Novice File Handling Question

[reliquit]

After 25 years of Windows (it feels like more) I have finally bought a MacBook, and I am finding some aspects of MacOS to be a bit bewildering. I have a small HDD (256Gb) but plenty of Cloud storage - currently 1.8 Tb free. I have a number of old video files currently on microSD which I planned to copy to my cloud storage, with a view to downloading and editing them at a later date.

The first SD card, which had 24Gb of files on it, uploaded ok, and I confirmed this by looking at my cloud storage from my iPad. But when I tried to upload the second one (another 21Gb), I get an error message saying that there is not enough space on my HDD. So I suspect that even though the files have moved to the Cloud storage, they still also exist somewhere on my hard drive.

Am I understanding this correctly, and if so how do I remove them from HDD but not from the Cloud, in order to upload the next batch?

Thanks.

reliquit

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

Sorry for the delayed response.

• Which exact model MacBook?
• Which version of macOS?
• Which cloud service are you using: iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.?

C

 

[TonyAguila]

After 25 years of Windows (it feels like more) I have finally bought a MacBook, and I am finding some aspects of MacOS to be a bit bewildering. I have a small HDD (256Gb) but plenty of Cloud storage - currently 1.8 Tb free. I have a number of old video files currently on microSD which I planned to copy to my cloud storage, with a view to downloading and editing them at a later date.

The first SD card, which had 24Gb of files on it, uploaded ok, and I confirmed this by looking at my cloud storage from my iPad. But when I tried to upload the second one (another 21Gb), I get an error message saying that there is not enough space on my HDD. So I suspect that even though the files have moved to the Cloud storage, they still also exist somewhere on my hard drive.

Am I understanding this correctly, and if so how do I remove them from HDD but not from the Cloud, in order to upload the next batch?

Thanks.

reliquit

Is it safe to assume that your “Cloud” storage is Apple iCloud? Looks like you opted for two terabytes. In order for macOS to automatically remove files (synchronized with iCloud), open system preferences, click on Apple ID. At the bottom of that window, check Optimize Mac Storage. This will automatically delete local files that are mirrored to iCloud when you are low on drive space.

The list of apps that are checked will also store their files in the cloud. Click on the Options… button for iCloud Drive (I’m assuming this is already checked). In the Documents tab, I assume you want to synchronize your Desktop & Documents Folders. As for the rest of the apps, you can choose which apps you want to store files in the cloud. For now, I recommend keeping all of them checked.

The process is supposed to be transparent to you, i.e., files are automatically deleted locally as you run out of disk space. Good luck.