I have seen some places where this has been mentioned, but I don’t know if anything has changed recently. I would like to have some folders that do not sync to the client. This is for both privacy reasons and for size reasons (there is no reason to replicate them all to each group member - especially important with GDPR related privacy). I don’t see that this is possible. Even if I share from a different user, the folder automatically syncs. Is this possible or will it be possible in the future? This would make the system more functional for our needs.
From desktop client, you can specify folders to sync and then state where you want to store them on the cloud.
How?
Add an account to the desktop client, but do not add any sync’ed folders by default. Then, select a folder to sync. This way, you will control exactly which folders are synced (and where they are stored on your server).
Under settings, you can define what size file is acceptable for sync without express permission… I believe the default is around 500mb.
If you want to restrict folders by group in general, consider checking out the “Group Folders app” and setting permission by group type. Or, creative collaborative tags with specific rules (see Workflow, Files Access Control and Retention apps) and assign them to your folders. You can also share folders to a specific group type and remove edit access as well.
Yet another option is to host the no-sync folders via Federation on another remote Nextcloud instance. This way, the files will appear via Federation while not actually syncing to your local server.
I am wanting to do the sync restriction at the server level. Basically, for certain folders, they are only web accessible (both due to content and size of folders).
I can see how to fairly easily cause files to not sync with tagging, the set file permissions app and some workflow apps as you suggest - this works fine. That is helpful. I also see now that the default for group folders doesn’t sync so that also is helpful. The only detriment with his is they still can cause them to sync. It would be nice if that app would provide a no-sync option in the future. I think several might like this. I’ll try the second nextcloud option as well as federated. That may be my more secure option.
Quick thought: Federation means two Nextcloud instances, but I recommend it to you, at least somewhere down the line. Basically, would look like:
Instance 1
Instance 2 mounted as External Storage. If unmounted, that data will disappear from this instance.
Instance 2
All folders you mounted are now federated, but nothing will sync to the first server. This also means comments made on these files by a user on Instance 1 will not be visible on this instance.
Something to keep in mind with federation is the other user could always download or copy the data you’ve shared; this is a sync service in the end. Keep us all updated on your progress.
Keep us all updated on your progress.