{"id":409,"date":"2010-02-01T16:34:10","date_gmt":"2010-02-01T21:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saoudrana.com\/?p=409"},"modified":"2010-02-01T16:34:10","modified_gmt":"2010-02-01T21:34:10","slug":"15-hacks-every-dropbox-user-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saoudrana.com\/blog\/2010\/02\/15-hacks-every-dropbox-user-should-know\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Hacks Every Dropbox User Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

In addition, Dropbox gives you another 250MB bonus for becoming a Dropbox \u201cGuru.\u201d Just head to the Getting Started section<\/a> of the website, and complete five of the six steps listed. These are pretty simple requirements, which include taking the Dropbox tour, installing the desktop app, and sharing a folder with friends. This is the quickest and easiest way to get extra free storage without using any referrals.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

Run Dropbox as a Windows Service<\/h2>\n

If you use Dropbox on a server, like a Windows Home Server machine, it\u2019s preferable to run Dropbox as a Windows service, so it starts up before a user logs in. Though Dropbox doesn\u2019t officially support running as a service, you can hack this feature with Microsoft\u2019s Srvany utility.<\/p>\n

First, download both instsrv.exe and srvany.exe from the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit<\/a>. Copy both files to your Dropbox application directory (ie. C:\\program files\\Dropbox) on your server, after you\u2019ve already installed Dropbox. This may have to be done with a Remote Desktop connection.<\/p>\n

Open up a command prompt as an Administrator, and execute the following commands (quotes included):<\/p>\n

\u201cC:\\Program Files\\Dropbox\\instsrv.exe\u201d Dropbox \u201cC:\\Program Files\\Dropbox\\srvany.exe\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

reg ADD HKLM\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Services\\Dropbox\\Parameters \/v Application \/d \u201cC:\\Program Files\\Dropbox\\Dropbox.exe\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

reg ADD HKLM\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Services\\Dropbox\\Parameters \/v AppDirectory \/d \u201cC:\\Program Files\\Dropbox\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Next, cut and paste all files from C:\\Documents and Settings\\Administrator\\Local Settings\\DropBox<\/strong> to C:\\Documents and Settings\\Default User\\Application Data\\Dropbox<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, type net start Dropbox<\/em> in the Command Prompt.<\/p>\n

This works on any Desktop machine as well. You\u2019ll also have to remove the Dropbox application shortcut from the Startup folder in your Start Menu.<\/p>\n

For more information on the Srvany utility, head here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Use Symbolic Links to Unlock Dropbox\u2019s Potential<\/h2>\n

The biggest problem with using Dropbox to sync programs is that it only works for apps that allow you to change where configuration files and databases are stored\u2014a minority of all software. Lots of popular applications like web browsers, email clients, and even Steam are pretty finicky over where they store their data\u2014they give you little or no control over what locations they use. With symbolic links, a feature in Windows Vista and 7, you can take that control back into your own hands.<\/p>\n

Mklink is a command line command short for \u201cmake link.\u201d It\u2019s used to create symbolic or hard links, which allow you to connect files and folder. It\u2019s sort of like creating shortcuts, except that they\u2019re handled at the operating system level, so they work with any program. You can, for instance, use mklink to fool Steam into thinking that a game on a different hard drive is actually in your Steam games folder. You can link files on a single computer, or across a local network. You cannot, however, link files across the internet.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The beauty of using Dropbox with symbolic links is that the principle drawback of each goes away. Dropbox can now sync any two programs, because with Mklink you can change the location of the programs data, whether it wants you to or not, and Mklink is no longer confined to your local network, as Dropbox can bridge the game to computers out in the wider internet.<\/p>\n

Here’s an example of how you can use this combo to cloud-ify your Firefox profile:<\/p>\n

1. Find the directory containing your Firefox profile. A default installation places this folder in %APPDATA%\\Mozilla\\Firefox
\n2. Copy that Firefox directory into your Dropbox folder.
\n3. Delete the original Firefox folder.
\n4. Use Mklink to create a hardlink between the new and original Firefox folders, If your Dropbox folder is in C:\/ you can use\u00a0 the following command:<\/p>\n

mklink \/J %APPDATA%\\Mozilla\\Firefox C:\/dropbox\/Firefox<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Now any computer that you complete these steps on (and that has access to your dropbox account) will share the same Firefox profile. The same basic steps will work for almost any app.<\/p>\n

Add files to Dropbox with E-mail<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s the fifth-most requested feature in Dropbox\u2014the ability to email a file to yourself that will automatically sync to your Dropbox account. Unfortunately, there\u2019s no easy way to do this right now. But if you\u2019re willing mash up a few applications and services, you can make this feature work.<\/p>\n

