Is there any way to store files that are on my Mac in iCloud without reducing my internal Mac SSD storage?

Question

Is there any way to store files that are on my Mac in iCloud without reducing my internal Mac SSD storage?

This past week I increased my iCloud storage from 200 gb to 2 tb. This was primarily done so that I could put a lot of folders and files on my Mac Mini internal 1 tb SSD drive onto iCloud so that I could access them from my MacBook Pro, my iPad and my iPhone. (Not talking "photos" here - I already have Photos on my Mac syncing to all my other devices with original-size photos on my Mac Mini and greatly reduced-size photos on my other devices).

OK so I put a folder (Let's call it "FOLDER STEVE") which contains folders and files about 170 gb in size onto iCloud. About 163,000 files When doing that I had about 300 gb of free storage space on my Mac Mini 1 tb internal SSD. I realized this upload might take 24 hours (it did) but what I DID NOT REALIZE was that my iCloud Drive in USERS/myname/LIBRARY/iCloud Drive would suddenly grow from about 10 gb to almost 200 gb. It seems it was duplicating every folder and file that I had just copied to my iCloud Drive!!!! So now instead of having a 170 gb "FOLDER STEVE" on my Mac Mini, I now had "FOLDER STEVE" on my iCloud Drive and the equivalent folders and file to "FOLDER STEVE" in the iCloud Drive on my Mac Mini!!

WHY DID THAT HAPPEN? (I've read a lot about this since last week… but still don't fully understand it).

AND maybe more important: How can I put files and folders from my Mac Mini onto my 2 tb iCloud drive and NOT HAVE THEM be duplicated on my Mac Mini?!?

NOTE: I do NOT want to have my "Documents and Desktop" on iCloud -- I work a lot without an internet connection and do not want my documents and desktop folders only on the cloud! I want them on my Mac Mini.

(Plus, I don't keep my important files and folders in the "documents" folder on my Mac Mini - I keep them here: /Users/myname/A-Steve Main).

From what I am reading, iCloud will not just accept folders and files like an external HD will. It basically duplicates the files into that USERS/myname/LIBRARY/iCloud Drive which reduces my internal SSD storage space -- NOT WHAT I WANT.

I realize iCloud drive is not a file syncing tool. I don't want it to keep my files that I place there synced. (I use SugarSync for syncing key files - but only about 40 gb or so) -- I wanted iCloud for 200 to 500 gb of additional storage… even maybe to store old photolibraries (not the photos but the actual photolibrary). I have some 85 photolibraries from 1 March 2004 - over 3 tb of photolibraries. Today I keep them all on 2 to 5 external SSD's and HD's - but it would be nice to have some on iCloud drive (but not if it is going to duplicate these on my Mac Mini internal SSD - I'd have to get a 10 tb internal SSD then!!)

So this is the longest issue I've ever posted to the Apple discussion groups since I started with my Mac SE in 1989. I hope there is a solution here -- but kinda think there is NOT a way to use iCloud Drive as a nice storage space in the cloud-- and if so I really don't need 2 tb of storage so will likely just drop back to 200 gb (would be nice to have a choice of 500 gb…)--

But perhaps someone has a solution here?!

Thanks for any comments / corrections or solutions.

Best regards,

Steve Schulte

Sat 5 Oct 2024

MacONLY since 1989

Mac mini, macOS 14.6

Posted on Oct 5, 2024 7:23 AM

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Answer 1

Oct 5, 2024 8:53 AM in response to Stephen Schulte1

iCloud Drive and iCloud Photos are indeed primarily file syncing tools. I've stopped using SugarSync. (I may still be paying for it, though. Drat-- I have to check that…)

There is more flexibility in iCloud Drive for Sequoia. In Sonoma all iCloud Drive files were kept in the local iCloud Drive folder. In Sequoia, you can choose which files are always kept on your Mac, and which files live at iCloud.

There is a new icon representing a file that is kept downloaded.

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Answer 2

Oct 5, 2024 10:28 AM in response to Richard.Taylor

Thanks, Richard, for your fast and informative reply!

I hadn't thought of iCloud Drive being a "syncing" drive but I guess that if I put a folder in iCloud Drive and then change a file inside that folder - it will sync the change (and the change can be made by my main Mac, my iPhone, my iPad, my other Mac…)

What I really want to do is take a folder and have it sit in iCloud Drive but that folder is just sitting there as a backup and a point of reference for any of my devices - similar to if I put it on an external Hard Drive. I'd delete it say once/month and upload a new, recent folder. (And I'm using SugarSync, SuperDuper! and TimeMachine to have more current backups).

So with Sequoia (I'm on Sonoma) - you are saying I could move folders and files to iCloud Drive and the original files would remain on my Mac but the USERS/myname/LIBRARY/iCloud Drive on my Mac would not grow - i.e. they would not be duplicated there.

If that's how it will work then I will likely move to Sequoia sooner rather than later-- hope "TotalFinder" will work on Sequoia - or that Apple would incorporate features of TotalFinder into the Apple Finder -- we'll see.

Here's another thought: What if I upload the large 175 gb folder of information and files etc. via my MacBook Pro (and not my "main Mac Mini"). Would the USERS/myname/LIBRARY/iCloud Drive on the MacBook Pro be the one to then grow in size by 175gb and not the Mac Mini? Or would both the Macs have their respective USERS/myname/LIBRARY/iCloud Drive sizes increase by 175 gb??

Thanks again very much and a ray of hope out there!

PS: I love having SugarSync on my iPhone & iPad -- like having my Mac on my iOS devices!!

Steve

Saturday 05 October 2024

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Answer 3

Oct 5, 2024 11:28 AM in response to Stephen Schulte1

I'm saying that if I drag a folder, maybe "MyDinners," to the local iCloud Drive folder that appears under iCloud on my Finder's sidebar, then the folder "MyDinners" will disappear from the folder it had been in and will then be in the iCloud folder, just like any other folder on my Mac. It will then be copied to iCloud Drive at iCloud.com, and "MyDinners" will appear in iCloud Drive on my iPhone and on my iPad. If on my iPad I click on the folder "MyDinners" I will see the contents, and if I click on the contained Excel file, "Steaks," then "Steaks" will be copied to my iPad as a local file where I can view it and modify it, and save it locally-- when it will be recopied to iCloud Drive, and all that stuff backwards.

In Sequoia, if I don't refer to "MyDinners" much, and if my Mac's drive gets full (by some unknown standard,) then "MyDinners" will be erased from my Mac to provide more room. Then, if I need "Steaks," it will be downloaded from iCloud Drive at iCloud.com, and it will be a local file that I can do whatever…

However, in Sequoia, I can designate "MyDinners" to be kept local, no matter what, and then the OS will pick a different file/folder to use when it needs more storage.

Alternatively in Sequoia, I can designate "MyDinners" to be erased from my Mac, but remain in the iCloud Drive folder at iCloud.com, and, while it will appear in my local iCloud Drive folder, what I see there is really an alias, and clicking on it will bring a copy of the folder "MyDinners" to my local iCloud Drive folder where I can use it, etc.

I kind of wish I hadn't picked "MyDinners" for the name of the example folder…

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