Can iCloud Drive files be removed (and retained) from local drive to free up local space?

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Can iCloud Drive files be removed (and retained) from local drive to free up local space?

I was looking at the storage options for the new MacBook. For the smaller SSD option, there's a note about iCloud Drive - stating that if I store most of my files in iCloud Drive, a smaller local drive should suffice.

So my question is, are files uploaded to iCloud Drive automatically synced to my local drives (a la Dropbox)? Or when I upload files to iCloud - is the storage optimized (a la iCloud Photos Library Beta) so that if I had 1TB iCloud Drive - I could still optimally use a 256GB local drive?

MacBook (13-inch Late 2006), OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Mar 18, 2015 1:29 PM

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Answer 1

Csound1

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Mar 18, 2015 1:30 PM in response to cop2

A la Dropbox, they are synchronized.

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Answer 2

Kappy

Level 10

362,017 points

Mar 18, 2015 1:34 PM in response to cop2

iCloud Drive FAQ

Get help using iCloud Drive

OS X Yosemite- What is iCloud Drive?

OS X Yosemite- Store documents with iCloud Drive

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Answer 3

cop2 Author

Level 1

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Mar 18, 2015 1:48 PM in response to Kappy

Which of those links is actually helpful to me?

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Answer 4

cop2 Author

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Mar 18, 2015 1:51 PM in response to Csound1

Why would Apple recommend the smaller drive then (in the new MacBook selection process) if you have a lot of files in iCloud Drive? Doesn't make sense to me. I get and know that it syncs, but what happens when you run out of local space and still have plenty of iCloud space.

So far example, lets say I have 500GB of Data in iCloud Drive on my current computer, I purchase the new 256GB MacBook and during set up it starts downloading my iCloud Drive files locally - what happens when my local storage fills up?

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Answer 5

Kappy

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Mar 18, 2015 1:54 PM in response to cop2

Apparently, none of them will help you if you have to ask such a question.

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Answer 6

cop2 Author

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Mar 18, 2015 1:54 PM in response to cop2

The main question being - can files be uploaded that live solely in iCloud Drive and not synced locally.

Not necessarily on every machine (have a home desktop with large drive that acts as a central repository/download location), but on my portable machine with limited drive space.

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Answer 7

cop2 Author

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Mar 18, 2015 1:56 PM in response to Kappy

None of them addressed the specific question I have, which is why I am resorting to posting in here.

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Answer 8

léonie

Level 10

200,735 points

Mar 18, 2015 2:05 PM in response to cop2

The main question being - can files be uploaded that live solely in iCloud Drive and not synced locally.

The different parts of icloud are behaving differently.

Your iTunes Match music can live solely in iCloud.
iMovie Theater can be stored only on iCloud.
The documents on iCloud Drive are all mirrored on your Mac, to be readily accessible, even without internet access.
iCloud Photo Library (Beta) photos can be stored optimised - the high resolution original on iCloud Drive, and only an optimised preview image locally on your mac.

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Answer 9

Csound1

Level 9

60,063 points

Mar 18, 2015 3:45 PM in response to cop2

You can switch iCloud Drive off, thus disabling sync and upload files via the website, a procedure you will find tedious.

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