Want to know more about Dash? Check out how Amy uses Dropbox and Dash to make her day easier here!
So long summer, hello plans
Not to scare anyone, but September is just around the corner, and we all know what that means: it's time to transition from summer fun to school and our regular routines. Whether you're a student, teacher, parent, or professional, getting organized can be a challenge. That's where Dropbox comes in! Here are some quick tips to help you use Dropbox to make the transition smooth and stress-free. Organize Your Files Let’s get those files organized. I know we say this a lot, but it matters - A LOT. And checking in regularly means it never gets out of control. After a summer of photos, projects, and maybe even some work documents, your digital life might be a bit messy. We have a few tips below but if ou want a full plan, you can read this guide on How to organize Dropbox files. Take less than an hour and you can: Create folders for different categories: school subjects, work projects, and personal files. Use descriptive names for your files and folders to make searching easier. “Pictures” is too vague to be useful, but “Rafting with the family 2024” is pretty specific and should make searching easier. Archive old files: Move last year's files to an "Archive" folder to keep your current workspace clutter-free. Or, you could be really lazy like me, and move it all to a folder called “tidy” and sort that out when you have time. Sync Across Devices You’ve heard us say it before but Dropbox allows you to access your files from any device, which is perfect for the busy school year. When you install Dropbox on all your devices: your phone, tablet, and computer, then you can; Find all your Dropbox files and folders are right there and ready to use so you can check in easily, without booting up the computer Take photos and videos using your built-in camera and save them directly to your Dropbox, which is helpful if you’ve found yourself scribbling on physical paper lately Make important files available for offline access— Dropbox will automatically upload any changes once you’re back online Share your files with coworkers via links in an email, text messaging, or another app, so everyone is in the loop, even if they’re not at their desk right now. Collaborate with Classmates and Colleagues Group projects and team tasks have many moving parts, and the one thing you should not have to worry about, is sharing files, material and access. Share folders with your project mates Everyone can upload their work, make edits, and stay updated in real-time. If you need a reminder on sharing, we’ve got you! Use Dropbox Paper for collaborative notes. It's a great tool for brainstorming sessions and meeting notes, and we have a bunch of tips to make the most of it here, and you can use the collaborative features, like to-dos and tagging, to keep your project on track! Scan and Store Important Documents No more losing track of important papers! I mean, you can still use it as an excuse if you want but we’ve got you covered. With the document scanner feature of the Dropbox mobile app, you can: - Digitise files in seconds with the camera on your mobile device. Store your syllabus, permission slips, and important notes digitally - Scan files directly to your Dropbox account - Convert existing files to scans - Save each scan securely in cloud storage. Getting back to school and real life in September doesn’t have to be a headache. With Dropbox, you can stay organized, productive, and even have a little fun along the way. Here’s to a successful and stress-free return to reality, and feel free to share your own Dropbox tips and tricks in the comments below. Let's help each other make this September the best one yet!How to Use Dropbox for a Perfect Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is all about showing appreciation for the special people in your life - a partner, a close friend, or a family member 🤗. Whether you’re celebrating together or from a distance, Dropbox can help you make the day a tiny bit more special. Here are some fun ways to share the love 😻. ❤️ Create a Shared Photo Album Gather all those adorable (and maybe slightly embarrassing) photos and videos from throughout the year into a shared Dropbox folder. Organise them into a digital scrapbook so you can relive your greatest moments 💞. 💌 Plan a Virtual Date If you are in a long distance relationship or perhaps have pals who live far away, Dropbox can help you organise a virtual hang out. Share a playlist , a movie file or even a special dinner recipe so you can enjoy the same experience together, whether it’s a romantic date or a fun night with your besties 🤗. 🎶 Create a Romantic Rewind Playlist Music sets the mood, so why not create the ultimate playlist that reflects your relationship? You can link your favourite songs on Paper and relive the moments you heard them. Whether it's slow ballads, your favorite road trip tunes, or that one song that always makes you both laugh, it’ll be a soundtrack to remember 💗. 🎥 Gift a Personalized Slideshow Make your favourite memories shine by creating a slideshow of your best moments together. Add music, captions, and maybe even some inside jokes, because nothing makes you laugh or brings you closer than a perfectly timed meme in the middle of your sentimental montage 🤓. This Valentine’s Day, use Dropbox to share love, laughter, and and a little extra joy (or romance) with the people who matter most to you. ❤️ Do you have any fun or creative ways to use Dropbox for Valentine’s Day? Let us know below 💬One Month into the New Year: How Are Your Resolutions Coming Along?
