Sharing Dropbox Files with Others

Step 6 (the last one!) in Learning About Dropbox.

In the last step, you set up your Android devices and learned that you can take a picture on one mobile device and see it on the others as well as your computer AND the cloud. You also know that you can copy any files you’d like from your computer to the Dropbox folder. Yes, you can create other folders in the Dropbox and they’ll sync through the cloud and to your other devices. So yes, you can put a folder full of snow pictures, another of graduation pictures, another of weird, random things you snapped while out shopping.

What’s next? Making sure that you can share the files with others, of course!

Setting up your Android Devices for Dropbox

Step 5 in Learning about Dropbox

In the last step, you configured one of your computer’s folders to synchronize with the cloud. In this step, you’ll configure your Android device (smartphone, tablet, etc.) to do the same. You’ll need to do this once for EACH Android device. It’s an easy process:

Your Computer’s Dropbox Folder

Step 4 in Learning About Dropbox

In the last step, we viewed our new cloud storage using our browser on our computer. Now here comes the cool part: you can configure your computer to have a Dropbox folder, just like any other folder on your computer (like Photos, Documents, etc.). The cool part is that any files you put in this folder will synchronize with your Dropbox on the Cloud.

Dropbox: It’s Cloud Storage

Dropbox is a free service that allows you to put files up on the Internet (“the cloud”) and lets you access them from your computer(s), smartphone(s), tablet(s), and other devices. You can even share these files with friends. Dropbox has a terrific tour to tell you what it is and what it does. Take the Dropbox tour. It has cute illustrations and will take you less than 5 minutes.

Perhaps its greatest trick is that when you take a picture on your phone or your tablet, it automagically* uploads it to the Dropbox cloud, then down to any of your devices. So that picture you took of your dog/the sunset/that sale item/yourself automagically* gets to your computer without you connecting any cables. Awesome!

Configuring the Dropbox “Cloud” – AKA Using your Browser

Step 3 in Learning About Dropbox

In the last step, you created your Dropbox account (or found your existing one). Now we’ll login to that account.

Creating (or Finding) a Dropbox Account

Step 2 in  Learning about Dropbox

A Dropbox Account is what gives you access to your data storage. It consists of your email address and a password (which should not be the same password as your Google account…hopefully you knew that!) You’ll use your account login information in a number of places to set up your devices.

Do you already have a Dropbox account?

There are three answers: Yes, No, and You Don’t Know. Let’s tackle that last one first (since that may be the most obvious answer).

Finding your Gmail address on your Android device

Android devices require a Google account/email address. You’ll want to know this address and make sure it’s the same on all of your devices. On all of your devices, go to:
Settings -> Google (in the Accounts section)
to get to the screen shown below. Note the email address at the top of the screen (obfuscated to protect my privacy).