iCloud Drive - Folder Syncing with Folder on my local Mac

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Level 1

34 points

iCloud Drive - Folder Syncing with Folder on my local Mac

I am trying to better understand the use of iCloud Drive. I have a folder with a few files that I have moved to iCloud Drive. In doing so that folder no longer appear in my Documents folder on my Mac (Sonoma 14.4.1). That part I understand.

According to Apple’s “MacOS User Guide” for Sonoma I am supposed to be able to “Control-Click” on iCloud Drive item(s) that I want to download to have a copy locally on my Mac. However, the “Control-Click” option does not appear when I Ctrl-Click on anything in iCloud Drive (Note screen shot below from Apple's OS User's guide which suggest I should see that option). I certainly know that I can simply copy and paste the item(s) to my local Mac. But when doing so there is no syncing between the iCloud Drive version of a folder with the identical folder stored locally on my Mac. I must be missing something or not understanding any limitations about iCloud Drive syncing.

MacBook Pro 14″

Posted on May 9, 2024 12:01 PM

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Answer 1

FoxFifth

Level 10

469,221 points

May 9, 2024 1:12 PM in response to Jim F

Files in iCloud Drive by default always have a local copy on your Mac. That option is controlled by Apple menu > System Settings > [username] > iCloud > Optimize Mac Storage. See the following partial screen shot below for a description of that option. You access the local copy (or the iCloud copy if there is no local copy) via the iCloud Drive folder on your Mac (use the Finder sidebar or the Finder "Go" menu to access the iCloud Drive folder.

If you have turned Optimize Mac Storage option on, you may or may not have a local copy in the iCloud Drive folder. See the "View iCloud status" section of Get file, folder, and disk information on Mac - Apple Support for information on how to see which files have a local copy.

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Answer 2

FoxFifth

Level 10

469,221 points

May 9, 2024 6:33 PM in response to Jim F

No problem. You have a lot of company in trying to understand iCloud Drive, especially the fact that the iCloud Drive folder holds the local copy (when there is a local copy).

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Answer 3

Jim F Author

Level 1

34 points

May 9, 2024 2:24 PM in response to FoxFifth

FoxFifth: Thanks for your response. Maybe we're not connecting on what my concern(s) are, OR ... maybe (likely?!) I have no clue about what the iCloud Drive really is (after more than 15 years of using and enjoying Mac's). But first of all, I don't have, nor have I ever used, "Optimize Mac Storage" turned on. No need as I have a 2TB internal on my MacBook Pro M1 and presently only have about 400GB used.

Maybe this is the root of my problems ... you stated that by default iCloud Drive folders always have a copy on my local Mac. But I am not seeing that. But read on ... maybe I don't really know what the iCloud Drive folder REALLY is that I see in my Finder sidebar. So, now I have a question: Is what I see in the iCloud Drive folder in Finder actually folders/files that STILL reside on my Mac but have also had a copy 'magically' sent to Apple's "cloud", wherever that is, because I simply dragged a folder from some place locally on my Mac (e.g. 'Documents') to the iCloud Drive folder? And, because I did that there is no need to copy those files to another place on my Mac, i.e, back to 'Documents'. And if I did, any revisions to that copy outside of the iCloud Drive would not sync to the version of the file/folder in iCloud Drive? Sorry for what seems like a preposterously basic question, but I guess I never understood what iCloud Drive in my Finder sidebar really is.

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Answer 4

Jim F Author

Level 1

34 points

May 9, 2024 5:43 PM in response to Jim F

Disregard my May 9 2:24PM (MST) reply. I was way off base. I better understand the iCloud Drive feature.

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