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title = “Unlock the Power of Dropbox with These Life-Changing Tips – Part I Will Blow Your Mind!”
date = “2022-08-09”
author = “Your Name”
cover = “img/dropbox_tips.jpg”
description = “Get the most out of Dropbox with these game-changing tips that will revolutionize the way you work and collaborate with your team.”
+++
If you’re not using Dropbox yet, it’s time to start. It’s the world’s leading cloud storage service, and it offers a wide range of powerful features that can help you be more productive and organized. But if you’re already a Dropbox user, you may not be taking advantage of all the amazing things it can do. In this article, we’ll walk you through some life-changing tips that will take your Dropbox experience to the next level. And trust us, Part I will blow your mind!
Tip 1: Use Selective Sync to Save Space
If you’re working with a lot of large files, you may be quickly running out of storage space on your computer. But fear not, because Dropbox has a solution. With Selective Sync, you can choose which folders and files you want to sync to your computer, and which ones you want to keep in the cloud. This can save you a ton of space on your hard drive, while still giving you easy access to all your files.
To get started with Selective Sync, simply right click on the Dropbox icon in your system tray and select “Preferences.” Then, click on the “Sync” tab and select “Selective Sync.” From here, you can choose which folders you want to sync to your computer and which ones you want to keep in the cloud. It’s that easy!
Tip 2: Collaborate in Real-Time with Paper
If you frequently work on projects with other people, you know how important it is to have a way to collaborate in real-time. That’s where Dropbox Paper comes in. It’s a powerful, collaborative document editor that lets you work on documents with your team in real-time. You can add comments, assign tasks, and even embed media like images and videos.
To get started with Dropbox Paper, simply go to the Dropbox homepage and click on “Paper” in the sidebar. From there, you can create a new document and start collaborating with your team in real-time. It’s an amazing way to boost productivity and get more done in less time.
Tip 3: Access Your Dropbox Files from Anywhere
One of the great things about Dropbox is that it lets you access your files from anywhere, on any device. But did you know that you can also access your Dropbox files from any web browser? This means that even if you don’t have access to your computer, you can still get to your important files.
To access your Dropbox files from a web browser, simply go to the Dropbox homepage and log in. From there, you can browse your files and folders, download and upload files, and even share files with others. It’s an incredibly useful feature that can come in handy when you’re on the go.
Tip 4: Automate Your Workflows with Zapier
If you’re looking to streamline your workflows and get more done in less time, you need Zapier. It’s an automation tool that lets you connect different web apps and services, so that they can work together seamlessly. And the best part? Dropbox is one of Zapier’s supported apps, which means you can automate all kinds of tasks and save yourself a ton of time and effort.
To get started with Zapier, simply go to the Zapier website and sign up for an account. From there, you can create “Zaps” that automate your workflows and integrate with Dropbox. For example, you can create a Zap that automatically saves Gmail attachments to Dropbox, or one that creates new Dropbox folders for new Trello cards. The possibilities are endless!
We hope these tips have given you some inspiration for how to get more out of Dropbox. Stay tuned for Part II, where we’ll share even more game-changing tips that will make you a Dropbox pro in no time!
Dropbox is a file syncing and backup application. Files in the “My Dropbox” folder are synced to the cloud and are then accessible from a wide range of devices, including the iPhone and Android. What initially attracted me to Dropbox was the fact that it was one of the few file syncing applications that worked on Ubuntu flawlessly. Having used Dropbox on Ubuntu, Windows XP, Windows 7 and Mac OSX for a number of years, I have realised that pigeonholing Dropbox as a mere file syncing or backup service does not do it justice. In a series of articles I hope to show you how to make the most of Dropbox.
In this first article, I will explain the basics of installing Dropbox and using its more common features. In the next article I will outline some of the more unique uses of Dropbox.
1. Installation
First, visit www.dropbox.com and download the Dropbox client. After installing and creating an account, you will get a choice to keep the Dropbox folder location as default or move it somewhere else. At this point if you wish to make your entire “My Documents” folder as your “My Dropbox” folder you have that option. I personally prefer to keep it as a separate folder in my “Users” folder.
2. Increase your Dropbox Limit for FREE
While the 2GB that Dropbox provides for free is adequate for documents, once you decide to start syncing photos or music you will soon require more space. If you are willing to pay, you can upgrade to 50GB for $9.99/month or 100GB for $19.99/month. However, with a small amount of work, it is also possible to increase your allocation of free space by 8.2GB to a total of 10.2GB.
The first thing you must do is click on the “Getting Started” link on your Dropbox home page. Immediately after the tutorial completes you will notice that 250MB has been added to your total limit.
To obtain the remainder of the bonus space, Dropbox requires you to refer a certain number of people to their service. To do this, click on the “Get Extra Space Free” link on the Dropbox home page and you will be taken to your referral page. From here you can either send the referral link to friends using their e-mail addresses or you can copy your referral link and entice others to sign-up to Dropbox using your referral link (by signing up using your referral link those new users will also get extra space for free).
Each referral gets you 250MB of bonus storage space, so it will take a total of 32 referrals for you to hit 8GB.
3. Backing Up
While Dropbox has robust syncing features, it is also handy as a simple backup tool. Simply place all the data you want backed up into your “My Dropbox” folder and no matter what happens to your physical storage, your data will remain safe in the cloud. The “undelete” option is what sets Dropbox apart as a backup service.
On the website, if you browse to any folder, you are met with the following interface:
Clicking on the “Show deleted files” button reveals, in grey, a number of previously deleted items.
From here you can select any folder or file and either permanently delete it or “undelete” the item.
It is also possible to launch the “undelete” function directly from any folder inside your “My Dropbox” folder by right-clicking, selecting “Dropbox” -> “Show Deleted Files…”.
If you have a free account this feature is limited to the past 30 days, so a file older than 30 days is permanently erased. If you buy a “Pro” account (i.e. 50GB or 100GB) you can ‘undelete” files forever.
In addition, to being able to restore deleted files, it is possible to revert back to older versions of any file by selecting a file and clicking on “previous versions”.
On the next page you can select the version you would like to roll back to.
4. Photos Folder
After installing Dropbox, the “My Dropbox” folder contains a “Photos” folder by default.
If you place a photo or a folder full of photos in this folder and then browse the folder in Dropbox, you have the ability to view the photos in a gallery view.
From here you even have the ability to share this particular gallery with anyone (even if they do not possess a Dropbox account). Simply send them the highlighted link.
Just remember, the gallery mode only works if the original folder is named “Photos” (e.g. “pictures” does not work).
5. Sync any Folder with Dropbox
Currently, the only way to sync data onto Dropbox is to physically place it in the “My Dropbox” folder. Fortunately, there is an easy solution to this problem.
In Windows 7/Vista/XP download the program Link Shell Extension. Once you have installed the program, MOVE (not copy) the folder you would like to sync with Dropbox into your “My Dropbox” folder. Then right-click on the folder and select “Pick Link Source”.
Having “selected” the folder, navigate to the folder where this particular folder was originally located and select “Drop As… -> Junction”.
This will ensure that while the original folder actually resides in the “My Dropbox” folder, you can continue to interact with the folder as though it is in its original location. It is essential that you place your original folder inside Dropbox. If instead you create the junction inside Dropbox, leaving the folder in its original location, any changes inside the folder will not sync until you restart Dropbox (this is a bug with Windows junction points).
In my next article I will demonstrate some of the more advanced uses of Dropbox.
Abhiroop Basu is an opinionated tech and digital media blogger. As a doe-eyed twenty-something, he started his first blog TechComet to comment on anything tech-related that caught his omniscient eye.
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