Answers...

to commonly asked questions.

Dropbox

Can I move OneNote files to Dropbox

Can I move a OneNote document to Dropbox to store?
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You could probably ask OneNote to begin saving its database to a different location like Dropbox but I think due to OneNotes’ file structure, I’d leave it in OneDrive personally. Again, don’t think of OneNote documents as something you’ll look at with anything other than OneNote itself. So it really shouldn’t matter too much as to where you store them.

Moving Documents from iCloud to Dropbox

Just making sure this is OK.  When I move some documents to DropBox I often get this warning.  I pay for Dropbox annually so I guess it’s separate from I cloud.  I pay $10 per month for additional I cloud storage (mainly for photos). 

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Totally fine to move standard documents from iCloud to Dropbox. You don’t really want them to live in both places as that will get confusing with what version is the most recent. So the warning you see is one cloud service saying “hey, it’s leaving our hands. Hope you realize we won’t have it anymore”. Totally fine.

Keep in mind, MOVING a document is different than COPYING a document. Copying a document to a new location (therefore creating a new copy of the file) requires you to hold down Option before dragging. You’ll see the green plus sign which means you are making a new copy of the same document but the original one will stay where it was as well. Only do this if you have a specific reason to have more than one of the same document.

Dropbox is preventing me from opening pics sent from iCloud.

My phone will not allow me to open photos from
Someone who sends in iCloud. Can I no longer do that because we switched to drop box



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How pictures are sent from an iPhone via the Photos app is not influenced by Dropbox. Dropbox is not involved in this issue. Several months ago Apple implemented a new way of sharing pictures via text message. When a user is viewing their pictures from the Photos app, chooses "select" then selects multiple photos, the user has a choice as to how those pictures will be sent to the recipient. To view this choice for yourself, you can do the following:

Open Photos
Choose "select"
Choose multiple pictures
Hit the share icon
Select "options"



Choose the method you'd like to share your picts with the recipient.


Another way to just send pictures the old way is to just use the images button below the text message window and select them individually. They will each appear in your text message thread as always.

If you are the recipient and unable to open a link provided by the sender, you may A: ask the sender to resend them using the older method as seen above. B: make sure you are on a good LTE signal or even better WiFi network.

Either way, dropbox has no influence over sending pictures.

Should I encrypt my backup?

  1. Encrypt Backup Disk?
  2. This will back up everything in Dropbox, right?


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1. I prefer not to use encryption. I've never felt good about Apple's encryption method (File Vault in the OS, sparse image bundles that used to be on Time Capsule). I suggest not using encryption but it more depends on your situation. If you have very sensitive material on your drives then yes, you should encrypt. But if you're just a regular user, no need to go through it. Also, if you already have FileVault turned on and don't encrypt, or vice versa, you'll get a message similar to "you're tying to back up an encrypted disk to an unencrypted disk". Not a deal breaker, just an annoyance.

2. Yes, Dropbox contents are included in your backup IF they are also local on your computer. Now days, dropbox allows people to selectively sync folders or only store their contents in the cloud therefore resulting in seeing only references to the files on the dropbox server.

Google photos in addition to Apple Photos

May need to cancel appt until I get another phone or solution to my photo problem.
Is drop box an option?
Can I keep work photos there and out of my personal feed? Also, i downloaded Google photo’s thinking I could keep work photos there. That was a disaster. Google photos imported my entire photo library so know I have 2 huge photo libraries on my phone. How can I delete google phots without deleti g all my pics??
Aarrgghh. Any ideas? Thank you!
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Google photos will not reverse sync with Apple's Photos. In other words, if you delete your Google photos items, they will still be in Apple Photos. The initial sync moves copies of your library over to Google Photos but the syncing stops there. New photos do move over but deleted or edited items do not.

Dropbox will work but think of either of these choices as having to do a lot of manual work. Pictures will move into dropbox as well via camera uploads but you would be doing a lot of deleting.

What backup plan do you recommend?

I use iCloud for my whole family, and that is working well.
I also use Crash Plan. I used to have their family backup service, but they cancelled their home back up and went “business” back up only. Since then, I have had my families 5 computers backing up to Crash Plan's business back up, but it is $50/month.
I have been looking at others to see if there are any less expensive that allow a family to be backed up.
Do you have one you recommend? iDrive, Back Blaze, stick with expensive Crash Plan, use another one as a “small business”-I just don’t know what to use!