As we step into February, it’s a great time to reflect on our New Year’s resolutions and share our progress with the community. Whether you’re striving for personal growth or professional development, staying organized can make all the difference. Here are some resolutions that many of us are focusing on this year, and how Dropbox can help us succeed. Staying Organized with Dropbox One of the most common resolutions is to stay organized. With Dropbox, you can keep all your files in one secure place, making it easier to find what you need when you need it. Take advantage of folders, tags, and search functionalities to manage your documents efficiently. Using the Doc Scanner for Expenses If you’re looking to keep on top of your expenses, using the Dropbox doc scanner can be a game changer. Snap pictures of your receipts and upload them directly to your Dropbox account. This not only keeps your financial documents organized but also ensures that you have everything you need for tax season or budgeting. Leveraging Paper for Projects and Timelines While digital tools are essential, sometimes going back to basics can be beneficial. Using Paper to outline projects and timelines can enhance focus and creativity. Consider keeping a project journal where you outline goals, timelines, and tasks. You can then digitize these notes by uploading them to Dropbox for easy access later. Utilizing Integrations for a Smoother Workflow Integrations can take the pain out of work! Connect Dropbox with your favorite productivity tools like Google Docs, Zoom or Slack. This seamless integration allows for easier collaboration and helps ensure that everyone is on the same page, reducing stress and increasing productivity. Maintaining Work-Life Balance Lastly, one of the most crucial resolutions is to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Make sure to set boundaries for your work hours, and use Dropbox’s features to help you wind down. Organize your files so that when you log off for the day, everything is in its rightful place, allowing you to disconnect from work and enjoy your personal time. We’re still early on in the year, so don’t worry if you’re starting over with your resolutions - I’m a big believer in progress over perfection. Besides the tips above, the best habit I’m trying to get back on track with is “Don’t put it down, put it away” and it’s improved my January already. Do you have any productivity tips, work tricks or handy little tidbits to share? We want to hear them!
Tips on formatting bird sounds for social media with Dropbox?
Hello 👋 all, I'm excited to join this community. As I learn to utilise Dropbox, I'm seeking advice on formatting bird 🦜 sounds for Facebook and Instagram, drawing from my experience as a passionate Wildlife Photographer. Your guidance would be deeply appreciated.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?What you need to know about storing and backing up your photos with Dropbox
We see a lot of questions about storing, sharing and backing up your photos on Dropbox so here are some tips to make that as easy as possible! Back up photos automatically to your Dropbox account You know we love an automatic process, so whether it’s your camera roll photos, your screenshots or your document scans, your cloud photos are some of the most important files you have. In fact our own Emmet told us about a time when he almost lost his photos due to a tech malfunction - “One of my old hard drives of photos got corrupted several years ago. This was almost a year of photos. Thankfully, lot of these had been saved to my Dropbox account automatically, and this was important as a couple who I was friends with wanted a high definition photo of them from the first night they went out together, and I was only able to share it on their wedding day because it was saved on Dropbox.“ Keeping full-resolution copies backed up with online photo storage means you can access them anytime, and you know there is a safe and secure copy in the cloud. Here are just a few ways Dropbox can keep your photos safe: Camera uploads: Once you turn this on, photos from your phone or tablet will be automatically backed up to Dropbox. Or in our desktop app, photos will be copied from cameras, memory cards, or mobile devices whenever you connect one to your computer. Screenshot backups: You can set up our desktop app to automatically move screenshot images to your Dropbox, or have mobile device screenshots backed up using camera uploads. Document scanning: The native/built-in scan functionality in the Dropbox mobile app lets you use your phone’s camera to scan and make digital backups of receipts, whiteboards, and paper documents. Share your photos with links, shared folders and control access Storing your photos is great, but chances are you will want to share some - whether it’s with family members, teammates or the expense team at work. There are a few ways you can do that, and you can manage the access with a few clicks as well. Shared links: You can easily create a link to share any file or folder in your Dropbox. Copy and paste your link into an email, text message, or chat, to share with anyone—even