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iCloud drive - not possible to upload folders ??

Good afternoon, I went to my iCloud drive to upload folders and there was a message that said that uploading folders from my computer (new McBook Air) is not possible. Is that a joke?? I have many folders and sub-folders. Or is there a trick to make it happen on iCloud Drive? Please help. Thank you!

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.3

Posted on May 5, 2021 4:11 PM

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Posted on May 7, 2021 1:19 PM

Hello! Desktop/documents from System Preferences is off, I simply copied the folders/documents from the Mac to the iCloud Drive.


The situation now is that I still have the originals on the computer (I want them there in order to work, I do not want to work from inside the cloud) + the same documents on the iCloud Drive (which show up on the iCloud Drive folder on the computer), therefore I have the same documents twice on the computer, taking up space twice.


What I want to achieve is simply to have my files backed up on the Cloud (keeping the originals on my computer). With other Clouds such as Dropbox, OneDrive, ..., whatever is placed on the Cloud does not stay on the computer under the Cloud folder, it is totally on the Cloud (no space taken twice).


I am sure there is a trick/method to do this on iCloud Drive (backup files on the cloud not staying on the computer, totally separate on the Cloud). I have been using Macs for almost 30 years, would like to be able to use the iCloud Drive as a simple backup (no sync).


Thank you!





13 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 7, 2021 1:19 PM in response to DiZoE

Hello! Desktop/documents from System Preferences is off, I simply copied the folders/documents from the Mac to the iCloud Drive.


The situation now is that I still have the originals on the computer (I want them there in order to work, I do not want to work from inside the cloud) + the same documents on the iCloud Drive (which show up on the iCloud Drive folder on the computer), therefore I have the same documents twice on the computer, taking up space twice.


What I want to achieve is simply to have my files backed up on the Cloud (keeping the originals on my computer). With other Clouds such as Dropbox, OneDrive, ..., whatever is placed on the Cloud does not stay on the computer under the Cloud folder, it is totally on the Cloud (no space taken twice).


I am sure there is a trick/method to do this on iCloud Drive (backup files on the cloud not staying on the computer, totally separate on the Cloud). I have been using Macs for almost 30 years, would like to be able to use the iCloud Drive as a simple backup (no sync).


Thank you!





May 6, 2021 4:16 PM in response to LACAllen

I got in touch with Apple Support. Fantastic experience!


For people who may have the same issue now or in the future,, here's what to do to drag and drop folders on iCloud Drive:


open Folder:

go to File and then click on “new Finder window”

Then click on iCloud Drive

move/copy folders/subfolders from Finder to the iCloud Drive on the 2nd Finder that has been created

Refresh iCloud Drive in browser to see the files in iCloud Drive


But now there is another issue happening (I did not know about it when the session was finished): Files placed on iCloud Drive stay on the computer (Folder), meaning I now have the same files twice on the computer (the original files + the same files copied to iCloud Drive). I do not want them twice on the computer (taking up twice the amount of space). The purpose of having files on the cloud is to have a backup. How do I solde this major issue (putting files on the cloud without them staying twice on the computer)? Thanks!




May 5, 2021 7:34 PM in response to Miami Apple

Miami Apple wrote:

It does not work. I opened finder to upload documents: all individual documents can be uploaded, but not folders/sub-folders.

when I try to upload folders from finder, the upload box on finder stays blurry, not possible to click on it. Individual files work.

and If I try directly from the computer to the drive, the message says: uploading folders to iCloud Drive is not supported, only files can be uploaded using your web browser.

so impossible to upload either from folder or from computer!

what can be done?

sorry. that's not what I see on my Mac.


I am using macOS 11.3.


Not sure what to suggest. I think you have another issue at play.


Have you talked to Apple support?


https://support.apple.com/contact



May 5, 2021 6:21 PM in response to Miami Apple

Miami Apple wrote:

Good afternoon, I went to my iCloud drive to upload folders and there was a message that said that uploading folders from my computer (new McBook Air) is not possible. Is that a joke?? I have many folders and sub-folders. Or is there a trick to make it happen on iCloud Drive? Please help. Thank you!

How are you trying to do this?


Via icloud.com is not possible, but using Finder to copy folders to the iCloud Drive works as expected.



May 5, 2021 6:50 PM in response to Miami Apple

Miami Apple wrote:

I opened iCloud’s website, went to iCloud Drive, then dragged a folder from my computer to drop it in iCloud Drive. That’s when the message appeared. I also have Dropbox and i can drag and drop folders without any issues.

Thank you.

Did you try using Finder as I suggested?


Folders can't be uploaded via a browser. And we're not discussing Dropbox.



May 5, 2021 7:28 PM in response to LACAllen

It does not work. I opened finder to upload documents: all individual documents can be uploaded, but not folders/sub-folders.


when I try to upload folders from finder, the upload box on finder stays blurry, not possible to click on it. Individual files work.


and If I try directly from the computer to the drive, the message says: uploading folders to iCloud Drive is not supported, only files can be uploaded using your web browser.


so impossible to upload either from folder or from computer!


what can be done?

May 6, 2021 9:08 PM in response to Miami Apple

Hey there!


Did you copy/paste the folders from your Mac to iCloud Drive? Or did you turn on Desktop and Documents from System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud > iCloud Drive > Options?


That may help out, likewise, are you able to take a picture or screen shot of your Finder window showing both copies?


Cheers.

May 7, 2021 2:04 PM in response to Miami Apple

Hey again!


I do believe that the files need to be stored on at least one of your devices, in order to remain in iCloud. If you see the files in Finder > iCloud Drive, on your Mac, then they are not doubling the amount of storage they are using, the same files are simply available on your Mac, as well as in iCloud. You could use the Optimize Storage option, this alleviates some storage on your Mac, by storing some files in iCloud alone, while still making them available to see and download in the Finder. Hope that helps.

iCloud drive - not possible to upload folders ??

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