Dropbox downloads the entire file to your computer.

You can open a file as usual through your application or Finder. How do I sync online-only content to my computer?

Control-click or right-click the file or folder.Locate the content that you want to make online-only.Click the Dropbox icon from the menu bar.Open the Dropbox folder on your computer.Mac Instructions: How do I make content online-only? As projects get larger, networks get faster, and hard drive space becomes more of a valuable commodity, Smart Sync allows users to choose which files are stored locally and which files are stored in the cloud. Smart Sync is a reliable way of using cloud-based storage to maximize efficiency by minimizing the amount of storage used by project data on individual users’ PCs and Laptops. Note: To use Smart Sync, you need to install the Dropbox desktop application on your computer. New content is automatically online-only unless you or your team admin chooses otherwise.There’s no change to files already in the Dropbox folder on your computer.Mixed state folders contain both local and online-only content. This content is still backed up to Dropbox as well. You can directly edit these files from applications on your computer. Local content is downloaded and saved on the hard drive of your computer. Only information about the file, such as the file name, location, and date the file was updated, is downloaded. You can see the file, but the content isn’t fully downloaded until you need it. Online-only content appears in the Dropbox folder on your computer, but doesn’t use the full amount of space that the file otherwise would. With Smart Sync, content on your computer is available as either online-only, local, or in mixed state folders. Select a default sync setting for new files and folders that are shared with you.Choose if individual files or folders are available online-only or locally on your computer.Smart Sync is available for Dropbox Professional customers, and members of Dropbox Business teams. Access every file and folder in your Dropbox account from your computer, using virtually no hard drive space. Smart Sync is a Dropbox feature that helps you save space on your hard drive. If you’re a Dropbox Business team admin, you can enable Smart Sync and get started. If you’re a Dropbox Professional customer, the feature is available by default. This guide discusses a feature that is available to all Dropbox Professional customers.

Dropbox help live chat