Sync icons on Dropbox for macOS on File Provider

Updated Sep 29, 2023

This article is for customers on Dropbox for macOS on File Provider. If you haven’t updated to this version of Dropbox, your icons might look slightly different.

There are two locations where sync icons appear:

In the Dropbox folder on your computer
In the menu bar

Sync icons in the Dropbox folder

To see the sync status of a specific file or folder:

Open the Dropbox folder in Finder.
Locate the file or folder you'd like to check.
- Note: You can use the search bar in the top right to find the file or folder.
Look at the sync icon next to the file or folder.

Tip: Hovering over an icon will give you a description of its current state.

Available offline

A solid green circle with a white checkmark means your file or folder is synced and available offline. You will see this icon after right-clicking a file or folder and selecting Make available offline.

“Available offline” means that your file or folder is available when you’re not connected to internet.

For folders, this icon means all files in the folder are available offline.

Note: Files and folders that are available offline won’t automatically change to online-only regardless of available hard drive space.

A cloud icon with a down arrow in the middle

Online-only

A cloud icon with a down arrow means your file or folder is synced and online-only until it is opened. “Online-only” means that you’ll need to be connected to the internet to initially open this file or folder. Once opened, this file or folder will become available in the desktop app to be opened at any time.

For folders, this icon means there is at least one online-only file in the folder. There can also be files that are “available” and/or “available offline” in the folder.

Folders with both an “Online-only” and “Available offline” icon will contain at least one online-only file, but any newly added files will become available offline by default.

Syncing

A cloud means that your file or folder is in the queue to be synced, but has not yet started uploading to the server. “Synced” means that any changes you made to this file or folder are reflected everywhere you access your files in Dropbox.

The icon will shift to the circular progress indicator when it begins syncing.

A white circle with a black border and a black segment

Sync in progress

A circular progress indicator means that your file or folder is in the process of syncing. This icon will appear when files or folders are changed or are switched between online-only and available offline. It will also appear when a download is initiated.

The length of time this icon appears will depend on the amount of data that is being synced.

A cloud icon with an exclamation point inside

Sync error

A cloud with an exclamation point inside means that your file or folder can’t update or sync. If you just attempted to add this file or folder to your Dropbox account, it may mean that it can’t be added.

Learn about the different types of sync errors and how to solve them.

A cloud icon with a diagonal line through it

Ignored file

A cloud with a diagonal line through it means that your file is ignored and doesn’t count towards the storage space in your Dropbox account. That means it’s stored in the Dropbox folder on your Mac, but not on dropbox.com or on the Dropbox server.

Learn more about ignored files.

Available

A file or folder with no icon means that it has been opened either by double-clicking or through a third-party application and synced.

For folders, no icon means there is at least one available file in the folder, but no online-only files. There can also be files that are available offline in the folder.

Note: If your computer is low on hard drive space, these files can automatically change to online-only to free up space.

What to do if your sync icons are missing

If your sync icons are missing, close all non-Dropbox applications then quit and relaunch the Dropbox desktop app.

The sync icons in the menu bar

Below are the different Dropbox icons that will appear in your menu bar.

The icon color may vary.

		Fully synced A solid black Dropbox icon with no other icon means the Dropbox files and folders on your computer are fully up to date. Any changes you made are reflected everywhere you use Dropbox.
		Sync in progress A solid black circle with two white arrows going in a circle means that the Dropbox files and folders on your computer are being updated. Any changes you made are being updated everywhere you access your files in Dropbox.
		Syncing paused A solid black circle with a white pause icon means that you paused syncing. Any changes you make to your Dropbox files and folders won’t update everywhere you access Dropbox until you resume syncing. Learn how to pause and resume file syncing in the Dropbox desktop app.
		Not connected to internet A gray Dropbox icon means that the Dropbox desktop app isn’t connected to the internet. This means that changes you make to the Dropbox files and folders on your computer won’t update everywhere you access Dropbox until you’re connected to the internet again. Learn why Dropbox might not be connecting and how to solve it.
		Unread notifications A red circle with a white number on it has nothing to do with syncing. It means that you have unread Dropbox notifications. Learn about how to manage Dropbox notifications.
		Camera uploads in progress A camera icon means that you have connected a camera or mobile device with a camera to your computer and your camera roll is being uploaded to Dropbox. Learn more about the camera uploads feature.

Other ways to see your Dropbox sync status

You can also see the sync status of your entire Dropbox account in the bottom left of the Dropbox app window. To open the Dropbox app window, click the Dropbox icon in your menu bar.

If your files are fully synced, the text in the bottom left corner will say Your files are up to date. Find out what other sync statuses mean.

Note: Dropbox Backup users will see slightly different wording on some sync statuses.

If you’re looking for an icon that isn’t listed here, check this article on file and folder icons, symbols, and colors.

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