Dropbox Demystified: Smart Ways to Share and Sync Your Files

Frank Bravo 0:08
Hi. Welcome to your Tech Makeover, the podcast that gives you tips and tricks to help you simplify and get more out of the technology in your life. I'm your host, Frank. This episode is part of a mini series all about sharing and syncing data. This is where I'm going to explain what the tools are, how they work, why you might want to use them. And aside from the introduction episode, they gave you an overview of the tools and how they work. Each of the episodes will focus in on one particular product. Today, we're diving into how Dropbox works and how you use it to share and manage files easily across all your devices. If you're not familiar with Dropbox, it's a cloud based service that lets you store files online and then access them from your phone, your tablet, or your computer. It's like a magical backpack that follows you around, except without the shoulder strain. So how do you actually use it? First, you need to sign up@dropbox.com. Once you've done that, you can either do it in the browser or download the Dropbox app onto your device. That is by far the easiest on a computer. The Dropbox app shows up like any other folder. You can drag and drop files in, and they'll automatically sink to the cloud and then to your other devices. If you're on mobile, the mobile app allows you to upload photos, scan documents, and even preview files right from your phone. This is super handy when you're on the go, or you're juggling work and life from your car, your kitchen, or even your kid's soccer game. Now that you have it set up and maybe you've added some files, here's where things get cool. Dropbox has a feature called Smart Sync. It shows you all the files on the computer, but it only downloads the one you open. So it's meant so that you can access your entire file collection without hogging up space on your hard drive. If you're tight on space, then selective sync also allows you to pick folders that you want to keep on your device, while keep the rest of it in the cloud. It's kind of like curating your own file diet, but all of this isn't free. So if you want to quickly talk about pricing, let's do that now. Dropbox offers a free plan, but it only comes with two gigabytes of storage. That's great if you want to sync only a few documents or some photos. But if you're dealing with many more files or you want to use features like Smart Sync or Extended File Recovery, which are both things that it offers, you probably want to use a paid plan. Or if you want to use an account on multiple devices, you will have no choice but to upgrade to a paid plan. I believe it's three devices and then you have to pay. The plus plan gives you up to two terabytes of space, so a lot more for about 10 to 12 USD a month. There are also family and business options that you may want to look at if you are sharing files with multiple people or a team. If it's not the cheapest option out there, but it's maybe the simplicity and the integration with other tools does make it worth it, especially if you use it very often. A quick shout out to listeners like you who helped make your tech make over possible. Your support helps keep this podcast going and I truly appreciate it. Want to contribute? Just click on the link in the show notes or visit your Tech makeover.com. Plus, as a thank you, supporters who give $25 or more will get $25 off a one time consultation with me to help you simplify your tech. Thanks for being part of the Your Tech Makeover community. Now back to what I was saying. So let's take a moment and talk about sharing. Whether you want to send grandma the latest batch of baby pictures or a huge presentation to a client. Right click on any file within your Dropbox and you'll see a menu where there should be an option that says Share to share. And there you have an ability to send a link to the person who you want to share the document with. And what's really cool about this is that person doesn't even need a Dropbox account. And here's a bonus. You can also password protect those links and set expiration dates if things need to be extra secure in your sharing. Another feature Dropbox has is the ability to recover deleted files. Have you ever deleted something on accident? Well, of course we all have. With Dropbox. It's not the end of the world. You can recover those deleted files for up to 30 days or even longer with certain plans. It's like having a digital rewind button for your digital life. But in order for this to work, you need to have the files synced at least once to the internet. And like I've talked about before, and you can find episodes on this podcast about it is not a replacement for a good backup solution. That is something totally different. But how might you use Dropbox? Well, one way you can use it is something I've already mentioned, which is sinking photos or docks between computers and and phones. So you load something on one device and it shows up on a different one. You can use it to store your school or personal writings so that you have that access anywhere you are. If you have an idea and you want to add something to it, you can also create shared folders for stuff like vacation planning, or home renovations, or even your tax documents. It's a great place to put stuff all in one place that you can then share with other people. If you are a business, you might want to keep your client files organized and accessible in this. I used to use Dropbox exclusively from my client files until I ran out of space, and it just became too overwhelming. But it's a great way to keep the information shared on multiple devices. If you're sharing a large file, this might be another great way to to use it, because you can upload it once to your Dropbox and then send the link. It also has some collaboration in real time. It's not exactly great. It's definitely not as good as something like a Google Doc, but you definitely have that ability. So what are some of the best practices and things that you should keep in mind if you're getting started? Just like any other service, you want to make sure you use clear folder names so that you know what each item is and where they are. You want to also avoid syncing giant folders on your phone, unless you're on Wi-Fi, and you have space and time to do that because it's just going to take a long time over cellular. You might also want to set up two factor authentication. That is just another way to keep your data safe, so that somebody can't log into your Dropbox and gain access to your files. And then finally, you do want to make sure that you review and share. You review your shared links. I should say occasionally you might still be sharing something with somebody that you really don't need to, or you really don't want to anymore. Dropbox is one of the tools that is really quite powerful, and if it's set up right, it takes a lot of the chaos out of your digital life. You don't need to be a techie, you just need to have a good system and understand the basics of how to file stuff into your digital Dropbox. So have you been using Dropbox? And if you are, are you using it to your full potential? Let me know. And as always, if you have ideas for topics that you'd like me to cover, please feel free to contact me via email at Frank at your Tech Makeover. Com. That's it for now. Thanks for listening to your tech makeover, if you haven't already. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform so that you don't miss an episode. And like this episode. If you don't mind, you can also check out your tech Makeover, where you'll find more information about each of the episodes that I've recorded. And if you want to find out more about me, please visit Bravo! It's dot com. Until next time, I'm Frank Bravo, and this has been your technique over.