[Macworld]

Post your comments for Automatically add files to Dropbox here

[frank1]

Following the demise of MobileMe, I had to find some alternatives to sync my Address Book and iCal information between my computers. Some months on, the solutions I found don't seem to be what I'd like.

What's the best way to sync Address Book information through DropBox? I've tried the method of making a symlink of the Address Book folder in my user Library's Application Support folder, but this seems like huge overkill and results in a lot of constant and unnecessary updating.

For iCal, I just capitulated and transferred everything over to a Google Calendar, which shows up in iCal, but somehow, making all my calendar entries accessible to Google doesn't seem like a great idea either. Syncing through DropBox could work, but when I tried the symlink of the ~/Library/Application Support/iCal folder (I'm on OS 10.6.8), this resulted in large numbers of files being updated all the time, with any inconsistencies between the two computers generating extra files.

What's the best strategy for syncing Address Book and iCal via DropBox?

[MPMAC3]

I'm also running Snow Leopard and found the following article for synching iCal and Address Book:
http://ihelpyourmac....wordpress/?p=23

It was fine with iCal, but I couldn't get it to work with Address Book, so I keep my master copy of AddressBook on my main computer, then go into user library/application support/AddressBook on my other computers and replace the data there with a copy of the AddressBook from the master copy. I also manually sync my IOS devices through iTunes on the main computer.

[TomTylutki]

As for files specifically, this is one of the big reasons I switched to SugarSync. Nice to be able to tell it specifically which folders to sync instead of having to put things in a different folder. Thus, as an example, I have several different folders synced for different reasons. Some I share with others, some are just to have that data available on different devices or computers. In theory, should be able to sync iCal and address book same way since you tell SugarSync what to sync.

[flowney]

There was a rumor a little while back that Apple was trying to buy DropBox. Too bad that didn't actually happen because DropBox is precisely what iCloud is missing.

[IndigoHomme]

Use a symlink instead—far easier.

Use Terminal to create your links—see this article:
http://gigaom.com/ap...links-on-a-mac/

An even easier way of creating a symlink is MacDropAny—http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/37029/macdropany

[kbradnam]

I use my Desktop as a temporary space for files I'm currently working on, and I have Desktop Tidy (http://www.lightpill...os/desktoptidy/) running on my Mac. This automatically tidies up my desktop at regular intervals, and I choose to move files to a Dropbox file.

This helps me ensure that most things end up in Dropbox.

[tronomagic]

Thank You Mr. Breen!

This article was exactly what I was looking for with my dropbox account. I use dropbox for all my files (except music) and so I have been looking for a way to save files to my dropbox folder without having to manually drag them there if I wasn't in an application. I also like the bonus tip about using the favorites bar as well.

Your directions worked fine and so again I thank you sir!

[ssoil]

You could also use a program called macdropany at http://www.zibity.com/macdropany it is free and works with Dropbox, Box.net, Google Drive, Skydrive. I have been using it with Dropbox for over a year and it flawlessly syncs my folders to dropbox automatically.

[johnspear]

I regularly save my Quicken files and my SOHO Notes files to DropBox as an encrypted disk image using the following Automator commands: 1) Get Specified Finder Items, 2) New Disk Image, 3) Add Date or Time, 4) Move Finder Items, and 5) Show Growl Notification. The commands are configured to first save the disk image on the Desktop after entering the encryption password, then moving the encrypted image to Dropbox. The latest image is always available to download to my laptop when I am on the road.

[flowney]

I was able to get the Automator workflow to function manually by selecting a file in the Finder and clicking the Run button in Automator. Opening the Results windows allowed me to follow that action. The file did, in fact, get copied to a folder within my DropBox folder. However, I am unable to get any keyboard shortcut to invoke this service and I've tried a bunch making sue that I wasn't using a pre-defined Finder keyboard shortcut (see:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343) of which there are many. For example, F4 seemed safe but did not work. I'm doing this under MacOS X 10.8.2.

[umbilicus]

I don't get it - why so complicated? When I started using Dropbox about three years ago I created a current projects folder within Dropbox and placed its alias in the 'favorites' sidebar of the finder in each of my Macs. When I save a new file that folder is right there in the drop-down menu of the dialog box. Purge that folder of archiveable material once in a while to save Dropbox storage space. Done.

[JimSanders]

I have used Dropbox since the beginning for all my working and most historical documents (30-odd GB), including Quicken and the various credit card and investment files. Simple: One encrypted dmg file for Quicken and its backup history, and several other encrypted dmg files for each category of sensitive stuff. Quicken automatically saves all the stuff; I have all my info wherever; and I see no flaw in this. Of course, I clone everything weekly to two rotating externals with Super Duper. I share a great deal of my project work folders with team members and we have never lost or scrambled a document. Dropbox tells you when multiple versions conflict -- it is so easy. With 2-factor authentication and good backup -- what the heck??

[JimSanders]

Quote

There was a rumor a little while back that Apple was trying to buy DropBox. Too bad that didn't actually happen because DropBox is precisely what iCloud is missing.

I think we are better of with Dropbox where it is. Apple has too many "ownership" or property-rights clauses in the fine print. Dropbox only problem is that they could use some more investment. That said, "Careful" is a good word.
--JimSanders--