This article describes a feature available to customers on Dropbox Basic, Plus, Professional, Essentials, and Family.
Note: Online-only files, and folders containing online-only files can't be ignored
Ignored files are files in the Dropbox folder on your computer that aren’t stored on the Dropbox server. This means:
This option helps save storage space in your Dropbox account without removing files from your computer or by using selective sync.
Follow the instructions for your operating system:
Note: Other ways to manage which files sync to your computer are to use selective sync or make files and folders either online-only or available offline.
You can set a file or folder to be ignored using PowerShell:
Set-Content -Path 'C:\Users\yourname\Dropbox (Personal)\YourFileName.pdf' -Stream com.dropbox.ignored -Value 1
The icon beside your file or folder will change to a gray minus sign, meaning it's ignored.
If you’re running Dropbox for macOS on File Provider:
Find out which version of Dropbox for macOS you’re running.
You can set content to be ignored through the Terminal app. The latest Dropbox for macOS update utilizes Apple’s updated File Provider API to more deeply integrate with macOS. This update will change which code to use when setting files or folders to be ignored.
xattr -w 'com.apple.fileprovider.ignore#P' 1 '/Users/yourname/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox/YourFileName.pdf
Note: If you’ve set your files to online-only, the icon may also change to an online-only icon or a mixed state icon depending on your settings.
If you’re on macOS and haven’t opted in to File Provider:
xattr -w com.dropbox.ignored 1 '/Users/yourname/Dropbox (Personal)/YourFileName.pdf'
attr -s com.dropbox.ignored -V 1 '/home/yourname/Dropbox (Personal)/YourFileName.pdf'
If you no longer want a file or folder to be ignored, follow the instructions for your operating system below.
Clear-Content -Path 'C:\Users\yourname\Dropbox (Personal)\YourFileName.pdf' -Stream com.dropbox.ignored
Learn which version of macOS you’re running.
Note: This feature is not available on team accounts.
xattr -d com.dropbox.ignored /Users/yourname/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox-Personal/YourFileName.pdf
xattr -d 'com.apple.fileprovider.ignore#P' '/Users/yourname/Library/CloudStorage/Dropbox-Personal/YourFileName.pdf'
The crossed-out cloud icon will no longer be next to this file/folder, indicating that it is no longer ignored.
xattr -d com.dropbox.ignored '/Users/yourname/Dropbox (Personal)/YourFileName.pdf'
The icon beside your file or folder will change to a green check mark indicating that it is no longer ignored.
attr -r com.dropbox.ignored '/Users/yourname/Dropbox (Personal)/YourFileName.pdf'
Once ignored, the file or folder stays in your Dropbox folder on your computer’s hard drive. However, it will be deleted from the Dropbox server and your other devices. You also won’t be able to access it on dropbox.com and it won’t sync to your Dropbox account. You can choose to sync that file or folder back to dropbox.com at any time.
If you move a file or folder to an ignored folder, it will cause that file or folder to be ignored as well. If you move that file or folder out of the ignored folder, it will no longer be ignored.
If you ignore a shared file or folder, any edits made to it on your computer (or to the shared version online) won’t sync with each other.
If you set it not to be ignored anymore, Dropbox will merge the previously ignored file or folder with the shared file or folder online, if possible. If not, Dropbox will keep both versions and label one as a conflicted copy so no edits are lost.
If you’ve moved the Dropbox folder to a location other than the default one, the commands above won't work. You’ll need to update it manually.
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