copy. What you see on your computer is a placeholder.
With Dropbox Smart Sync, you can still open an Online-Only file from your computer. However, you must be connected to the internet to open an Online-Only file.
Also popular on Amazon
- Easily store and access 5TB of content on the go with the Seagate portable drive, a USB external hard Drive
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
Automatic Smart Sync
Another important term of Dropbox Smart Sync is Automatic Smart Sync (ASS). ASS allows you to set files you haven’t opened from your computer for a few months to be set to online-only automatically.
However, if an application needs a file to function properly, Automatic Smart Sync temporarily sets that file as local – then, automatically return it to online-only later.
Automatic Sync for Web Uploaded Files
If you enable Automatic Smart Sync (ASS), all new files you add to your Dropbox.com account are automatically set to online-only.
Also popular on Amazon
- Easily store and access 1TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop. Reformatting may be required for Mac
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
However, if ASS is not enabled, you can configure the Dropbox client on your computer to automatically set files added to Dropbox.com to online-only. This option will NOT be available if you enabled ASS – this is because with ASS enabled, all files added via Dropbox.com are automatically set to online-only anyway.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Smart Sync vs Selective Sync
So far this Itechguide has been discussing Dropbox Smart Sync. However, there is another Dropbox technology that is similar to Smart Sync.
Both Smart and Selective Sync save you disk space by setting files to only be available online – Dropbox.com. However, while Smart Sync still shows the item (folder or file) on your computer (as a placeholder), Selective Sync does not.
Also popular on Amazon
- Easily store and access 4TB of content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
Another difference is that Selective Sync is available to all Dropbox plans. However, Smart Sync is only available to Plus, Professional, and Business customers.
Finally, Smart Sync settings applies to any computer you are syncing your Dropbox file. But Selective Sync is computer-specific. Also, Selective Sync does not allow you to select files – you can only selectively sync folders to a computer.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsConclusion
I hope this post was helpful to you. If you did, click on “Yes” beside the “Was this page helpful” question below.
Also popular on Amazon
- [Upgraded Version] - This external hard drive features a mirrored logo stripe combined with a striped anti-slip design, and the rounded corners of the casing make it easier to grip. The stripes also have a heat dissipation function, ensuring stable and fast data transfer.
- 【Ultra-thin and quiet】 - The motherboard adopts JMicron 578 noise-free solution, giving you a quiet working environment. Lightweight and portable size designed to fit in your pocket for easy portability.
- 【Ultra-Fast Data Transfers】 - Pairing this external hard drive with JMicron 578 solution USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 interfaces enables blazing-fast data transfer. It boasts theoretical read speeds of up to 125MB/s and write speeds of up to 103MB/s.
- 【Plug and Play】 - With no software to install, just plug it in and the drive is ready to use.The hard disk chip is wrapped with an aluminum anti-interference layer to increase heat dissipation and protect data.
- 【What You Get】 - 1 x Portable Hard Drive, 1 x USB 3.0 Cable, 1 x User Manual, Gift-type shell packaging ,Three-year manufacturer's warranty and free technical support services.
You may also express your thoughts and opinions by using the “Leave a Comment” form at the bottom of this page.
Finally, for more Email tech Itechguides, visit our Email & Productivity Tools Explained page. You may also find our Work from Home page very helpful.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
