Okay, I did a little more research here, and indeed, Dropbox can only backup files and folders that are inside the Dropbox folder. (Note: This section needs some work. I just learned a few things here, and I need to consolidate this information.) Mac Dropbox backup - More on that pesky Dropbox folder So the big rub here is whether or not this is the only way Dropbox works? If so, it will never pass my "sister test", meaning, "Can my sister and nieces, who aren't computer experts, use this online backup system?" So far, the answer, as it relates to iTunes, is "no". I dropped a few files into the Dropbox folder, watched as they were backed up, and then checked online, and saw them on the online Dropbox website, as expected. Other than that major problem, Dropbox seems very smooth so far. This is easy to do for many small things, but as a programmer, I can't easily move my Eclipse workspace to another Folder, and as an iTunes user, I'm pretty sure iTunes isn't going to be very happy when I pick up and move my Music folder. Here's the Dropbox approach to being a Mac online backup service, and I don't know if I like it:Īnything you want backed up must be moved into the Dropbox folder in your home directory. I always select "Deny" until an app proves that it can't work without it.) The Mac Dropbox online backup service approach (My personal nit here is that if systems need this, application vendors should warn you about this ahead of time in their installation docs. I also got a prompt asking if I wanted to allow incoming connections for Dropbox, and I clicked the Deny button for that. The Mac Dropbox installation requires that you enter your system password, which I assumed they would need. Just visit their website, download the Mac Dropbox application, and then install the application like you normally would. Installing the Mac Dropbox application is simple. Also, the maximum online backup disk space you can rent is 100 GB, and that may not be enough for many "power users".īut first, the good parts about the Mac Dropbox online backup service approach. However, their approach does have one major flaw, especially for non-technical Mac users, and I'll discuss that here. I've reviewed several Mac online backup solutions this year, and while the price seems a little high with all these online backup services, I have to say that Dropbox () is the first Mac online backup service I've reviewed that I've been impressed with. However, for Mac-owning Dropbox customers, the latest update is definitely a downgrade.Mac Dropbox FAQ: What do you know about the online backup service for Mac users? And on its support page, Dropbox does add that the list of problems will continue to be “updated regularly as Dropbox support for macOS continues to develop and improve”, suggesting some of these issues may be temporary. There is no doubt some of the problems with the new Dropbox for Mac are being caused by the inflexibility of Apple’s File Provider API, rather than any decision making on Dropbox’s part. Searches performed via Apple’s Spotlight facility are not affected by these changes. According to Dropbox’s support document for the new version of the macOS software, “Searching through Finder will only find online-only files or folders that have been previously accessed on your device running Dropbox for macOS”.ĭropbox adds that “only file names will display in these search results, not the file contents” and that this will “affect features that depend on searching through Finder”, such as Smart Folders. Not having local copies of files also limits which items appear in search results. Right click and select “make available offline”Ī Dropbox spokesperson added that if you make the entire Dropbox available offline, “any newly added files/folders will also be available offline”, something that I can confirm did happen in tests with my own account.Select all the folders they wish to be made available offline or select the entire Dropbox folder in ~/Library/CloudStorage.To make sure all files and folders continue to be available offline, users must now:
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