Dropbox tutorial

Espacio Nuevas Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación

M.I.S.T. Miguel Ángel Romero Ochoa

Febrero 2015

Dropbox

Traducción: Edna Mónica López Ceballos

What is Dropbox?

Dropbox is a multiplatform storage service in the Cloud, operated by the homonymous company, Dropbox. This service allows its users to store and syncronize files online and across computers as well as sharing files and folders with other users

There are free and paid versions, each with varying options.

What is Dropbox?

It is available for operating systems such as Windows, Linux, MAC, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry and IOS (Apple).

What is Dropbox?

Dropbox is a software that links all computers with a single folder, which establishes an easy way to backup and syncronize files.

How does it work?

1. Using it as a desktop application lets its users place any file in a designated folder.

2. That file is syncronized in the Cloud and in every other computer owned by the Dropbox user.

3. The files in the Dropbox folder may then be shared with other Dropbox users, they may be accesed from Dropbox’s Website or from the direct download link in the desktop application.

How does it work?

4. In case of not having the desktop application, the files may be manually recorded using a web browser.

To begin using this service, go to the website http://www.dropbox.com

http://www.dropbox.com/

Creating a Dropbox account

1. Going into Dropbox’s official website, you will see the following screen, and you will be given the options of “signing up” or “signing in” if you already have an account set up.

Enlace de descarga versión escritorio


2. After clicking on “sign up”, you will see the following screen. You must fill in the information required and accept Dropbox’s service terms and conditions.


3. Once you’ve signed up, you will see the control panel in the top right corner, which will show some of the chracteristics of the account like the username, the available storage capacity and different options that Dropbox offers on the web.

Dropbox from the WEB

Dropbox Control Panel

1. Clicking on “Configuration”, you will see the following screen, which shows different options.

Configuration



Security



Account


2. Clicking on “Install” will give you the option to download the desktop application, which has an estimated size of 37 MB.


3. Clicking on “Upgarde” will give you the following options (costs may vary depending on the category selected). The basic version is free.

Dropbox DesktopFiles

1. To head to the Dropbox Desktop, click on the “blue box” icon on the top left corner.


2. You have several options on the menu to the left. The first one is “Files” and it’s where you will manage all the files that you want to store in your account.


3. In “Files”, you will have the options of “uploading a new file”, “create a new folder”, “share a folder” and “deleted file history”.

Dropbox DesktopPhotos

4. In the “Photos” section, every photo or video that has been uploaded from the “Files” section will be shown. This is thanks to the identification program (different formats) with which this tool is equipped.

Dropbox DesktopSharing

5. Under the “Sharing” section, you can see the folders that are being “shared” with other people. Whenever you wish to share a folder, click on “New shared folder”.


As a safety measure, Dropbox sends an email to the email address registered in the account before any folder is shared.


Log into your email account and verify the email you received from Dropbox so you can share the folder. Note: in any case that you do not find the email in your Inbox, check in “Junk”.


After clicking on the aforementioned button, you will be redirected to the Dropbox website, where you will receive the following message. Click on “done”.


Once back at Dropbox Desktop, click once more on “New shared folder”. You will be given two options: share an existing folder or create a new folder to share.

Dropbox DesktopSharing a new folder

Create and share a new folder: Once this option has been chosen, Dropbox will ask for a name for the folder. You’ll give it one and click on “next”.


You will then type in the email address of the person you wish to share the folder with. You will also have the option of sending a message as well as allowing the people you’ve shared the folder with to share it with others or not. Lastly, click on “share folder”.


The people you’ve requested to share the folder with will have to check their email to confirm the invite. The message they will see is like the one shown below

Once the email is confirmed, the people you’ve shared the folder with will have access to it.

Dropbox DesktopSharing an existing folder

Share an existing folder: Once this option has been chosen, you will be asked what folder you wish to share. After choosing the folder, click on “next”.


You will then type in the email address of the person you wish to share the folder with. You will also have the option of sending a message as well as allowing the people you’ve shared the folder with to share it with others or not. Lastly, click on “share folder”.


The same as when creating and sharing a new folder, the guest users will have to confirm the email invite they recieve in order to gain access to this shared folder.

Dropbox DesktopEvents

In “Events” you can see everything related to your file management: recent uploads and changes, deleted files (you will have the option of restoring them), among others.

Dropbox DesktopCarousel

On another hand, Dropbox now features an interface so you can organize your images on the Web (stored in Dropbox).

Dropbox DesktopMailbox

Dropbox also offers email service. When you download the mobile app, you get an extra GB of storage.

Dropbox from your computer

Installing Dropbox on your computer

Going into Dropbox’s official website, you have access to download the computer application.


Click on “Download”. Once downloaded, you start the installation


The installation begins and you shall wait until it’s done.


You will be asked for your log in information (email address and password combination with which you created your Dropbox account).


Lastly, you click on “open my Dropbox folder”.


Once the process described is done you can see Dropbox has been added to your computer and it’s ready to syncronize any file, which can be managed from your computer or from the web (like it’s been explained before).

References

Dropbox (2015). Information gotten from

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dropbox_(service)

Technology

Dropbox tutorial