Fix: Dropbox Files/Folder Showing Online But Not on Computer

• Why Dropbox Files/Folder Showing Online But Not on Computer?
• Free Workaround: Automatically Sync Dropbox to OneDrive/iCloud
• Conclusion

Why Dropbox Files/Folder Showing Online But Not on Computer?

When you use Dropbox, you may find some files or folders are saved on the Dropbox website but cannot be found on the Dropbox desktop app. The “Dropbox files online but not on computer” issue is quite annoying, and let’s see some common reasons for it and how to fix it.

1. Selective Sync:

The Dropbox Selective Sync feature lets you decide which folders from your account are actually downloaded and synced to your computer. A folder will only exist online if it is not chosen for syncing.

How to change it:

Step 1. In the menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows), click the Dropbox icon.

Step 2. Click your avatar, which could be your initials or profile picture.

Step 3. Choose “Preferences”.

Step 4. Select the “Sync” tab in the pop-up window.

Step 5. Click the “Select folders” button next to “Selective sync”.

Step 6. Check the boxes next to the folders you wish to see on your computer in the resulting window.

Step 7. Click “Update” to sync these Dropbox folders to sync with your computer.

2. "Online-Only" Files/Folders:

What is Dropbox “Online-only”: Dropbox offers the ability to make files and folders "online-only" in order to conserve hard drive space. These files will show up in your Dropbox folder, but you will need to open them before they begin to download. If the files or folders are set to be “Online-only”, there will be a cloud icon next to them.

How to change it:

Step 1. Use the Finder (Mac) or File Explorer (Windows) to access your Dropbox folder.

Step 2. Navigate to the files or folders with a grey cloud icon.

Step 3. Right-click on the desired file or folder and choose “Make available offline” to download it to your computer and make it accessible offline.

3. Not Signed In or Not Running the Dropbox Desktop App:

In order for your files to sync to your computer, the Dropbox desktop application must be open, and you must be logged into the correct account.

How to make sure:

Step 1. Check your menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows) for the Dropbox icon. The app isn't running if it's absent. 

Step 2. Sign in after opening it.

Step 3. To make sure you are logged into the correct Dropbox account, click the Dropbox icon and verify your account details.

4. Dropbox Not Syncing:

Occasionally, internet connectivity issues, firewall or antivirus interference, or issues with the Dropbox app itself may cause Dropbox to have brief syncing problems.

Methods for troubleshooting:

5. Inaccurate Account:

It's possible that you are not logged into the same Dropbox account on your computer as you are when viewing the files online.

How to check:

Make sure the email address you use to log in to Dropbox on the web and the one linked to your Dropbox desktop app match.

6. Problems with File Names:

Occasionally, file names that contain characters that are incompatible with the operating system on your computer may stop them from syncing correctly. Files created on a different operating system, such as macOS, producing files with characters that Windows doesn't like, are more likely to exhibit this.

How to check:

Try renaming the files or folders to use standard alphanumeric characters if you find any unusual characters in their names online.

Free Workaround: Automatically Sync Dropbox to OneDrive/iCloud

If you also use OneDrive or iCloud on your computer, there is another way to fix the “Dropbox files showing online but not on computer” issue: using MultCloud Cloud Sync to sync files and folders from Dropbox to OneDrive/iCloud Drive. In this way, you can also access Dropbox files on the desktop, and it can be a backup of your Dropbox files.

MultCloud is a cloud management service that supports Dropbox, OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, Dropbox Business, iCloud Drive, and other 30+ cloud storage services. “Cloud Sync” is one of MultCloud’s main functions that is designed for automatically or manually syncing files between clouds. The “Cloud Sync” function also offers the real-time sync option. Therefore, any modification to Dropbox files can be shown in OneDrive or iCloud immediately. Besides, there are more paid sync modes you can choose from: Move Sync, Mirror Sync, Incremental Sync, Cumulative Sync, Full Backup Sync, and Update Sync.

The operations of using Cloud Sync are easy to master. There are example steps for syncing Dropbox to iCloud Drive.

Step 1. Go to the MultCloud Website (it is a web-based service) and sign up for an account for free.

Step 2. Add Dropbox to MultCloud by clicking “Add Cloud” and the Dropbox logo. Then, repeat the step to add iCloud Drive to MultCloud. But when you log in to your iCloud account, you need to go through two-factor authentication.

Step 3. Select the “Cloud Sync” function in the left sidebar and choose Dropbox files or folders in the FROM box and iCloud Drive in the TO box.

Step 4. Before clicking “Sync Now” to start this task, you can open “Options” to choose a sync mode if you need it.

Conclusion

This post provides you with 7 solutions to address the “Dropbox files showing online but not on computer” issue. You can follow the simple methods one by one until your problem is eliminated.

What’s more, if you begin to use MultCloud, you can find more robust functions on it, such as Cloud Transfer, Cloud Backup, Email Migration, Remote Upload, and Share. Most of your cloud file migration difficulties can be effortlessly resolved with them.