You might see that the Dropbox Community team have been busy working on some major updates to the Community itself! So, here is some info on what’s changed, what’s staying the same and what you can expect from the Dropbox Community overall.
Dropbox Basic: Learn the Basics
If you are reading this, chances are you are new to Dropbox. Welcome! Many of us begin our Dropbox journey with a Basic Account, which has so many perks, and of course, it is free! The basics of your Basic account: Users and Space The Dropbox Basic account allows for 1 user. This means you are the only person that can use this account. But don’t worry, one user doesn’t just mean one device - you can have 3 different devices connected to your Dropbox account. I connected my dropbox account to my phone, tablet, and laptop. When I was in Ghana, I was able to access all of my files from my phone, and to upload some photos. Want to learn more about connecting your mobile devices? Discover how to make the most of your mobile access to Dropbox. Using your Dropbox Basic account: So to get started, you can upload almost any file type to your Dropbox account and keep your important files safe! Whether it’s music files, pictures, media, documents, simply upload and you can access your files anytime, anywhere!With a Dropbox Basic plan you have 2GB of space to use. And of course, we keep your files safe! Dropbox uses multi-factor authentication to ensure that all of your files are secure. Check out howDropbox uses encryption to provide security for your files.When I received my first multi-factor message I said to myself, “Come on Safety”. Dropbox Basic tools you might not know about: The tools within Dropbox are the real secret sauce. Here are some Dropbox features and products you might not know about, check them out below and find out if they can help you to make plans, organize files and save time! Dropbox Paper is a collaboration tool with endless possibilities! Charts, headings and formatting is made easy with one click, LITERALLY. This program is great for creating proposals, project plans and just quickly taking notes. The best part of it is that it takes up very little space in your Dropbox account. Trust me, I make paper docs for all of my todo lists, to plan family trips and to organize any personal projects. Paper has truly become one of my favorite products to use. HelloSign allows you to send 3 documents for eSignature per month. In the digital world we live in, this is a perfect way to get a signature from someone you may not see in person. Explore HelloSign, a simple and easy way to get documents signed securely online. I recently needed a contractor to sign a document that I drafted to fix my home and the document was signed and sent back to me within minutes. And of course, the signed docs are safe and secure too! Dropbox Capture is a tool used to Capture the attention of the person you‘re chatting to. With Capture you can share your thoughts with screenshots, GIFs, or simple videos recorded right on your screen. The upside is that you can clearly say what you mean without scheduling another meeting. Learn more about how to use Dropbox Capture. Having a Dropbox Basic account is more than just a space to store your information. Use Dropbox to manage and organize your files, whether it’s for a project, sharing memories or connecting with others.😁 Will you use these tips to make the most of your Dropbox Basic account?
Dropbox Basic: Let's Maximize Space
Try to think of your Dropbox cloud storage as a well organized bedroom. In order to maximize space, you want to be thoughtful about how you use each closet and section of the room. With your Dropbox Basic account you have 2 GB of storage. With this amount of storage its imperative that you are thoughtful about the files you save to your Dropbox account. If you know more about files sizes, you can make more informed decisions about which files you upload. In this article you will get a better understanding of how to maximize space with your Basic Dropbox account. What are the average file sizes of media we use daily? Images Many of use Dropbox to upload images, which come in several formats and sizes. These formats affect the amount of space the image may take up. Photos from our computers are usually in formats such as JPEG and PNG. This is great because these images often don’t take up as much space as larger format files. Image formatting (as in the space it takes up, not the dimensions of the photo itself) is based on resolution and quality of the pictures. I know this because I uploaded each type of image to my Dropbox Account and saw that the quality and difference in resolution affected the overall size. Larger pictures, such as raw camera footage (TIFF and BMP), should be converted to JPEG before uploading to your dropbox account. The rationale here is so that you save about 1000kB of space. Documents Documents overall take up the least amount of space. With your Basic account, you can save about 25,000 pages of word documents,depending on file size. If you use documents for planning and collaboration, I suggest you try using Dropbox Paper. Paper documents take up very little space on Dropbox. I would suggest placing homework assignments and projects that you may always need access to on your Dropbox account. I am currently working on creating my dissertation and have it saved on Dropbox - this document is super important to me and I need to ensure that I can access it from all of my devices. Media Files Video is the largest file format but that doesn’t mean you can’t store video files in your Dropbox Basic account. To make the video more compact you can use an online compressor, or, like I’ve done in the past, edit the videos to make them shorter. I have also experimented with changing the format of the video to reduce file size. Remember to treat your Dropbox like your well organized bedroom. You want to shrink larger items if you can and want to organize items that you know do not take up much space. I use my Dropbox account to hold my important documents, vacation photos and files from Dropbox Paper. Now that I know how much space each file takes up, I do my best to maximize my space. Let’s maximize our space by using the tips and tricks above - and if you have any other space saving tips, share them in the comments below!Notifications: calm or chaos? Tell us how you prefer to manage them
You know us, we are big fans of collaboration, but every now and then, we stumble across a topic that totally derails a meeting. While on a call, we noticed that someone on the team is walking around with over 94 unread texts, 50+ Slack notifications and a whopping 67,722 unread emails. We’re not going to name names though but when I picked myself up from the floor, it sparked a serious debate on our team and we came to the conclusion that there are two kinds of people, those who thrive in notification calm, and those who live for notification chaos - which one are you? In the interest of honesty, I am a firm believer that a clear notification screen is the only way. I avidly unsubscribe from emails I don’t want to see, I mark messages as unread so I can get back to them if needs be but I like to start my day with a clean slate. Our own Emma is a bigger fan of a well managed to-do list in Dropbox Paper, and you can read all about that right here. While it might make some people’s skin crawl, that means she can let her notifications pile up. I’m not convinced, but it works for her! To augment this ever fluid list, she’s a big fan of the Paper roundup emails and Dash to keep her on track with the many docs doing the rounds at any one time. To quote Emma herself on this, “every so often I'll clear them, but I have yet to miss anything with my chaos”. I also like how Drew (the CEO of Dropbox) has an OPP folder, which translates to other people’s priorities (or problems!)) to help manage those email notifications and understand what needs action on his part. You don’t have to take my word for it, check it out here. So, we want to know - how do you manage your notifications? Clear them? Keep them? Outright ignore them? Tell us in the comments below!Things you can do with Dropbox Paper
1. Holding brainstorms You’ve likely participated in your fair share of brainstorms, but what happens when your team is scattered across three offices and three time zones? Paper is designed to help you grow ideas with others, even if everyone can’t meet in the same room. Your team can easily add photos and videos, jot down quick thoughts, and add comments in the margins. Collaborators can use emoji and stickers to show how they feel about each idea, making comments feel like conversations. It’s the creative space for a brainstorm in the convenience of a simple doc. 2. Taking meeting notes Sometimes you need a doc with a bit more structure than a free-wheeling brainstorm, like when you’re taking notes for a meeting. Here, Paper makes organization and quick formatting a snap. Start a bulleted or numbered list on the fly, or share the doc with colleagues if you need them to jump in. Easily add headings and subheadings, and Paper will smartly organize each section in a table of contents on the left. When the meeting’s over, you can group the most important items in a table for quick reference, or add highlights to emphasize a few key lines—perfect for co-workers who missed the team sync. Discover more things you can do with Paper on our blog!
