How can I sync my files across my devices?

luceman

Hello Forum People

I have been a customer of Dropbox for a number of years and it mostly it has worked well.   I am a school teacher and don't need a lot of bells and whistles.   I already have a whistle; actually multiple whistles!   At any rate, it would be great if Dropbox had some sort of video to help people get set up.   I have downloaded dropbox, set it on my desktop as an icon on my desktop and have put the same program on my computer at school.    To hook up both accounts, I think it would be great if there is a one time login feature to where both places that have dropbox on them be able to have some sort of confirmation that they are connected to the same online dropbox account. This would help greatly so I do not have to hope that all my ducks are in order so my files will automatically transfer.   And how great it will be not having to keep looking for possible answers online to make it happen!  As of now, I tried to reload Dropbox on one computer and it fizzled out before it would let me start the .exe file!   It can't be this difficult!

 

From a human interface design perspective, what am I missing?   My files will not transfer from my work computer to my home computer.   This must be a file folder issue.   The problem is that there is no way to check that things are working on your end without a lot of guess work.    Is there a way to get some sort of confirmation that dropbox is working the way it is suppose to?     On my desktop I see the same named folders on both my home and work pc.  When I put a new folder or file on one of the computers, I cannot tell until I get home whether I can see that the file transferred.   Ugh!    Ok, I have been teaching kindergarten for 29 years!   Is it possible to break down your instructions so that I could teach it to a room full of 5 year olds.   Oh, I forgot!  I also have an MS in Education Technology!     Please email me if you do not mind to help me figure this out.   Thanks in advance for any advice or steps you suggest.    I am looking for Dropbox to by my WYSIWYG service!

Thanks for your response in advance!

JasonSilverDBX

Hi @luceman, I'm sure one of our community support team members will jump in to help out, but I happened to see your post so wanted to quickly offer some advice.  I am supportive of teachers using all the technology the can in the classroom and appreciate your using Dropbox for yours!

 

It sounds like you may just need a bit of guidance in how Dropbox works.  I'm assuming that you have two computers, and that they are probably desktops since it sounds like you have one permanently at school and the other at home.  So Dropbox allows you to sync files to the cloud (your Dropbox) and back to all your devices (i.e. school and home computer, phone, ipad, etc.).   

 

Now for computers, you can either download the Dropbox app or you can access Dropbox via your web browser.  If you setup the app, you'll be able to see Dropbox in your Finder (Mac) or Windows Explorer.  You can add content to those Dropbox folders and it'll sync across devices.  You can also access the content via web and then can download it to your computer, or preview it right in your browser.

 

You mentioned, not being able to tell if a file uploaded to Dropbox has "transferred" until you get home.  If a file successfully uploads, it's in your Dropbox and will be available from whatever device is logged into Dropbox.  And the interface will tell you if the upload failed for some reason.

 

Regarding whether both devices are logged into the same account, if you only have one Dropbox account then that should be straightforward?  If you have multiple, you can just toggle between each one.  I have a work and a personal account for example.  

 

Hope that helps?!  You should also check out our Help Center.  This is a good starting point: https://help.dropbox.com/sync/sync-overview