First, you\u2019ll need to create a new Gmail account. This address will be what you use to temporarily store files to sync to your Dropbox. We recommend creating a new account that\u2019s easy to remember, and not using your personal or main Gmail account.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Next, download GMail Drive<\/a>, a shell namespace extension that links to a Gmail account and syncs attachments and emails onto a newly created system drive. GMail Drive creates a virtual filesystem based on email sent to your Gmail account (with GMAILFS: in the subject line), and lets you browse them as if you they were stored on your hard drive.<\/p>\n

Finally, using the mklink command, create a symbolic link between the folders in your GMail Drive and a newly created folder in your Dropbox. This means that any time you email an attachment to your dummy Gmail account with GMAILFS: in the subject line, the files will automatically be moved to your Dropbox. This only works if you have GMail Drive and Dropbox running on an active computer or server.<\/p>\n

Sync Your IM Chatlogs<\/h2>\n

A lot of people use instant messaging to keep in touch with their coworkers during the day. We certainly do here at the Maximum PC office, but we\u2019re sure the same can be said for many less-technically-forward offices as well. Because of that it sometimes comes up that while you\u2019re at home you want to remember something from a conversation you had while you were at work, but you can\u2019t, because your IM logs are stored on your work computer.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t have to be the case, though. If you use Pidgin<\/a>, a free, open source multi-protocol IM client, you can tell it to save its logs in a folder in your Dropbox. As long as Pidgin is set up that way on all of your computers, they will all share access to the same logs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Actually setting it up so that Pidgin saves your logs somewhere other than the default location is a little trickier than you might imagine, though. You\u2019ll need to change the PURPLEHOME environment variable on your system, which defines where Pidgin will save its configuration files and logs. To do this, open the control panel and select System. Then select the Advanced tab, and click on Environment Variables. Now, click New under the System Variables box. In the Variable Name field, enter PURPLEHOME and in the Variable Value field, enter the location of your Dropbox folder. Now Pidgin will use a folder inside your Dropbox called .purple to save its data.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re ok working from a fresh install of Pidgin, that’s all you\u2019ll need to do. If you have existing settings and logs that you want to keep using, just copy the .purple folder from its default directory (Application Data) to your Dropbox directory.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Host Your Music Collection in the Cloud<\/h2>\n

Tired of having to juggle your music collection between your desktop and laptop computer? Want to be able to access your music from anywhere, on any computer, but don\u2019t want to (or don\u2019t have the cash to) set up a streaming media server? Consider setting up a $9.99\/month Pro50 account to host your favorite music.<\/p>\n

With your MP3 files and iTunes library.xml file backed up to Dropbox, you can keep multiple computers running perfectly in-sync music collections. Add music on one computer, and it\u2019ll be available on each other computer as well. Just be sure not to make changes on more than one computer at a time.<\/p>\n

To tell each instance of iTunes to use the library file located in your Dropbox, just hold shift while launching the program. A dialog box will come up prompting you to choose a new library file.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re using a friends computer, or another computer that you don\u2019t want to keep your whole collection on at once, you can use the Dropbox web interface to download just the files you want to listen to at one time. Just visit dropbox.com, navigate through your collection, put a checkmark next to the files you want to listen to (or next to a folder, if you want to download a whole album at once) and then select Download from the More actions tab.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Keep Firefox Settings Synched Across Multiple Computers<\/h2>\n

For people who regularly use more than one computer, it can be a pain to switch back and forth between two browsers. Sure, applications and extensions like Xmarks can keep your bookmarks in sync for you, but what about your extensions and your history. Fortunately, you can use Dropbox to keep two Firefox installations totally in sync.<\/p>\n

“But wait!” I hear you saying “you can’t choose where Firefox saves its data!” Thats true, but there are ways to work around this. You can us Mklink, as discussed earlier, but there\u2019s also an easier solution specific to Firefox: use Firefox Portable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Firefox Portable is an app that’s meant to run from anywhere, such as from a portable USB thumbdrive. In order to do this, a portable app has to be entirely self-contained, not storing any data anywhere else on your system. That means that if you get Portable Firefox<\/a> and install it into your Dropbox, you’ll have a full-featured browser that syncs and backs up all your data in the cloud.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Store All Your Passwords with Keypass<\/h2>\n

