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What strategies do users employ to effectively manage version control for collaborative projects?
What strategies do Dropbox users employ to effectively manage version control for collaborative projects, especially when working with non-technical team members who might accidentally overwrite or delete important files? 🙂
Shared filename names
Is there a way to at least know a consistent filename to be used with a group of shared files. I have 1000 jpg files and other files (mp4's) that I want to be able to share. I wrote a program to associate those 1000+ files with a map location and the map location has a URL associated with it that allows the file to display. This all works as planned. The problem I have is that the URL for all 1000+ files do not have a consistent naming convention because of how the sharing names are created. As an example, Here are two files names generated from sharing the files: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1y390q1tmftcz5tjlcng4/Foobar.xls?rlkey=pkw1q2jp8rwkg&st=yn17rf6v&dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ht4a542xdxjikzqi707hm/Foobar2.jpg?rlkey=a7mpjc0kj3o5&st=9wiqu6wz&dl=0 These are fictitious filenames but the generated security information around it is real. With no consistency, Is there a way to know what the security information around the shared filenames so I can automate these?How we use Dropbox: Project management
When we hear about how other people use Dropbox, I have to say we scan for tips and advice that we can carry through to our own workflows and projects, from planning a wedding to organizing family photos.With that in mind, we loved hearing about how Project Manager extraordinaire, Libby, uses Dropbox to keep her projects, and more importably, the team, on track. Check it out below and let us know if you will take some of these tips forward😁 The key to a successful project is good planning and organization. Duh, but here is what I do to start off on the right foot there. Step 1: Create a shell of folders to start a project I create all of the folders to help manage the different stages of a project, which include: Ideation Planning Execution and closure And to go even deeper, within these folders we can have sub folders for different levels of approval. At this stage, I add everyone involved in the projects - and I BEG them to create their documentation within these folders. There is nothing worse than people creating rogue docs and forgetting to link it back so starting off in the right place makes it easy to keep us all in contact. Step 2: Create a Project plan I then create a Project Plan Paper doc, and this outlines the goals of the project, and this outlines the goals of the project, milestones, results and more. Now, this can seem daunting to begin with but luckily, we have a template to get you started right here. Within this doc, I can also tag people, create and add to-dos, link to other docs and of course, adding tables and images seamlessly. The perfect one pager, if you ask me. Step 3: Track the progress In theory, now everyone can get to work on their own sections of the project, and I get to observe, check in and remove any blockers. So I get notified when changes are made, I get tagged, I receive Capture updates. Whatever works for the team works for me! Step 4: Reporting and sharing wider Once the project has finished, and undoubtedly been a resounding success, it’s time to report back. So the results folder can contain Exel sheets of data, screenshots, and docs summarising the impact of the project. It’s great because everyone can contribute to this section as the results often come from varying sources. Once docs are ready for sharing wider, there are executive one pagers that can get workshopped internally and then a shared folder is created for the wider team. I enjoy how logical this process is, and as someone who can feel daunted about documentation, this seems really achievable. I also asked Libby for her best project management tip and this was her sage advice: Be flexible and work how your project team works. What works for one team won’t work for another. How do you manage projects? Do you have a different process you want to share?Storage nightmares to avoid this Halloween
The Spooky season has officially arrived and we want to make sure the only fright you get this year comes in the shape of some awesomely dressed trick or treaters rapping, rapping at your door. We’ve noticed a few headaches pop up in the Community over the last year so we’ve gone all Frankenstein and built a monstrous list of Storage Nightmares and how to avoid them his Halloween. Shared folders got you howling at the Moon Shared Folders are a really great way to share your work and collaborate with others. They’re like an inter-dimensional portal that allows you to look directly into someone else’s content, kind of! While there are so many positives, there is also the risk of a potential storage nightmare by overloading your account with more information than your plan allows. When someone shares a folder with you, you don’t actually get access to their space on Dropbox, instead you get a synced copy of the folder in your own Dropbox. If you don’t have enough space left on your plan to fit a shared folder, it will fill your Dropbox quicker than a gang of flesh-hungry zombies swarming around brains and you won’t be able to access any of the files. There are a couple of ways to get around this. You could always ask the person who sent it to re-send it as ‘read only’, this won’t require any space in your Dropbox. If you do need ‘editing’ access, the folder could be sent via a Shared Link and you’ll be able to open