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How to see the progress of sychronisation on iCloud Drive

I have recently started to make monthly payments for a 200 GB storage on iCloud Drive. I have moved all my folders to the iCloud Drive folder on my Mac and my Mac started to upload the files to the iCloud Drive. When I go to system preferences and then iCloud, I can see how much of the total size of my folders are uploaded to the iCloud Drive. But is this my only indication of the status of the synchronisation? I expected to find more information on my synchronisation status like at what speed the folders are being uploaded, whether a certain folder is uploaded or being uploaded, etc. Any idea? Or is this a missing feature at this moment that Apple is considering to introduce in a next update of Yosemite?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Nov 18, 2014 6:48 AM

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24 replies

Oct 5, 2017 10:36 PM in response to rickblackdog

When searching for this very question, I came across this thread and was amazed at how long it took me to get to some actual helpful answers. For anyone who uses dropbox, you're very familiar with the notification you see in either the Mac's menu bar or the Windows system tray, which tells you how many files are left to upload, how long it will take, etc. It is not unreasonable for the original poster to inquire on ways to get this same functionality in iCloud drive. I was uploading a 1.33 GB zip file to iCloud drive earlier, and it would have been nice to see this info somewhere so I could be made aware of how long this file would take to upload. The fact that csound 1 didn't seem to understand the original poster's question and was asserting that he was incorrect boggles the mind. To the original poster, no worries man. The rest of us understood exactly what you were asking, and thanks to Jonathan UK and others for the great helpful responses .

Nov 21, 2014 4:12 AM in response to Pitiger

You moved files from one drive to another, there was no sync, it was a move.


You used the app called Finder to move them and you can use the same app to access them in iCloud or you can use the iCloud website access or you can use any iCloud drive enabled app.


Questions, are the files present on the iCloud Drive at www.icloud.com, all/some or none

Nov 21, 2014 3:49 AM in response to Csound1

Thanks for the reply. I do not understand how you mean by there is no sync. Have moved all my folders to the iCloud Drive folder on my Mac and the files are being uploaded I thought because the light on my modem is flashing on a continuous basis since I moved the files to the iCloud Drive. Moreover, in the icloud settings of my Mac there is a progress bar that keeps on filling up as files are uploaded. This is what I mean by sync.


1. Yes but this is not really a way to understand which files are uploaded and which files are still to be uploaded right? I will have to compare all the contents of the folders located on my Mac's iCloud folder to the folders visible online at iCloud.com. I expected to perhaps see a progress bar next to each file being uploaded to the iCloud Drive.

2. I am not using an app or my question has nothing to do with an app. I am only trying to understand which files are uploaded to the Cloud and which files are to be uploaded.

Nov 21, 2014 5:34 AM in response to Pitiger

I moved the files to the iCloud Drive and sync started between "the iCloud Drive folder on my mac" and "the storage location on the Cloud (wherever that is)". The files on my mac are being uploaded to the cloud and there is sync between my mac and the cloud. I suppose I am right.


Have you seen the FAQ? iCloud Drive FAQ - Apple Support


The documents you are storing in iCloud will upload to iCloud drive and are stored there. You Mac is keeping local copies of the iCloud documents in a hidden folder in your user library, that will be updated, whenever the documents change in iCloud. When iCloud drive is uploading documents to iCloud or reading back changed documents, you will notice a progress bar beside the file on iCloud drive. When that happens, you have to wait for the update to finish and cannot access the document. I am seeing this frequently for very large files, where the updating across devices may need a long time to happen. For example:


User uploaded file

Nov 21, 2014 5:36 AM in response to Csound1

I can see folders and files on iCloud.com. But I do not know if all the files and folders are on iCloud.com because there are numerous files and I cannot check if each one of them are on the iCloud.com. That is why I am asking if there is a way to see which files are uploaded, on my Mac. If there is no progress bar next a file, does that mean that that file is uploaded? Is a progress bar or a cloud icon next to a file the only indication that a file is not yet uploaded?

Nov 21, 2014 5:43 AM in response to léonie

Thanks for the reply. Yes I understand what you are writing. And does "not seeing a progress bar" mean that the files are uploaded already? How to see if a file is in queue to be uploaded? How to see maybe a list of files to be still uploaded? I know that the files are being uploaded still because the total folder size of all my files is still larger than what I consumed on the Cloud (online). So what is an indication of whether a file is uploaded or not?

Nov 21, 2014 7:12 AM in response to Pitiger

So what is an indication of whether a file is uploaded or not?

The safest indication, if the upload has finished, is if you are seeing a file on the iCloud webpage. The icons on your mac will only show you, if something is happening with the local copies on your Mac.

In the Finder, while viewing iCloud Drive,

  • I am seeing the cloud icon beside the file, right after I copy a document to iCloud Drive, and until the document appears on the webpage.
  • The progress bar is shown, while updating is taking place on my Mac, and I cannot access the file temporarily.
  • If I move the file to iCloud Drive and do no copy it there, no cloud-icon will be shown. Instead, I will see immediately the progress bar, and it will take awhile, until I can access the files again.


And does "not seeing a progress bar" mean that the files are uploaded already?

It means, that you can safely work with your local copy of the file, because it is not in use by iCloud updating.


I have not found any indication in the Finder of the iCloud status, whether they have been uploaded successfully or not, but that is normal, since files you move to iCloud Drive are supposed to upload.

Nov 21, 2014 8:15 AM in response to léonie

Thanks a lot for the reply.

It means, that you can safely work with your local copy of the file, because it is not in use by iCloud updating.


I have not found any indication in the Finder of the iCloud status, whether they have been uploaded successfully or not, but that is normal, since files you move to iCloud Drive are supposed to upload.


That is what is bothering me a little. I take the flashing light of my modem as an indication for whether any upload is going on. Sometimes it is flashing frequently which I take as an indication of an upload, but sometimes nothing is happening while it should because I know that there are many files that are still not uploaded. Hence I was looking for a way to see which files are in the queue of uploading. Now I understand that the only way to see if a file is uploaded is to check and see whether it is on iCloud.com. The problem is that there are numerous files I am sure waiting to be uploaded and one cannot check whether each one of them are at iCloud.com also because I do not know which files these are. I think the conclusion of this discussion is that there could be a better interface for the sync status of the files. So we have a progress bar that indicates if the file is being upload. But we do not have an icon next a file that could indicate if the file is in queue. This is what I am missing and I think it is not an unreasonable thing to have.

How to see the progress of sychronisation on iCloud Drive

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