DP & sync services (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc)...

[FMiguelez]

Hello.
Years ago it was common knowledge among us not to upload DP projects without zipping them first, especially via email. Something about lost headers in audio files (SDII days and more recently).

Is this still an issue at all?
Since right now I'm working on a piano solo project, and I don't need all my big template or fire everything up, I've been putting the DP project inside the Dropbox folder, and it seems to work great! Dropbox will complain eventually about getting filled with auto-saved copies, but I haven't had any problems with the DP file or audio files.

Can we declare doing this is safe now (with Dropbox, Google drive, etc)? If so, what changed? Did the servers/comms protocols just get better since then?

I've read some of you use premium versions of these services for backups. I don't suppose you have to first zip anything anymore, yes?

[bkshepard]

I've been doing automatic sync with Dropbox and my DP sessions drive for several years now with no problems.

[James Steele]

As I recall, the issue used be with file structure of Mac files? There was a data fork and a resource fork. But also a File TYPE and a CREATOR, and uploading to a drive that was not formatted for Mac (like on a network server) would strip the file of that information. Perhaps that's no longer the case. If I were to do it though, I think I'd make sure to use WAV as my default for audio since it never needed that info AFAICR. If you had an old project with SD2 files, however, I wouldn't be surprised if those got messed up if uploaded without zipping first.

[mikehalloran]

I share DP and PL files with other users. Sometimes, it's still an issue.

I haven't tried this with the latest update to Dropbox for Monterey and later. Dropbox makes a fundamental change with this.

[stubbsonic]

Slight topic shift, (apologies) -- but while we're on the topic of Dropbox, was there something in the recent update(s) that changed the actual location of the Dropbox folder on a desktop/laptop Mac? I've been avoiding the update, as I don't know what the implications are.

[mikehalloran]

Slight topic shift, (apologies) -- but while we're on the topic of Dropbox, was there something in the recent update(s) that changed the actual location of the Dropbox folder on a desktop/laptop Mac? I've been avoiding the update, as I don't know what the implications are.

Make certain that you Update the app—small print link and not Upgrade—the large print options that cost you money. You will not see this on a Mac unless Monterey or Ventura right now.

In a nutshell: Your Dropbox folder is now stored in the cloud. There will be a new shortcut in the Locations directory. Click on that to find the new DB folder. You have the option to make it (or folders inside) available offline by right-clicking and selecting Make available offline. which stores copies of all your files—these sync automatically if internet is good. If your System drive is too full, these files will be stored in the Cloud only. You can no longer store your Dropbox folder anywhere except your System/Users/(user) directory—the default location—this is where your alias will now be and your offline storage will be found inside.

After you update the app, a tutorial will appear explaining all this and what the new checkbox colors mean. Do read this. If you left your DB folder in its default location, you will notice no change unless you don’t make the folder available offline and your internet connection is not reliable.

The Mac directory they use is available in only Monterey and later. I don’t know how it’s implemented in Windows or if they’ve started yet. They may or may not make this available in Big Sur and lower but not yet.

Users who stored their Dropbox folders on external drives are now flooding app sites with “my files disappeared” and such. They didn’t go away but one has to look in the new locations. In many ways, it’s how they’ve been doing it in iOS and Android all along. Dropbox has made it clear this is how it works going forward.

[stubbsonic]

Thank you so much for this explanation, MH. Makes sense. I'll go forward now.