How to make iCloud behave like Dropbox

Dec 10, '12 07:30:00AM

Contributed by: Anonymous

Local copies of files you store on iCloud are stored in the Library > Mobile Documents folder in your home folder. (See this hint for more about accessing that folder.) This can be exploited to convert iCloud into a general-purpose storage and sharing resource.

This folder in your Library folder functions exactly like the Dropbox Folder on your Mac: anything stored in it will appear in the same folder on other Macs logged onto the same iCloud account. There is no restriction on what can be placed in this folder, so the data you can store and share via iCloud is not limited to files created by Apple or Apple-approved software. When you realize this, you can use iCloud as a fully comprehensive cloud resource.

Once you have stored all the files you want in your Mobile Documents folder, to avoid having to dig around to get at it, you can access it from utilities such as the free Plain Cloud . that access your Mobile Documents folder. You can periodically update your stuff by using a folder sync application such as ChronoSync. Or, to create a more sophisticated arrangement and make it run invisibly behind the scenes, you can check out Sebastian Hallum Clarke's donation-ware utilities iClouDrive, which creates a dedicated subfolder within the Mobile Documents folder, and an aliased copy of this folder on your desktop (or wherever you choose to put it), and MacDropAny, which creates symbolic links between that aliased copy and the subfolder within Mobile Documents (and also Dropbox), so that any changes you make in your local files are instantly updated on the cloud service of your choice.

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Mac OS X Hints
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