10 Cool Uses for Dropbox (Part-II)

To continue my last post, here are some more quick tips to unleash the magic of Dropbox.

1.  Sync your passwords across computers: If you are using a password manager like Keepass, then you can just move your database file to dropbox and access your passwords on other computers also. Hurray, no more double saving or carrying the database file in a USB stick.


2. Make your apps portable: If your apps do not require an installation like these wonderful apps from Portable App Suite, you can easily move them to your Dropbox and access them anywhere in the world. So next time if you are on a computer without your favorite email client, just log in to your Dropbox.


3. Print files wirelessly from anywhere: Apple has recently released Airprint for wireless printing from iOS devices but everybody may not be willing to cough up the moolah for a new printer or a new iPhone for that matter. But with Dropbox, you can easily do it by making a new folder called "PrintQueue" (or any other name you wish) in your Dropbox. On a Windows PC, you can then install this VB script (courtesy labnol.org) which monitors any given folder, in this instance our PrintQueue folder, and whenever it detects a new file, it automatically prints to a connected printer. So, now you can magically print that email attachment directly in your office while enjoying a vacation in a tropical paradise. For Mac, you can look here.


4. Share Photo Galleries: You may be using Facebook, Picasa or Flickr for your online photo galleries but Dropbox is anotheroption to consider as it is the easiest and most convenient. You simply drag and drop your folder of pictures to the Photos folder in Dropbox. You can even have multiple folders inside a single folder. Dropbox automatically generates a stunning public gallery for this folder. All you have to do is to just right click the specific folder, choose Dropbox submenu and click "Copy Public Gallery Link". Now you can simply email the link to your friends and family you would like to share with. This is really simplifying your life! Here is a quick demo of such a gallery in action.


5. Secure your data: OMG! You have somehow managed to loose your laptop. And now, more than anything else,  you are concerned about all that sensitive personal data on your laptop falling into hands of unscrupulous elements. But if you had the pragmatism to save your sensitive data in Dropbox, you may have a pretty good chance in logging to the Dropbox website, downloading your data to another computer and then permanently delete all the files. This would immediately remove all data from your lost laptop provided it is connected to internet which is a given nowadays. You have to be really unlucky, if your data had been already accessed before you are able to delete it but still you give yourselves an extra option.  Those who are worried to store their data on Dropbox servers shouldn't  worry about privacy issues as Dropbox has AES-256 encryption which is one of the strongest known.

There are many other ways to enhance your Dropbox experience which depends upon the kind of setup you may like to have. You can also have a look at numerous Dropbox Mobile apps and find a few to your liking. And lastly for the fence sitters, the time is ripe to drop their hesitation and grab a magic pocket for themselves here.

Click here to see a video demo of the basic functionalities of Dropbox to better appraise yourselves of the simplicity of using this service. Happy Sharing everybody.

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