Dropbox is a great way to sync your files between devices, share files and work on them with others. I’ll show you how.

Photo: Contributed

What is Dropbox?

Dropbox is a service that enables you to synchronize and securely access your photos, documents, videos, music, and other files from your computer, phone, tablet, or any computer with internet access. Dropbox works on Windows, Mac, Linux and on smartphones. A good, brief, clear explanation is on the video on Dropbox’s website, here: https://www.dropbox.com/, or read about Dropbox here: https://www.dropbox.com/tour/2.

How to get Dropbox

Download and install Dropbox from this page: https://www.dropbox.com/install . This will get you started with 2GB of storage for free. If you’d like to get an additional 250MB, visit this link instead: http://db.tt/q6qnaXq. I have a few invites left, and we’ll both get 250MB. If you want more storage space, you can earn more through referrals, or you can purchase additional space. No matter which link you download from, you’ll be prompted to create an account. Do that, and you’re ready to get started.

Dropbox Basics

Installing Dropbox creates a Dropbox folder on your computer. Files in that folder will synchronize with your account on the Dropbox website. That means that the content in the Dropbox folder is available to you any place with a working internet connection by browsing to the website and signing in.

If you have more than one computer, install Dropbox on all of them, sign in to the same account, and your files are available to you on any of your computers. You can start working on something at work, save it to your Dropbox, and continue working on it at home. Save it again, and the updated version is available everywhere you have Dropbox.

Sharing with Dropbox

Everything I’ve told you so far is just sharing with yourself, but it’s easy to create a folder and share it with specific people. Right-click on the folder in your Dropbox on your computer, select “Dropbox” and choose “Share this folder.” You’ll be prompted for the email addresses of the people you want to share with, and you can include a brief message.

When you click “Invite” an email message goes out to those people inviting them to share the folder. If they already have a Dropbox account, they can start viewing, editing, and adding files to the shared folder right away. If they don’t have an account, they will be prompted to create one. Now you can share large files securely with friends, family, and colleagues. That’s easier to do than it is to explain. Watch a one minute video here: https://www.dropbox.com/help/19.

Make your files Public

You can also share your files with the public. Move the stuff you want to share into the Public folder in your Dropbox, right-click on the file, click on Dropbox, and choose “Copy public link”. Paste that link into an email, or instant message. Put it on your website or Facebook page. When someone clicks on that link they will see the file in your Public folder. Here is a link to a file in my Public Dropbox folder: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4653/How%20To.txt. More about the Public folder here: https://www.dropbox.com/help/16.

The Photos folder in Dropbox is awesome. Dropbox creates a photo gallery from any pictures in a folder you put in Photos. You can make the gallery public, share it with just certain people, or keep it to yourself. I’ve created a public gallery here: https://www.dropbox.com/gallery/4653/1/Canada%20Day%20Apple%20Bins?h=d3fac5. There is a good, short, video tutorial here: https://www.dropbox.com/help/18.

That’s only the beginning

We’ve just scratched the surface here. There is so much more you can do with Dropbox. Make it easy for your friends to send files directly to your Dropbox using e-mail with Airdropper (https://beta.airdropper.com/) or via the web with DropItToMe (http://dropitto.me/). Or play your music from within Dropbox with DropTunes (http://droptun.es/). If you have another way to use Dropbox I’d love to hear about it. E-mail me at help@computercarekelowna.com and I’ll share your ideas in future columns.

Do you need help with your computer? I'm here to help you and your home or business computer get along!

Cate Eales runs Computer Care Kelowna (http://computercarekelowna.com/) a mobile service helping home users and businesses get along with their computers. To arrange an appointment phone her at 250-764-7043. Cate also welcomes your comments and suggestions. Send email to help@computercarekelowna.com.

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