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I've never been a fan of those cloud backups. When it comes time to recover your data from any of the cloud services mentioned, it's usually a very lengthy mess. What I do prefer is good organization and a larger range of services. Using Dropbox for all of your important text documents then iCloud for your pictures and videos shot with your iOS device leaves one category unbacked up: home movies. Other that that category everything else makes it way to the cloud. However, what supersedes all other backup strategies is good old fashion Time Machine. Having two dedicated Time Machine drives that your rotate several times a year will ensure you don't lose your data. Keep one plugged in and the other offsite.

Dropbox now limits basic accounts.


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You may have received an email from Dropbox recently encouraging you to upgrade to a paid plan. Pay close attention to the wording here. "No new devices" doesn't mean anything is currently wrong. They are hoping you will upgrade to a paid plan.
This is unfortunate. This new as of March. Dropbox, in a hope to push subscriptions are now limiting basic user’s accounts to only 3 devices. If you’d like to access your dropbox files from more than three, you’d need to upgrade to a paid plan. So the question becomes, do you need access on more than 3 devices? Probably not. iPhone, iPad, laptop. I’d say don’t upgrade until a more compelling reason reveals itself.

Do I need more dropbox space?

Ive been getting a message for quite awhile now that my drop box is full and i need to pay to upgrade. It says its "stopped syncing".

Scotty didn't we set my system up so that drop box is a factor to how I work and save information? Do I need this upgrade?
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Most likely you have legitimately run out of dropbox space. It's common for people who use dropbox regularly to outgrow their 2 gigs FREE plan and have to pay for more cloud storage. To check for yourself, go to the top of the menu bar and click on the dropbox icon in the top right of your screen. Then choose the gear to the right.
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Clicking that gear will give you the percentage of what you are using of your plan. To upgrade your storage, go to dropbox.com and login then upgrade your plan from there.


Other things to consider: Dropbox does a sneaky thing where they will copy your pictures from Photos into your dropbox folder therefore taking up more cloud space. This is not nessasary. To ensure you are not duplicating pictures into dropbox, select the gear. Go to preferences, Import. Uncheck "enable camera uploads". Then return to your dropbox folder in the finder and remove the folder called "camera uploads". That sometimes eats away space we could otherwise be using for other documents.

You could also choose to use "selective sync". This is not the best choice for most users but it is available as an option. It tells the computer to only sync certain folders within the dropbox area. However, I think the best way to solve the issue is to simply buy more space.

Restoring deleted Dropbox files

Unfortunately a Dropbox folder I need was deleted and no longer accessible on the gallery desktop. I really need that back as soon as possible.
Is there a way you can help me get that back?
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Dropbox gives us the ability to restore recently deleted items. To find these, go to dropbox.com and log in under the account you're looking to restore the data from.
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Select "deleted files" on the left column then "restore" on the right.

Does iCloud replace Dropbox? no.

I recently switched from Windows to Mac and I'm having major difficulty setting up my local server. Need help w/ XAMPP/MAMP local server

All I need is to develop Wordpress websites on my computer.  Once I've built out the Wordpress theme and added the content, then I package up the site and upload to a remote server on my Dreamhost VPS account.

This morning I found a workaround, but I'm still running into file permission issues. For some reason, my folders keep reverting back to read only.  I've researched for solutions online and I keep seeing suggestions for editing in the terminal… but honestly, I'm not comfortable with making edits.  I'm afraid I will do more harm than good.
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I do do server work for companies in Charlotte usually 15 seats and under.  For larger scale jobs I usually push out to other businesses in the area that are geared for that.  XAMPP is in beta on the mac so you may want to consider other options as well.  You mentioned your home.  Do you have a static IP at your home?
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I do not have a static IP.  All I need is to develop Wordpress websites on my computer.  Once I've built out the Wordpress theme and added the content, then I package up the site and upload to a remote server on my Dreamhost VPS account.

This morning I found a workaround, but I'm still running into file permission issues. For some reason, my folders keep reverting back to read only.  I've researched for solutions online and I keep seeing suggestions for editing in the terminal… but honestly, I'm not comfortable with making edits.  I'm afraid I will do more harm than good.
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Try storing the site's folder on an external hard drive.  That may negate the permissions issue.  (short term fix but may solve the issue).  Also, on the parent folder of the site files in question, get info (command I) on that folder and set the permissions for you to have read/write access then apply to all enclosed items.  That may also solve it.  If that doesn't work, then go one more folder higher and do the same thing.  

Dropbox to be installed on PC as well as mac

Scotty,

How can I find what fonts on my system may be corrupt?

