iCloud or iCloud alternative question

[762999]

Is there any service that let you have Cloud storage and Finder integration without storing anything locally?

I have a Macbook and don't like the idea of having every files locally on that machine. Right now I have enabled iCloud drive in the control panel and everythhing I put there uses space on my hard drive and sync with iCloud. I would prefer an iOS like experience.

Is it possible or is there any alternatives?

 

[maflynn]

OneDrive does this, but unfortunately that features is only on windows 8

Its a cool feature that I wish other cloud providers would embrace.

 

[Monique1]

OneDrive for Mac will indeed allow you to exempt files/folders from storing on your mac. i.e., cloud only but no Finder integration.

 

[Rigby]

Both Onedrive and Dropbox for the Mac have selective syncing, which will let you select folders you don't want to sync to local files automatically.

 

[762999]

Both Onedrive and Dropbox for the Mac have selective syncing, which will let you select folders you don't want to sync to local files automatically.

I tried it but this is not what I need. I would like to store ALL documents in it but not local to the machine. More like iOS, you can access the pictures or documents from the cloud without using the built-in storage.

 

[Rigby]

I tried it but this is not what I need. I would like to store ALL documents in it but not local to the machine. More like iOS, you can access the pictures or documents from the cloud without using the built-in storage.

You mean you want the files to be visible in the local filesystem, but not actually downloaded until you access them? That's not possible, since the filesystem on the Mac doesn't support that feature.

Sounds like what you want is not so much a cloud filesync service, but a network drive that can be accessed via WebDAV.

 

[762999]

You mean you want the files to be visible in the local filesystem, but not actually downloaded until you access them? That's not possible, since the filesystem on the Mac doesn't support that feature.

Sounds like what you want is not so much a cloud filesync service, but a network drive that can be accessed via WebDAV.

well it could be possible, I hope it will end up that way. I don't need a cloud file sync but a cloud storage accessible at the application level not only web based.

 

[lparsons21]

You mean you want the files to be visible in the local filesystem, but not actually downloaded until you access them? That's not possible, since the filesystem on the Mac doesn't support that feature.

I know on the Windows version that in the OneDrive folder you can see the filenames of files that aren't synced with a little icon indicating they are 'online only'. Can't think of a good reason that the app couldn't do that on a Mac though I admit I'm not a programmer.



It is very handy. Let's you see all the filenames without them necessarily taking up much space on the local drive. As more people use the cloud services it is certainly going to be an issue, whether its OneDrive or iCloud.



Hard to sync 1Tb cloud with a machine that only has a 128Gb SSD!!