colinfromtrowbridge
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Q: Is there a way to Move files to the iCloud thus freeing up disk space on my Mac? Or does iCloud only sync (replicate) files between my Mac and the cloud?

Is there a way to Move files to the iCloud thus freeing up disk space on my Mac? Or does iCloud only sync (replicate) files between my Mac and the cloud? I want to free up disk space on my Mac and assumed that the icloud would be a good way to do this, but having 'moved' 70Gb of files to the iCloud drive (I've upgraded to 200Gb storage) my Mac is still nearly full and I've realised that it seems to just Sync files just like dropbox.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014), OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Oct 26, 2014 9:26 AM

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colinfromtrowbridge

Q: Is there a way to Move files to the iCloud thus freeing up disk space on my Mac? Or does iCloud only sync (replicate) files betwee ... more

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  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Oct 26, 2014 10:17 AM in response to colinfromtrowbridge
    Level 10 (108,906 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 26, 2014 10:17 AM in response to colinfromtrowbridge
    but having 'moved' 70Gb of files to the iCloud drive (I've upgraded to 200Gb storage) my Mac is still nearly full and I've realised that it seems to just Sync files just like dropbox.

    That is exactly what will happen. The purpose of iCloud Drive is to keep your documents synced to all your devices.

     

    iCloud Drive FAQ

  • by cynthia hfromoc,Helpful

    cynthia hfromoc cynthia hfromoc Oct 26, 2014 10:56 AM in response to colinfromtrowbridge
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 26, 2014 10:56 AM in response to colinfromtrowbridge

    I'm having the same issue. After spending two and a half hours on the phone with tech support and another two hours at the Genius Bar, I've come to the conclusion that there is a problem with iCloud Drive and Yosemite. It is supposed to move everything to iCloud and then remove it from the hard drive, but that isn't happening. If you remove it from the hard drive, it removes it from the cloud too.  I'm starting to think I might drop iCloud drive back down to a smaller package and just upgrade my Dropbox since it still works.

  • by colinfromtrowbridge,

    colinfromtrowbridge colinfromtrowbridge Oct 26, 2014 11:50 PM in response to cynthia hfromoc
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    Oct 26, 2014 11:50 PM in response to cynthia hfromoc

    So, the big question is did the Apple guys confirm that this is how the new iCloud drive should be working?  I'm guessing, from your response, that this is indeed the case.  Are they going to fix this anytime soon?  I thought that this was a new function of the iCloud drive in Yosemite.

     

    I just want an online storage facility to back up my photo & music collections.  I did look at Dropbox as they have a good deal going with their Dropbox Pro, however this is still just a sync service where the Master files reside on your local disk drive - although I have read that there may be a way to work around this.  Still not ideal.

  • by curioduo,

    curioduo curioduo Jan 23, 2015 5:20 PM in response to colinfromtrowbridge
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 23, 2015 5:20 PM in response to colinfromtrowbridge

    Yeah, I'm learning this to be true, too. Very frustrating. I'm probably going to get firewire external hard drives, move some files there that I rarely use. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a good answer.

     

    And I'm now VERY concerned about when Apple discontinues iPhoto and Aperture later this year. I have an ENORMOUS Aperture library with decades of photos and if iCloud plans to use my mac's hard drive space I'm screwed. Actively looking for solutions if anyone knows of one.