the folder on Dropbox.com without taking up any of your own space. Gremlins in your laptop We’ve all been there, once PCs and laptops get a few years old they inevitably develop s a couple of Gremlins in the works and need to be replaced. This might be a good time to sell or pass your current machine to a friend or family member. The only problem is, you’ve got all of this information saved in your Dropbox and you don’t want to lose any of it or allow anyone else to access it. Here‘s a very simple guide to doing this without having to worry about eating after midnight! If you have any kind of Dropbox plan, once you save something in Dropbox, it’s synced and saved in Dropbox. Whether your files are actually saved on your device or not, depends on whether you have them set to ‘online only’ or ‘available offline’, you can read more about this here. So, once you log into Dropbox on another device, you should automatically have access to all of your files. Once you’re sure everything is saved there, you can open up your new device and login to Dropbox.com and check that you have everything you need. When you’re happy that everything is stored safely in Dropbox, you can then go back to your old laptop and uninstall the desktop app and delete all the Dropbox folders. It’s a bit like an exorcism, only instead of casting demons aside, you’ll be casting unneeded folders aside. Run for your life, not out of space Much like a Ghostbuster’s Proton Pack quickly fills up with scary apparitions, a Dropbox account can quite easily become full too. If you want to avoid running out of space there are a couple of pretty simple space saving measures you can take. If you’re using Dropbox to save lots of images, you could take a look at your image formatting. JPEG or PNG files are much smaller than bulky files like TIFF or BMP and could save you some very valuable space. Likewise, if you’re using Dropbox to save lots of videos, you could try compressing these files before saving them, this will definitely free up some much needed megabytes. If these space saving tricks don’t really cut it and you’re still running out of room, you could also try to earn some free space by referring som friends or family to Dropbox or, if all else fails, you could always upgrade to a plan with a bigger storage allowance.How we use Dropbox: Susan
You might have seen our recent post about using Dropbox to help to get the most from your vacation (and we hope you use that information!) and we are delighted to share some more tips from our own teammate, Susan. In this ‘How we use Dropbox’ Susan discusses how she keeps track of her documents and photos from start to finish, from creating a Dropbox folder to store important documents, to sharing files so everyone knows the plan for the trip. Before my trip: Before I set out on holiday, I like to create a Dropbox folder for my trip. In it, I keep important documents like flight confirmations, hotel information, passports, and visas. That way, during my trip when things can tend to get chaotic or busy, I have a go-to folder where I can access all my travel-related paperwork. I also use Dropbox Paper to create itineraries that include daily schedules and lists of restaurant recommendations. I share these files on Dropbox with any friends/family that are coming on the trip with me. During the trip: Depending on the plan for the day, I will sometimes tag my friends or family members in the Paper doc itinerary and just double check we’re on the same page about the plan for the day. It’s easier to get that information sorted before we leave the hotel so I either do it the night before or the morning of so that we don’t have a moment of stopping in the middle of a busy street and being the tourists everyone hates. After the trip: And then, once I return from my trip, I like to create a subfolder and move all the photos I took while on vacation into that subfolder. Doing this helps me stay organized and save all my vacation memories in one place. It also makes it really easy to share those photos with the people from the trip - even if they don’t have a dropbox account. I love these tips - especially the ones to avoid being a hated tourist! We want to know so drop your tips in the comments and who knows, we could share your tips here too! Looking for further inspiration? See how Vicker organizes team files or how Emmet uses Dropbox to organize photos - especially useful if you have lots of pictures from your vacation.Dropbox Basic: work outside the box
If you work with more than one person, you more than likely have needed to share a document or file to work simultaneously or receive feedback. With your Dropbox Basic account, you collaborate with friends and family and workoutside of the box. Even if they do not have an account, you can still collaborate with them! Dropbox has made it easy to share files with friends and collaborate on projects. Share files with friends and family I recently learned that you can share files from Dropbox with friends or family that do not have an account. When you share a file or folder using Dropbox, the recipient receives an email with a link to the file or folder. The recipient does not need a Dropbox account to view or edit it though. Just this past week, I shared a Paper document with my sorority sister, and she was able to view and edit the file without any issue. On the file was a to-do list for the both of us and we worked together on the document. Learn more about how to add to-do list to your paper document. You can also control whether people can edit or view your files and folders when you share them and even after you share them. Edits and comments that’s made to a shared file or folder are updated live