Keep opened files versus iCloud's Remove Download

Finder's Remove Download and Storage Studio's Keep opened files on this Mac both turn downloaded cloud files back into online-only ones. One is a command you give each time; the other is a timer that does it for you.

What Remove Download does

Right-click a file or folder in iCloud Drive in Finder and choose Remove Download. Its downloaded copy is removed straight away and it stays in iCloud, ready to download again when you open it. It happens only when you ask, for the items you select.

What Keep opened files on this Mac does

This applies to files in the Storage Studio location in Finder — the cloud accounts you've connected to Storage Studio. Open the Mounting tab of Remotes & Accounts and choose how long an opened file stays downloaded after you stop using it:

• Don't keep (free space right away)
• 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours (the default), 2 days or 1 week
• Forever (external drive only) — offered only when the downloaded copies are kept on your external drive

Files that are open, or still uploading, are never removed. Choosing a shorter time frees space straight away.

%% caption: How a downloaded file goes back online-only
flowchart LR
  A[You open a cloud file] --> B[It downloads]
  B --> C{Which way back?}
  C -->|Remove Download in Finder| D[Online-only when you choose it]
  C -->|Keep opened files on this Mac| E[Online-only after the time you set]

For your own iCloud Drive

Your own iCloud Drive isn't part of the Storage Studio location, so the timer doesn't apply to it. When you want a whole iCloud Drive folder made online-only at once, Optimize Cloud Storage… in the More menu does it in one pass, skipping files that are open.

See also: Keep opened files on this Mac · Storage Studio and Optimise Mac Storage