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How to store documents on my local drive AND synced in iCloud?

Hello, longtime Apple fanatic here.


I just bought a new MacBook Pro with 8 TB of local storage space. This is more than enough for ALL of my graphic design files with room to breathe. I do want files and folders placed in Desktop, Documents, and iCloud folders to sync to the could continually, but I don't want them to be removed from my Mac when they sync. The key here is that I don't need to "optimize" storage, but I do want everything to backup to the cloud continually, both for safe-keeping as well as access on other devices.


I have searched the web, and cannot find a definitive answer to the question: if I turn off Optimize Storage, will my files in those folders still sync to cloud as they are saved, while also staying put on my local drive? (I don't use iTunes very much, and I'm not much worried about email attachments eating up space.) I just want to keep all my design files at-the-ready so I can quickly jump between all my work, old and new, without having to hit the little cloud-download icon and re-download things that have been kicked up to the cloud when the the algorithm thinks I don't need to access it anymore. Sometimes I don't have a good internet connection or none at all, plus having to wait for large Photoshop files to re-download really slows down my workflow. I jump between old and new work a lot, so this gets really annoying. It's the whole reason I bought a machine with more storage space.


There has got to be a way to keep things backed up in the cloud as well as saved locally, otherwise what is the point of having 8TB of local storage space on a MBP?


Thanks for the help!

iMac Pro

Posted on Oct 22, 2020 9:09 AM

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Posted on Oct 22, 2020 9:45 AM

If you don't turn on the Optimize Storage option you will always have a local copy of your files on your Mac. They will still sync to iCloud the same as they would if the Optimize Storage option was on.

Other information about Desktop and Documents is in Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 22, 2020 9:45 AM in response to laurenkabonk

If you don't turn on the Optimize Storage option you will always have a local copy of your files on your Mac. They will still sync to iCloud the same as they would if the Optimize Storage option was on.

Other information about Desktop and Documents is in Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support

Oct 22, 2020 10:26 AM in response to laurenkabonk

Click on apple logo > about this Mac > storage > manage click on store in iCloud .

Store in iCloud

Store all files, photos and messages in iCloud and save space on your Mac. You’ll see one or more of the following options, based on how you’ve set up storage management in iCloud, Photos and Messages.

  • Desktop and Documents: Store all the files from your Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud Drive and optimise storage by keeping only recently opened files on your Mac when storage space is needed.
  • Photos: Store your photo library in iCloud and optimise storage by keeping only optimised photos and videos on your Mac when storage space is needed.
  • Messages: Store all messages and attachments in iCloud and keep only recently opened items on your Mac when storage space is needed.
  • The concept used from the article https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/system-information/sysp4ee93ca4/mac

You can turn off storage management by modifying the related settings in iCloud preferences, Photos preferences and Messages preferences. See Store your desktop and documents in iCloud Drive, Use iCloud Photos to store, share and manage your photos in iCloud, and Use Messages in iCloud.


How to store documents on my local drive AND synced in iCloud?

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