if they don’t have a Dropbox account. Access control: Keep your photos in the right hands by adding password protection, expiration dates, and sign-in requirements to your shared links. Shared folders: Want to collect your photos and someone else’s in the same place? Share files back and forth by inviting other people to sync a folder between your account and theirs. Organize your photos: Saving and sharing your photos can be great but it’s no use if you can’t find the one your looking for, so organizing and viewing your photos is essential too! Here are some tips on how to do that, and if that’s not enough you can see how our own Eliene organizes her photos. Photo browsing: View and browse all of your photos and videos from the Photos tab in our mobile app or on the web. Image previews: View over 35 image file types from dropbox.com or our mobile app. You can preview common files like JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and GIF; app-specific types like Photoshop and Illustrator; raw formats like CR2, DCR, and DNG; and even iOS HEIC photos. Best of all, there’s no need for special photo software. Image tagging: Find your photos fast by adding searchable hashtags to individual photos or an entire folder. How do you manage your photos with Dropbox? Share your tips in the comments below, or if you have any questions you, we can answer those too!Tell us how you use Dropbox!
We have shared a lot of stories about how we use Dropbox, from using Dropbox to plan a wedding to organizing and planning a project, and now we want to focus on you and how you use it! So, to start, we would love to hear about how, and why, you started to use Dropbox. Whether it was to make sure your photos were safe, or to scan and save your receipts, or to work on a group project, we want to hear about it! Leave your stories in the comments, we want to learn from you - the more we know about how you use Dropbox, the more we can share tips and tricks that make sense for you. Looking forward to seeing your comments below!Want to get started with Dropbox Dash?
You might have heard us mentioning the new and fantastic Dash, and if not, you can learn about it here. But just so you know what’s going on, Dropbox Dash is AI-powered universal search that connects all of your tools, content, and apps in a single search bar. We want to make sure folks can sign up for the Dropbox Dash beta and try it out. With that in mind, we chatted to our in house Dash expert James, and he shared how to make sure your set up is perfect first time around. The Dash extension is helpful when you use it on Chrome or Microsoft Edge, but some folks have been getting a little stuck here: I can’t add the Dash browser extension. How can I solve this? If you’re seeing this screen and clicking ‘add extension’ isn’t working, it might be because you don’t have Chrome set as your default browser. This isn’t to say you can’t have multiple browsers in use on your computer, but to finish the installation you will need to: Ensure that Chrome is your default browser Force quit the installation and restart the computer Run installation again Now you can set whatever you want as your default browser but whenever you use Chrome you will have access to Dash, and all of the very helpful AI abilities that come with it. And if you need any help, you can head to dropbox.com/support/email and select Dropbox Dash from the dropdown menu. Let us know how you get on!Product updates: edit photos and PDFs
Want to hear about one of the handiest Dropbox features I use regularly? Check out how easy it is to upload, edit, send, and sign PDFs in one place. No technical wizardry, no back-and-forth file conversions, and no additional software to install. New PDF editing features let you add text and more Not PDFs are ready to go, there's usually some info you need to add or edit, and now, editing them is as easy as click, click, click. We’ve added more tools to our new PDF editing feature so you can do more without changing programs. Now, within Dropbox, you can: Add text to documents: Insert descriptions, dates, notes etc., anywhere on a PDF and modify text font, color, size, and emphasis Page zoom: Adjust the page view for easier navigation These features are useful for managing work-related and personal documents. Our own team makes the most of editing PDFs to organize and consolidate receipts at home. Learn how to get started editing PDFs now. Edit PDFs on-the-go Need to make changes when you'er away from your desk? No worries, you can edit PDFs directly on your iPhone or Android device. Edit PDFs on iPhone: Add text or a signature to PDFs on your iPhone with the Dropbox mobile app. Edit PDFs on Android: The Dropbox smartphone app makes it easy to edit PDFs on your Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, or any other Android device. Work from wherever you are, without needing to switch between devices or apps to get things done. Automatically add watermarks to multiple files No one likes to have their work passed off as someone else’s - and now you can make sure it doesn’t happen to you with a few simple steps. Save time, ensure confidentiality, and protect your brand by applying a watermark automation to a new or existing folder. Then, every PDF and image added to the folder will be automatically watermarked. We’re big fans of automations that truly make life easier, and this one makes us very happy! To create an automation and learn more about watermarking, visit our automations page. I’m definitely excited about these updates, and will make serious use of the PDF editing tools on a regular basis! And you can check out how Lauren uses PDF editing to improve her workflow too! I’d love to know how you will make the most of these new features - tell us below!Dropbox updates to start your 2024 on the right foot
