Tips for getting more from Dropbox cloud storage

Topic

New Reply

---

Field Notes

Tips for getting more from Dropbox cloud storage

By Tracey Capen Although there are many good cloud-storage services to choose from, I continue to mostly use Dropbox, primarily for its flexibility and level of cross-platform support. Here are some tricks and tips for getting the most out of the service.

---

The full text of this column is posted at windowssecrets.com/top-story/tips-for-getting-more-from-dropbox-cloud-storage/ (opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.

Reply | Quote

Replies

This article was very informative, but makes me question am I using Dropbox and other cloud services correctly. On my PC I have my Dropbox account which is synced with the cloud then I have a personal folder which is synced with Dropbox via a program called second copy. Is this the most efficient use. Or should I just use Dropbox and forget the personal account?

Reply | Quote

…then I have a personal folder which is synced with Dropbox via a program called second copy. Is this the most efficient use.

That shouldn’t be necessary. DropBox, OneDrive, and most similar programs sync selected directories on your computer with the cloud, so you already have a copy on your computer.

Reply | Quote

Tracey, while your article doesn’t mention it, you indirectly show one of the biggest weaknesses in DropBox, OneDrive, and others – you have to have enough hard drive space on your computer to hold ALL the files in the cloud.

DropBox has followed OneDrive in offering 1TB of space. For most people, this is like going to an “all you can eat” buffet. It sounds really good until you find that your stomach can only hold so much.

Most people don’t have a free TB of space on their computer so most of the large file collections they have are on external drives (mine reside on a NAS and an external drive). Unfortunately there’s no simple making DropBox or OneDrive sync such an external drive*. That really limits the usefulness of these programs.

——————
*Disclosures:
1. I am using OneDrive on an SD card in a SurfacePro. However, it’s not without issues that I won’t go into here. The trick is that the drive has to be available at startup or you can have a problem.
2. It is possible to map a drive letter to OneDrive. That allows files to be manually transferred between local computer(s) and the cloud. But you have to be very careful to never include that folder in the normal OneDrive sync or you will end up downloading those files. It might be possible to do the same with DropBox.
3. Uploading a 1GB file to the cloud can take ages because of the slow upload speeds most people have. I’m not sure how many days it would take to upload 1TB worth of files.

Reply | Quote

Tracy

Dropbox still seems expensive when compared to BitTorrent Sync Pro which offers all of the selective syncing you mention without the hassle of the cloud.

I use the free Dropbox with no features when I must, but BT SyncPro is now available without a monthly/yearly fee, works with all platforms and offers several selective sync options.

Worth a look.

Reply | Quote

Dropbox still seems expensive when compared to BitTorrent Sync Pro which offers all of the selective syncing you mention without the hassle of the cloud.

But the whole point of DropBox IS cloud storage.

Reply | Quote

Tracey- In your article, you state: “But only the desktop has sufficient storage for the entire collection of images”. 600 meg was significant ten years ago, but 0.6 gig is not much by today’s standard. This would barely make a dent on a ten dollar 16 gig SD card. Maybe you meant 600 gig of images??

Reply | Quote