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Can Dropbox/Paper enable me to process .txt files on my iPhone?

In Windows 10, I use Notepad to create .txt files. Can Dropbox/Paper enable me to sync these .txt files with my iPhone SE, and open and edit them and Save/Save As, and even create .txt files, using my iPhone SE?

If so, how, exactly? If not, how else can I do this?

I don't want to sync Word files or anything complicated, only .txt files, so I want a minimalist, lightweight solution, just like Notepad is on Windows.

I have a vague idea that an app called PlainText used to handle .txt files on iPhone, but that PlainText does not work on iOS 11.

[ Confusing new world to me, the iPhone, especially with no back button. ]

Any help woud be much appreciated, preferably in simple English, I know very little computer jargon.

Mike

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theguy69

Hello mike160304,

You can put all the txt in a folder and use select sync to sync only that folder. You have several apps that can edit txt files directlly from dropbox:

https://bywordapp.com/

https://ia.net/writer/

Hope this help you.

You you need more info please ask

Cheers

-----------------------------

Select which folders to sync on Windows

Click the Dropbox icon from the system tray.
Click the gear icon and select Preferences... from the menu.
Click Sync.
- Dropbox Business users: If you have connected your personal and work Dropbox accounts, you'll also need to select the Dropbox for which you want to change settings at the top of the tab.
Click Selective Sync....

A window will appear with a list of all the top level folders in your Dropbox folder. The folders with a check next to them will be synced to your computer. Uncheck any folders that you don't need to sync to your computer's hard drive. When you're done, select OK. Any folders you deselected will be removed from your hard drive, but will still be available through the website and on any computers linked to your Dropbox account.

Note: Wait until folders display a green checkmark—which means they are completely uploaded to your Dropbox—before unselecting them in your selective sync preferences and removing them from the Dropbox app on your computer.

Rich

Dropbox has the ability to edit and create .TXT files on an iPhone, no other app needed.

When you open a text file in Dropbox, you'll have an Edit icon in the bottom right corner. Tap that to start editing. To create a new text file, tap the plus + sign at the bottom of the screen.

Rich

@theguy69 wrote:
Have you added "Documents > Hobbies & Tools > Photo" folder to Selective Sync in Dropbox? doing that will not change the location of files. You don't need to move the file

That's not accurate, at all.

Selective Sync isn't used to add folders outside of Dropbox to your Dropbox folder. Dropbox is not capable of that, and will only sync the items that are located IN the Dropbox folder. The idea is that you move your files into the Dropbox folder and work on them directly there. If you must have access to the file in it's original location, then move it to Dropbox and place a shortcut to it in the original location. Remember, Dropbox is just a folder on your computer like any other. Items in your local Dropbox are still on your computer.

For clarity, Selective Sync is used to remove a folder from your local Dropbox folder, while leaving it in your account online. You would then use the Dropbox website or mobile apps to access it.

All comments

theguy69

Hello mike160304,

You can put all the txt in a folder and use select sync to sync only that folder. You have several apps that can edit txt files directlly from dropbox:

https://bywordapp.com/

https://ia.net/writer/

Hope this help you.

You you need more info please ask

Cheers

-----------------------------

Select which folders to sync on Windows

Click the Dropbox icon from the system tray.
Click the gear icon and select Preferences... from the menu.
Click Sync.
- Dropbox Business users: If you have connected your personal and work Dropbox accounts, you'll also need to select the Dropbox for which you want to change settings at the top of the tab.
Click Selective Sync....

Rich

Dropbox has the ability to edit and create .TXT files on an iPhone, no other app needed.

When you open a text file in Dropbox, you'll have an Edit icon in the bottom right corner. Tap that to start editing. To create a new text file, tap the plus + sign at the bottom of the screen.

mike160304

Many thanks, that helps me. "Accept as solution" has disappeared so I cannot click it.

mike160304

Thanks, that sounds simple, I shall try it before looking for any other app solutions.

Mike

mike160304

@Rich wrote:
Dropbox has the ability to edit and create .TXT files on an iPhone, no other app needed.

When you open a text file in Dropbox, you'll have an Edit icon in the bottom right corner. Tap that to start editing. To create a new text file, tap the plus + sign at the bottom of the screen.

Thanks, that sounds simple, I shall try it before looking for any other app solutions.

Mike

mike160304

To: Rich and theguy69:

I have been trying to follow your advice:

THE GOOD:

On the iPhone, in the Dropbox app, I can open and edit old .txt files, and create new .txt files, using Dropbox's own app, and they are all synced with files in my PC's Dropbox Folder. I am happy with that.

On the PC, I can move Notepad .txt files to the Dropbox Folder and they are then synced with Dropbox and my iPhone. So far, so good. On the PC on the Dropbox site, it seems I cannot create new .txt files, but that does not matter because I can create them with Notepad on the PC.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD YET:

E.G. : On my PC, I have a .txt file called "FZ330 Notes" stored in Documents > Hobbies & Tools > Photo, and that is where I always look for it. When I move it into the Dropbox Folder, it is removed from its proper location. I am not happy with that, is there a way it can also be visible in its proper location?

Thanks,

Mike

theguy69

Hi mike160304,

Have you added "Documents > Hobbies & Tools > Photo" folder to Selective Sync in Dropbox? doing that will not change the location of files. You don't need to move the file

If you need more help please ask

Cheers

Rich

@theguy69 wrote:
Have you added "Documents > Hobbies & Tools > Photo" folder to Selective Sync in Dropbox? doing that will not change the location of files. You don't need to move the file

That's not accurate, at all.

For clarity, Selective Sync is used to remove a folder from your local Dropbox folder, while leaving it in your account online. You would then use the Dropbox website or mobile apps to access it.

mike160304

Thanks, but I have not seen anything about selective syncing in the Dropbox website?

Mike

mike160304

That sounds like a usable solution, the extra bit of work does not sound bad.

Re "place a shortcut to it in the original location. ", how would I do that please? The only shortcuts I have used so far are app icons on the Windows PC desktop?

Thanks again ,

Mike

mike160304

Rich - OK, your comment "Dropbox is just a folder on your computer like any other" has helped me to understand how it all works.

So, in the Dropbox Folder, I am now creating a mini-folder-tree containing only the files that I want to access when I am "on the road", for access from my iPhone. It may still be an option to have file shortcuts in their "proper locations"

In theory one could, I guess, move the whole Windows folder tree (Docoments/ Pictures/ Videos/ Music) into the Dropbox Folder.

But Dropbox offers the weird restricted option of paying nothing for up to 2GB storage or money for up to 1TB storage. 2GB handles a lot of .txt files and maybe a good number of Word files, but it is presumably intended to be useless for RAW or JPEG image files.

So I am now investigating how to have (if possible?) a mirror image of my PC's Pictures folders tree in Google Photos, where storage of RAW and JPEG files is unlimited and free, albeit with some automatic adjustment of file sizes by Google Photos - but the size adjustment is very clever, as image quality appears to be maintained by some kind of Google magic.

I very much appreciate your help with this, and your further comments would be very welcome. Somehow, totorials rarely seem to be talking about things that I want to do . . . .:slight_smile:

Mike