{"id":"finder-location.why-did-storage-studio-open-a-cloud-file-in-finder","url":"/faq/finder-location/why-did-storage-studio-open-a-cloud-file-in-finder","category":{"id":"finder-location","title":"Finding things in Finder"},"subcategory":{"id":"reveal-in-finder","title":"Reveal in Finder across the app"},"question":"Why did Storage Studio open a Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive file in Finder instead of freeing it?","alt_questions":["Free up button opened Finder for Dropbox file","Why can't Storage Studio make my Google Drive files online-only?","Remove Download Finder Storage Studio","Storage Profile free up opens Finder","OneDrive file not freed, Finder opened instead"],"short_answer":"macOS only lets a cloud service's own app free its downloads, so for Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive Storage Studio opens the file in Finder: right-click it and choose Remove Download. The file stays safe in the cloud.","answer_markdown":"Because macOS lets only a cloud service's own app free that service's downloaded files. For iCloud, Storage Studio can make a file online-only right away; for Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive it opens the file in Finder so you can do it in one step yourself:\n\n1. Right-click the file Finder has selected.\n2. Choose **Remove Download**.\n\nThe file stays safe in the cloud and downloads again when you open it — freeing it is never a delete. For Google Drive you can also switch its app to **Stream files** so it stops keeping local copies.\n\nSee [iCloud and online-only files](/faq/icloud/).","answer_html":"

Because macOS lets only a cloud service's own app free that service's downloaded files. For iCloud, Storage Studio can make a file online-only right away; for Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive it opens the file in Finder so you can do it in one step yourself:

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  1. Right-click the file Finder has selected.
  2. Choose Remove Download.
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The file stays safe in the cloud and downloads again when you open it — freeing it is never a delete. For Google Drive you can also switch its app to Stream files so it stops keeping local copies.

\n

See iCloud and online-only files.

","answer_text":"Because macOS lets only a cloud service's own app free that service's downloaded files. For iCloud, Storage Studio can make a file online-only right away; for Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive it opens the file in Finder so you can do it in one step yourself:\n\n1. Right-click the file Finder has selected.\n2. Choose Remove Download.\n\nThe file stays safe in the cloud and downloads again when you open it — freeing it is never a delete. For Google Drive you can also switch its app to Stream files so it stops keeping local copies.\n\nSee iCloud and online-only files.","tags":["remove download","google drive","dropbox","onedrive"],"related":[{"id":"finder-location.how-do-i-find-files-i-worked-on-recently-in-finder","question":"How do I find the files I've actually been working on, and open their folders in Finder?","url":"/faq/finder-location/how-do-i-find-files-i-worked-on-recently-in-finder"},{"id":"finder-location.why-are-files-in-the-storage-studio-location-online-only","question":"Why do files in the Storage Studio location show as online-only, and do they use space on my Mac?","url":"/faq/finder-location/why-are-files-in-the-storage-studio-location-online-only"},{"id":"finder-location.how-do-i-reveal-an-item-from-whats-using-space","question":"How do I show an item from What's Using Space in Finder?","url":"/faq/finder-location/how-do-i-reveal-an-item-from-whats-using-space"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"Why did Storage Studio open a Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive file in Finder instead of freeing it? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"macOS only lets a cloud service's own app free its downloads, so for Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive Storage Studio opens the file in Finder: right-click it and choose Remove Download. The file stays safe in the cloud.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Finding things in Finder","path":"/faq/finder-location/"},{"name":"Why did Storage Studio open a Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive file in Finder instead of freeing it?","path":"/faq/finder-location/why-did-storage-studio-open-a-cloud-file-in-finder"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/finder-location/why-did-storage-studio-open-a-cloud-file-in-finder","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why did Storage Studio open a Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive file in Finder instead of freeing it?","alternateName":["Free up button opened Finder for Dropbox file","Why can't Storage Studio make my Google Drive files online-only?","Remove Download Finder Storage Studio","Storage Profile free up opens Finder","OneDrive file not freed, Finder opened instead"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Because macOS lets only a cloud service's own app free that service's downloaded files. For iCloud, Storage Studio can make a file online-only right away; for Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive it opens the file in Finder so you can do it in one step yourself:\n\n1. Right-click the file Finder has selected.\n2. Choose Remove Download.\n\nThe file stays safe in the cloud and downloads again when you open it — freeing it is never a delete. For Google Drive you can also switch its app to Stream files so it stops keeping local copies.\n\nSee iCloud and online-only files.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/finder-location/why-did-storage-studio-open-a-cloud-file-in-finder"}}]},"fragment":"
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Finding things in Finder · Reveal in Finder across the app

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Why did Storage Studio open a Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive file in Finder instead of freeing it?

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Short answer: macOS only lets a cloud service's own app free its downloads, so for Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive Storage Studio opens the file in Finder: right-click it and choose Remove Download. The file stays safe in the cloud.

\n

Because macOS lets only a cloud service's own app free that service's downloaded files. For iCloud, Storage Studio can make a file online-only right away; for Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive it opens the file in Finder so you can do it in one step yourself:

\n
  1. Right-click the file Finder has selected.
  2. Choose Remove Download.
\n

The file stays safe in the cloud and downloads again when you open it — freeing it is never a delete. For Google Drive you can also switch its app to Stream files so it stops keeping local copies.

\n

See iCloud and online-only files.

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Last reviewed

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