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You graphics professionals and your fonts! So Apple’s font book is a pretty nice alternative to the over zealous Extensis Fusion Suitcase hog of a program. (not a fan) You can always drag new fonts into font book (or select to add from the menu) and font book will verify whether the font is worthy of being installed. But if you are scared the font will do damage but you’r just not sure which one it is out of the hundreds you have, you can always point font book to a folder and have it scan for bad fonts before they’re installed. Just use the “validate font” function or “validate file” and point font book to the folder full of fonts.



While Font Book is free, the alternative is Font Doctor from extensis but at $60 I think I’d stick with Font Book.

Dropbox stopped or is it time machine?

Hey Scotty, I just went into my iphoto and discovered a huge portion of my pictures are in quatro form - i.e.  there are now four copies of everything!  Why is this so, and how do I fix it without having to hand delete them all (which I'm trying to do but it's not really letting me).  Thanks,

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Ugh. This could be a problem. Several things to try.

1. Rebuild the iPhoto database. Holding down the option and command keys, you’ll be presented with the screen below.

Check the first 4 then rebuild. There’s a small chance this may work. iPhoto not allowing you to make changes to your library may be a sign of a permissions issue. The “repair iphoto library file permissions” check box may take care of this. I would suggest just leave you computer alone during this process.

2. The second thing you can try is purchasing Brattoo Propaganda Software - Products. It’s very slow but usually does the job. If there are four of each version you may be required to run it several times.

Update Quickbooks on both computers if you use Dropbox to sync

Scotty,

I thought this was fixed...... but today I received this message again.  Why do I get these error messages and how do I fix this?

Thanks,



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Interesting.

There may be an issue with your Internet service provider.  I can't remember.  Are you Bellsouth/Att or Road Runner Time Warner?  With Time warner there should be absolutely no issue at all however with ATT there can sometimes be an issue where that ISP will block outgoing mail not associated to its own services.  

Dropbox and 1Password

Do you have any suggestions as to what drive to look for. Also since there are only two usb ports on the laptop, I would try to find an external drive that would hookup to the firewire port. If I cannot find one like that,  does it matter if I use a hub and connect it thru the hub. How’s the sailing going?

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I do recommend a couple of drives. If you want to save some money, the Free Agent drive by Seagate is excellent. Available at Best Buy for around $100. If you’d like to spend a little more money and have firewire 800 as well as USB then my preffered drive is the Lacie Quadra. It’s more expensive (usually around $179 for a 1 Terabyte) but worth the cost in my opinion.


At all cost, avoid the Western Digital MyBook drives. They are inexpensive and I have many clients who’ve experienced failures. Ultimately every mechanical drive fails but I’ve got much more faith in the two above an any others.

Using a USB hub shouldn’t matter as long as it’s USB 2.0 which most are at this point.

The sailing is coming along fantastic. I’m actually up at the club whenever I have a chance so I’m right next door to you quite often. Just not this week! We have our next race next Saturday at 1pm so look out for me. I’m sail #5230.

Dropbox Mac and PC?

How do I create an e-mail group that is protective of their names when sending out?  Only seeing the group's name, in other words, you know.

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The easiest way to protect the privacy of email names is to use the Bcc: field in your email.  Drop the group name into the Bcc field and email the letter to yourself.  All recipients will will get an email from you, to you and will not be able to see each other's names.  

You can activate the Bcc field under the "view" tab in mail.


How can I share files across multiple computers across the internet?

Have MobileMe syncing issues? Option click in the menu bar on syncing icon to reveal more options.

The official Apple Knowledge Base article:

Mac OS X v10.5, v10.6: Resetting the SyncServices folder

Also other good suggestions here:

MobileMe not syncing iCal calendars properly | MacFixIt - CNET Reviews

Quickbooks and Dropbox

Hi Scotty!

You were at the house last Saturday and mainstreamed so much for us - Thanks!!?
However, somehow all of my emails are being directed into my daughter email account.
I have an AOL account, and a Gmail account.  My two daughters have Gmail accounts and I have access to their accounts within mine...
Somehow all emails and it seems even emails I send through my account come back with responses through daughter’s account???
Sound crazy??  I am sure it is an easy fix but am not sure what to do.
Please advise!!
Thanks

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The trick when having multiple email accounts is to know who you are sending out as. A couple of things to consider.

1. Check to see which email account you are in by viewing the left column. If you hit reply when inside a road runner account you will send out as road runner.
2. There is a way to change what email you want to send out as. Just below the address bar in your email you have a toggle that will allow you to quickly change who you send out as. Seen below:



3. Check to make sure the name associated with each account is what you want it to be. You can do this by going to the preferences in Mail (command + comma) then select each account and check the full name for each. Seen below:

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