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Forum Discussion
Smart Sync and Quick Preview on Mac
Smart Sync causes my quick preview function (spacebar) to not function properly on my Mac. I can't preview thumbnails, or quick preview any videos or photos. Any ideas why this happens?
Likely because you're trying to preview a file that doesn't exist on your computer.
When you set a file to Online Only, the only thing that's left of that file on your computer is the necessary information to make it appear in the folder. Since there's no content in the file, your OS (nor any other program) is able to preview it.
Remember, when you set a file to Online Only, the file is removed from the computer leaving behind only a marker file. In order to access that file, whether it be to open and edit it or simply preview it, the file needs to be on the computer (Smart Sync doesn't allow you to open files directly from the Dropbox servers). When you open a file, it's synced back to your local drive and then opened as normal. When you're done with the file, if you want it to be online-only again, you need to mark it as such.
::In Response to the So Called Solution::
Did you not read any of the comments written here?
We are repeatedly describing how you can have a file selected in finder and SEE a preview, then scrolling down through the list, using the down arrows or mouse, and then scrolling back up and the file is no longer previewing. And then no files previewing. Your explanation just ignores everything we are trying to get an answer for. It's very frustrating to get an email notification that this problem has been solved only to find a negligent answer that in truth feels condescending.
I completely agree, we've been really clear about what the issue is, and time after time, the answer we get doesn't address the actual issue, I think all of us understand that it's not going to preview files you haven't downloaded, but the problem we have is that we lose the preview for files that aren't even on dropbox, it's insulting the way they don't even read our comments.
