Why is cloud stored data filling my SSD?

[blackxacto]

iMac 17,1, 10.14.5, 24gb RAM, will someone explain why if my Documents folder is stored in my 200GB iCloud storage, why is it filling up my SSD? I don't want all of it sitting on my SSD. I only want this data if I download it, right? So why is my SSD full of documents? I tried trashing it. But it seemed to disappear from the cloud too.

How do we only keep document data in the cloud where I'm renting storage?

Is there an application to send this data to the cloud, but keep its (ghost)image on my hard drive.

 

[Weaselboy]

Go to this iCloud Drive settings page and check the Optimize box at the bottom. Then it will only store what there is room for on the local drive.

 

[blackxacto]

But i dont want to fill my drive as the text reads, do I? I only want markers or whatever they are called.

 

[Weaselboy]

But i dont want to fill my drive as the text reads, do I? I only want markers or whatever they are called.

iCloud Drive does not provide a manual method of only saving some files. If you turn on that optimize option it will just keep as much locally as it can and the OS will manage disk space for you.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Optimize storage does a really good job at keeping most of your storage free. I have it enabled on a few devices with iCloud storage -- with a 136GB dataset, it usually keeps 10-12GB locally - depending on what I'm accessing and what not.

Apple likes to take the manual labor out of cloud storage and tries to automate everything. For people used to Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, and other cloud storages this can be really unintuitive and confusing.

I dislike how iCloud storage does not have a selective sync option. This is why OneDrive is my primary cloud storage - I do pay for iCloud storage because my photos, backups, and family utilize over 200GB in iCloud storage space. But OneDrive gets my data thanks to selective sync and easier sharing.

 

[blackxacto]

Thank you for the help, and identifying what I am trying to do. I will search for "Selective Sync". Helps to know what I am searching for sometimes.