This article provides information about On-demand Sync.

Environment

System requirements

  • For Windows1
    • Windows 10 versions 1809 and above
    • Synology Drive Client 2.0.0 and above
  • For macOS
    • macOS 12.3 and above
    • Synology Drive Client 3.2 and above
  • Synology Drive Server package 2.0.0 and above

Note:

  1. Folder requirements for Windows:
    • Folders on NTFS drives
    • Folders that are not device root directories (e.g., C:\ or D:\) or home directories (e.g., C:\Users)
    • Folders that are not parent/child folders of Synology On-demand Sync, OneDrive File On-demand, and iCloud Drive tasks

Resolution

On-demand Sync overview

On-demand Sync is an option for configuring Synology Drive sync tasks between a computer and your Synology NAS. When this option is enabled, files will be downloaded to your local computer only when you open, modify, or pin a local copy to your computer.

The tables below provide details about the icons that indicate the sync status of files that have On-demand Sync enabled. The icons are different for Windows and macOS computers.

For Windows

Status Icon

Description

1a.png

This icon indicates that your file or folder is available when online, but doesn't take up storage. You can open and download a local copy to the computer. You can also right-click on the file, then select Synology Drive and Pin local copy permanently to keep a local copy.

2a.png

This icon indicates that your file or folder has been downloaded to the local computer. To delete the local file and free up space, select Synology Drive and Free up space.1

3a.png

This icon indicates that the file has been permanently pinned to the local computer and can be viewed offline.

For macOS

If there is no icon next to a file or folder in the sync folder, this means that the item has been downloaded to the local computer.

Status Icon

Description

mac_file_online.png

The cloud icon indicates that your file or folder is available when online, but doesn't take up space. You can right-click on the file or folder, select Download Now to download a local copy to the computer, or select Pin local copy permanently to pin a copy to your local computer.

mac_Status1.png

The exclamation icon indicates that your file or folder cannot be uploaded to Synology Drive server. There might be an error with syncing or connecting to the server.

mac_file_download.png

Depending on the view mode, either a progress bar or a pie chart will appear. The progress bar or pie chart icon indicates that the file is being downloaded or waiting to be downloaded. It indicates the progress and may only appear very briefly.

mac_file_pin.png

The green check icon indicates that the file has been permanently pinned to the local computer and can be viewed offline. When your computer is low on disk capacity, these permanently pinned copies will not be automatically deleted to release space.

How to use On-demand Sync to sync your files?

For Windows

For macOS

On-demand Sync on macOS is available starting from Synology Drive Client 3.2. To enable On-demand Sync, follow the steps below.

  1. From the Sync Tasks tab, click on Create. Fill out the required information to set up the task. Click Next.
  2. On the Set up your sync folders page in the setup wizard, select Enable On-demand Sync to save disk space on your computer.2
  3. When the On-demand Sync option is selected, you can enter a name for the task. Click Done.
    12a.png
  4. Click on the local folder path to open your local sync folder in Finder. If you have created more than one sync task, you will see other sync folders on the left panel of Finder. You can identify the task by the name you entered in the setup wizard.
    13a.png
  5. For files or folders with a cloud icon, you can right-click on them and select Download Now to make them available offline. Once you have downloaded the item, no icons will appear next to the item. For items without any icons, you can right-click on them and select Remove Download to free up space.
    14a.png
  6. You can also right-click on an item and select Pin local copy permanently. The icon next to the item will switch to a green check, indicating that the item is now available offline.
    15a.png
  7. To remove the local copy, right-click on the item and select Unpin local copy.
    16a.png

Notes:

  1. When your local storage is full, the system automatically deletes the least used local file copies.
    • On Windows 10, versions 1809 and above, On-demand Sync is integrated with Windows Storage Sense to help you recycle the least used files when your computer drive is almost full. To manage the recycling policy, go to Windows Settings > System > Storage, and modify the settings of Storage Sense for Synology Drive sync tasks.
    • On macOS, the recycling policy cannot be modified because the space occupied by the least used files is automatically released by the operating system.
  2. On-demand Sync on macOS works differently than on Windows in the following ways:
    • When an On-demand Sync task is created, macOS automatically assigns a system folder path (~/Library/CloudStorage/SynologyDrive) as the local sync folder. You cannot change this path.
    • You can name your On-demand Sync task. The local folder path is pinned by default to the left panel of Finder. Giving this task a name helps distinguish it from other sync tasks.
    • On-demand Sync can only be enabled when you create a new task. When a task has On-demand Sync enabled, it cannot be converted to a normal sync task. Likewise, you cannot enable On-demand Sync for a normal sync task.
    • File filter and sync mode functions are not supported.