Everyone knows that good password security requires that you use passwords that are A) long, B) complicated, and C) different for every website and service you use. Of course, these three requirements also make it a total pain to memorize all the passwords you need, meaning that most people don\u2019t follow the rules, either using one password across many services (a security risk) or writing their passwords down near the computer (also a security risk).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where KeePass<\/a> comes in. KeePass is a free, open source password safe. It allows you to generate a unique, totally random password for every site or service you use, while only requiring you to remember a single master passphrase. Whenever you attempt to log into a service, KeePass asks for your master passphrase, then automatically enters the appropriate password from your safe.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all well and good, but what do you do if you frequently use two different computers (say, a desktop and a laptop)? You could use a USB drive to keep your KeePass password archive with you at all times, but that\u2019s one more little bit of hardware you have to keep track of. Instead, use DropBox to keep an up-to-date copy of your password file on both computers, at all times. Just tell KeePass to save your password archive somewhere in your DropBox synced folder.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Worried about security? Fuhgeddaboutit<\/em>. KeePass saves your password in an archive encrypted with nigh-unbreakable AES 256-bit encryption. That means that as long as you pick a strong, long password, getting a hold of your KeePass file won\u2019t do a hacker a bit of good.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Know the Pricing Options, Cheapskate<\/h2>\n

We know you like getting your internet services for free. Dropbox doesn\u2019t disappoint, as the majority of its users utilize the free 2GB account. But what if 2GB of synced cloud storage isn\u2019t enough for you? Dropbox offers two Premium account options.<\/p>\n

The first is the Pro 50 account, which boosts your storage capacity to 50GB (it adds 48GB so that your cap is 50GB), which costs $10\/month, or $99 a year. For $20 a month, or $199 a year, you can upgrade your account to 100GB of total storage. Pro accounts also get 9 votes (as opposed to 6 for Free users) in the Votebox system<\/a>, which lets users pick which features to add in the next iteration of Dropbox.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Compared to other services, the pricing is competitive. Our only wish is that Dropbox would offer more storage size options. Sugarsync, a Dropbox competitor, has premium account tiers at 30GB ($5\/month) and 250GB ($25\/month).<\/p>\n

Also note that once you\u2019ve upgraded to a Pro Dropbox account, Dropbox will still give you the option to downgrade back to your original Free account, even though this isn\u2019t explicitly stated in the terms of use. Dropbox also reserves the right to delete your account if you don\u2019t use it for 90 days.<\/p>\n

Get 5.25GB of Total Free Space<\/h2>\n

You can more than double your Free account capacity by using Dropbox\u2019s referral system. Simply find your referral link on the Dropbox website<\/a> and get a friend to create an account using that link. For each new account you refer, you get 250MB of extra space, up to 3GB. That means all you have to do get refer 12 people to max out on this referral bonus.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In addition, Dropbox gives you another 250MB bonus for becoming a Dropbox \u201cGuru.\u201d Just head to the Getting Started section<\/a> of the website, and complete five of the six steps listed. These are pretty simple requirements, which include taking the Dropbox tour, installing the desktop app, and sharing a folder with friends. This is the quickest and easiest way to get extra free storage without using any referrals.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Pro accounts can earn up to 6GB of referral space, and downgraded pro accounts still retain any bonus space earned from referrals.<\/p>\n

Use Dropbox to manage BitTorrent<\/h2>\n

How often have you found yourself sitting at work, only to find out that a file you\u2019re interested (a demo for a game you\u2019re excited about, for instance) has just become available online. Sure, you could sit there patiently, and wait until you get home to download it; but why bother waiting when you could have it ready for you as soon as you get there. Most of the big BitTorrent clients have some sort of web-based control, but those can be tricky to set up, and require that you have a static IP (or set up a DynDNS account). Using DropBox, it\u2019s much easier.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll need to do: First, make sure you have a BitTorrent client capable of automatically loading .torrent files from a folder. All the big ones are capable of this, including uTorrent, Vuze, and the standard BitTorrent client. Next, set it up to monitor your DropBox, or a folder in your DropBox (My Documents\/My Dropbox\/Torrents for instance) and automatically open any .torrent file added to that folder.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, if you see a file you want to grab, just download the .torrent file to your Dropbox\/Torrents folder, and your home PC will start the download as soon as DropBox syncs. It\u2019s as simple as that.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, this method requires that you leave you computer on all day long, a decidedly environmentally-unfriendly practice that we don’t recommend. But If you’re anticipating the need to download something (a beta test for a new MMO, maybe?) we won’t fault you for making a one-day exception.<\/p>\n