for everyone they’ve been shared with. This allows for any changes to projects to be implemented right away and ensures everyone is on the same page. Ways to Collaborate Sharing files is usually top priority when working with others. With Dropbox apps and integrations, sharing, syncing and collaboration is made easy. Whether you are sharing a school project, presentation, bachelor trip details, or planning your 30th birthday party, it is likely that you will pass the file along to someone else for their input. As sad as this may seem, Summer vacation for students and teachers will be ending in about 1 month. The time will come during the school year where you will have to participate in the good ol’ school project. The conversation of how you will collaborate to ensure everyone is working together always comes up, and you can suggest using Dropbox. With your Dropbox account, you can collaborate with your school project team members that do not have a Dropbox account. You can use word processing applications such as G-Suite and Microsoft Office Online. Learn more about how to use these integrations. This will allow for an automatic sync after each team member contributes to the project. Your Dropbox account allows you to collaborate with multiple team members from multiple locations at one time. It’s a big year for celebrating! Gathering in large groups has finally become a norm since 2020. People have planned large parties and events to celebrate weddings and birthdays. To do this, you will likely collaborate with friends and family virtually. Don’t forget that you can use Dropbox Paper to create a guest-list, or a to-do list where you can tag the other party hosts. You can even create the invites with Dropbox’s Canva integration. The beauty of using your Dropbox account for tasks like this is that you can use 3 different applications and all users can access files in one place. Things to know when collaborating When collaborating on a file, Dropbox has features that allows the file to be shared and protected when multiple people are editing. Dropbox has collaboration tools for sharing work, and guards old documents by locking the file or creating a conflicted copy. Here are some tips and tricks you can use to collaborate. Create link: Create a link with Dropbox that allows you to easily share the files with friends and teammates. To create a link: Open the Dropbox folder in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac). Right-click or command-click the file or folder you'd like to share. Click Share…. If a link hasn't been created, click Create link. The link is copied to your clipboard. Create a to-do list: When saving, sharing and collaborating on files and folders, you can add a checkbox that becomes tasks for the people you are working with. When you or someone else with permission click a checkbox, the line of text next to it is crossed out with a strikethrough. Mention someone: To notify collaborators, click the @ icon. This allows you to insert the email address or name of someone in your Dropbox contacts. The person is notified by email and their Dropbox account shows that they have been tagged in a folder. This is a helpful and easy way to communicate asynchronously. Your Dropbox Basic account is a great way to work with family and friends. Leave a comment and tell us how you use Dropbox to collaborate with family and friends!Dropbox Basic: Let's Maximize Space
Try to think of your Dropbox cloud storage as a well organized bedroom. In order to maximize space, you want to be thoughtful about how you use each closet and section of the room. With your Dropbox Basic account you have 2 GB of storage. With this amount of storage its imperative that you are thoughtful about the files you save to your Dropbox account. If you know more about files sizes, you can make more informed decisions about which files you upload. In this article you will get a better understanding of how to maximize space with your Basic Dropbox account. What are the average file sizes of media we use daily? Images Many of use Dropbox to upload images, which come in several formats and sizes. These formats affect the amount of space the image may take up. Photos from our computers are usually in formats such as JPEG and PNG. This is great because these images often don’t take up as much space as larger format files. Image formatting (as in the space it takes up, not the dimensions of the photo itself) is based on resolution and quality of the pictures. I know this because I uploaded each type of image to my Dropbox Account and saw that the quality and difference in resolution affected the overall size. Larger pictures, such as raw camera footage (TIFF and BMP), should be converted to JPEG before uploading to your dropbox account. The rationale here is so that you save about 1000kB of space. Documents Documents overall take up the least amount of space. With your Basic account, you can save about 25,000 pages of word documents,depending on file size. If you use documents for planning and collaboration, I suggest you try using Dropbox Paper. Paper documents take up very little space on Dropbox. I would suggest placing homework assignments and projects that you may always need access to on your Dropbox account. I am currently working on creating my dissertation and have it saved on Dropbox - this document is super important to me and I need to ensure that I can access it from all of my devices. Media Files Video is the largest file format but that doesn’t mean you can’t store video files in your Dropbox Basic account. To make the video more compact you can use an online compressor, or, like I’ve done in the past, edit the videos to make them shorter. I have also experimented with changing the format of the video to reduce file size. Remember to treat your Dropbox like your well organized bedroom. You want to shrink larger items if you can and want to organize items that you know do not take up much space. I use my Dropbox account to hold my important documents, vacation photos and files from Dropbox Paper. Now that I know how much space each file takes up, I do my best to maximize my space. Let’s maximize our space by using the tips and tricks above - and if you have any other space saving tips, share them in the comments below!Dropbox Basic: Apps and Integrations