This has been a busy year for everyone, and as we gear up for a fresh start in 2024, I wanted to share some tips on how to kick off the new year on the right foot by using the full power of Dropbox. Whether you want to work on being more organized, your productivity or you want to use AI to make your life easier, we’ve got something for you. And, we want to know how you used Dropbox this year too, so we can share the right kind of tips and tricks with you! Getting started with Dropbox: If you haven't jumped on the Dropbox train yet, now is the perfect time! Setting up an account is a breeze, and there are even more useful tools included in your plan, so you can get everything set up, signed in and ready to hit the ground running in 2024. The new Essentials plan is really exciting, with 3TB of space, large file delivery up to 100 GB, 180 days to restore deleted files, PDF editing, video editing, unlimited signature requests and more. Of course, if you are interested in collaborating with other folks, you might need a team account, so check out the plans here. Once you’re set up with an account, you can watch a tutorial on getting set up over on our learn library. Also, we have shared a lot of tips and tricks, from how to use Paper, using Dropbox to do research, all the way up to Dropbox Dash. So, why not have a look around the Community and get involved? Use AI to stay organized - let Dash do it for you 2024 is the year of using tools that make our lives easier, and Dash does just that! If you ask Dash a question, Dash will gather and summarize relevant info from your apps, files, and content to help find the answer. It’s not just for apps—search your entire desktop in seconds with Dash, including all those open browser tabs, your calendar, emails, and more. It works wherever your content lives, so you can search across every surface in a few clicks—from connected apps to emails, and much more. Beyond just personal organization, Dropbox Dash interacts with the tools you use every day: Google Workspace, Microsoft Outlook, Salesforce, Notion, and many more. Use one search bar to search every connected app at the same time, rather than splitting your effort or jumping from page to page. When it comes to starting each day right, you can see your whole day at a glance really easily (I love this feature). Keep your work day in one central page with Dash, from what meetings to attend, what files you’ll need, and which projects to prioritize—all in one distinct tab. Get started with Dash now so you’re ready for 2024. And if you want to know more about Dash, you can check out our AMA where Geoff Hulten answered Community questions about Dash, future plans and features, or join the Dash group right here on the Community. Collaboration made easy: Chances are, you’re planning for next year. Whether you’re working, you’re in school, or you have personal projects lined up, and unless you’re a true jack of all trades, you will likely need to collaborate with other people. Well, we can make sure that’s smooth sailing. If you are working with a team, and want to collaborate in real time, Dropbox Paper is a great place to start, and to make that even easier, here are some Dropbox Paper tips, and here are just a few examples of Paper templates to kickstart your next project: Meeting agendas Project plans Creative briefs You and your team can keep everything you need in a single location, so you’re not spending time looking for files, all your energy can go into your project, and coming up with the next best thing. Dropbox for mobile: Life doesn't always happen at your actual computer, right? But we almost always have our phones on us, and with the Dropbox mobile app, you can access your files on the go. Capture those spontaneous moments, review documents, and stay connected with your digital life, all from the palm of your hand. With the Dropbox mobile app you can do so much, including: Access all your Dropbox files and folders Upload files and photos to Dropbox Browse and preview files in Dropbox Use third-party apps to open and edit files Take photos and videos using your built-in camera and save them directly to Dropbox Make important files available for offline access Share your files with links So, are you ready to step into 2024 with a new system to make your work smoother and your day clearer? And of course, these are just our ideas, we’d love to hear yours! Share your thoughts, tips, and success stories below. Here's to a fantastic and organized 2024! 🎉