Use Portable Dropbox to keep your data mobile<\/h2>\n

Making Dropbox into a portable app (that is, an app that can be installed on a USB thumb drive) might at first seem redundant\u2014isn\u2019t Dropbox meant to replace thumb drives, after all? But if you stop to think about it, there are ways in which Dropbox and USB drives can be used together. For instance, consider the following situation:<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got to give a PowerPoint presentation, and you\u2019ll be using somebody else\u2019s laptop, which is connected to a projector. You could copy the .ppt file over to a USB key, but why bother? All your project files are already sitting on a USB key connected to your computer, running portable Dropbox. You snag the key and head out the door. On the way, your boss calls and tells you that there\u2019s a big mistake in the presentation, but you don\u2019t sweat it: your boss saves a correct version, and when you get to the presentation you run Dropbox and the file updates in a flash.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So how do you actually run portable Dropbox? It\u2019s pretty easy, just follow these steps:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Download Portable Dropbox. The Dropbox forums page for the project is here<\/a>, although as of 12\/7\/09, the latest version seems to be broken, and you\u2019ll need to grab the fixed version here<\/a>.
\n2.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Unzip the file you downloaded, and drop the contents (the DropBox folder) onto your thumbdrive.
\n3.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Run the DropboxPortable executable, and follow the instructions in the installer.<\/p>\n

Host a website on Dropbox<\/h2>\n

Now here\u2019s an unusual use for Dropbox. Did you know that you can actually host a website, using Dropbox\u2019s \u201cPublic\u201d folder? It\u2019s easy, you just drop in html files and images into your public folder, the way you would normally upload those files onto an FTP server.<\/p>\n

Interlinking works fine, as does client-side scripting. Obviously, any server side stuff won\u2019t work, but this is a great way to quickly host a smaller page. You can simply build the site as you like, viewing it locally, and when you\u2019re satisfied, it\u2019s already on the web!<\/p>\n

We haven\u2019t heard any specific information about bandwidth caps on Dropbox\u2019s public share, but it\u2019s safe to say that that it\u2019s probably not meant to be used for mass data transfer. In other words, If you want to host something bigger than a personal site or blog, you\u2019re still better off with traditional hosting.<\/p>\n

Utilize the Web Interface<\/h2>\n

Dropbox is primarily a desktop app, but its website is very useful for accessing your files. The web interface offers the same functionality as the desktop client, letting you browse, download, and upload files to your account. This is handy when you need file access on the go, but here are three other reasons to use the web interface:<\/p>\n

Track Recent Activity<\/strong> \u2013 The recent events tab gives you a timeline of account activity, even including the movement of files between folders so you can keep track of everything. Uploaded images show up as thumbnails, too.<\/p>\n

Share Folders<\/strong> \u2013 You have to use the website to grant and accept folder shares for collaborating with other Dropbox users (which is different for sharing individual files in the Public folder). Shared folders take up space on the accounts of all collaborators.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Undo Delete Files<\/strong> \u2013 The best feature of the Web interface is the ability to view and retrieve previously deleted files in your Dropbox. On free accounts, deleted files can be recovered up to 30 days after they were deleted, though that limit is removed for Pro users.<\/p>\n

Use Your My Documents folder as your Dropbox folder<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In Windows Vista and 7, you can easily store your My Documents folder in Dropbox. This puts all your document files in the cloud, which can also then be synced with your other computers\u2019 My Documents folders. Just right-click My Documents, go to the Location tab, and click the Move button to relocate My Documents to a new directory. Navigate to your Dropbox directory, and click OK.<\/p>\n

Use Dropbox Mobile App for Photo Blogging<\/h2>\n

The iPhone Dropbox app is currently the only mobile Dropbox client, but it\u2019s pretty powerful. Not only does it let you browse and view images, read documents, and even play music found in your Dropbox, but you can even use it to take and store cameraphone pics directly to the cloud. We found this feature most useful when paired with services and programs that can monitor desktop folders to automatically upload images to blogs and image-hosting sites, like Flickr.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In addition, Dropbox gives you another 250MB bonus for becoming a Dropbox \u201cGuru.\u201d Just head to the Getting Started section of the website, and complete five of the six steps listed. These are pretty simple requirements, which include taking the Dropbox tour, installing the desktop app, and sharing a folder with friends. This is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[410,87],"tags":[417,415,126,278,414,412,416,413,411],"class_list":["post-409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-applications","category-computer","tag-cloud-storage","tag-dropbox","tag-features","tag-firefox","tag-hacks","tag-how-to","tag-mklink","tag-pidgin","tag-software"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saoudrana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saoudrana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saoudrana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saoudrana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saoudrana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/saoudrana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":432,"href":"https:\/\/saoudrana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409\/revisions\/432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saoudrana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saoudrana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saoudrana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}