Have you toggled between several applications to maintain your virtual workspace, but you still feel disorganized? Your Dropbox account serves as a hub to hold all of the files and documents that you work with daily, no matter the platformused to create them. With your Basic Account, Dropbox makes it seamless for you to collaborate with any team member or friend using several different tools and software. As a new user to Dropbox, you should know that it will sync with applications that you are familiar with and may use daily. I use apps and integrations for organization of files, planning and to help with my personal life. Organization of Files Dropbox apps and integrations help with the organization of your personal files. When I think of organization for my virtual workspace, I consider labeled folders, storing various documents in one space, and being able to easily access any of my important files from multiple devices. I also consider how I can use the applications that I love with ease. There are applications and integration that help make the most of file organization, such as Dropbox for G-Suite, Dropbox for Microsoft Office, and Adobe. With Dropbox for G-Suite, you can create, edit, and share Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides in Dropbox. This integration has saved me so much time because I no longer switch between multiple tools and instead create new Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides directly from Dropbox. Note: To use Dropbox for G Suite, the email you use for your Google account must match the email you use for your Dropbox account. Find out how to change your Dropbox email address. Similar to Dropbox for G-Suite, Dropbox for Microsoft Office allows automatic sync when working in the Dropbox application. Already use Microsoft Office Online, this integration will be great for you. If you feel like you are working in silo with Microsoft office, you could use Dropbox to help your team continuously collaborate. Easily access, edit, and share Office docs online in Dropbox. Learn more about working with Microsoft Office files from your Dropbox account. Use Adobe Acrobat to create, convert, edit, protect, sign and save changes to PDFs in Dropbox. Editing a PDF just became more of a seamless process with the Adobe and Dropbox. Planning Creating a strong plan and staying consistent with follow up is often the hardest part for me in the planning process. Planning has been made easy with Dropbox Paper. I’ve used Dropbox Paper to plan events, meetings and even project proposals. The beauty of planning with Dropbox Paper is the consistent formatting, collaboration tools and the useful templates that you can access. Learn more about the templates that you can access here. One of my personal favorite templates to use for planning, is the Project Proposal Template. This template gives you the best of several worlds. If your work is mostly built around meetings, tasks and presentations, here are some apps and integrations to help you. With the Dropbox integration for moday.com you can manage work, meet deadlines, and build a culture of accountability and inclusion for your team. Use Trello boards to plan your weekly tasks. I used Trello when I worked at a high school. On our Trello board, there were links to documents that lived on Dropbox, making it super easy to keep up with all the moving parts that went into the busy school day. Prezi is a great program used to create presentations. When Dropbox is linked to your Prezi account, you can upload files and pictures directly from Dropbox to the Prezi presentation. Personal Life I’ve made it a point to highlight how we can use our Dropbox basic accounts to organize and plan by using applications and integrations. Dropbox is also a useful tool in personal life. Stay on your personal schedule with the Google Calendar and Outlook integration. Never miss a doctor’s appointment again. Learn how to add these integrations to your workflow. Exercise your creativity and use Canva to create beautiful graphics from your content on Dropbox. I’ve used Canva to create flyers for game night, custom menus for dinner parties and even to spruce up my instagram post. Virtual education is now a new norm since Covid-19 has affected the world. Explain Everything Whiteboard is a Dropbox integration that allows you to create a virtual whiteboard for your Dropbox files. Create videos, teach, and collaborate on an infinite canvas. Zoom was my favorite application for video conferencing during and after the pandemic. Stay connected with friends and family virtually with Zoom video call and Slack messaging. Automate communication using Dropbox and other applications with Zappier. Zappier will allow you the ease of sending out communication to your team or friends automatically. Dropbox apps and integrations are used for creativity and to sync files quick and easy. In our self-guided learning library, you can explore Dropbox features at your pace. With an eye to your own work, you can pick and choose topics that help you best learn how to make the most of your Dropbox account.
