

#SYNC ICLOUD FOLDER ON MAC MAC#
Now whenever I create new document on my Mac using Byword, I know that it will automatically be saved to iCloud and Dropbox. Step Five: (Optional) While I was checking around inside ~/Library/Mobile Documents/ I used Default Folder X to set the Byword iCloud folder to be the default folder for all new Byword documents. I created a 'Byword' folder in my ~/Dropbox/ and then created a Hazel rule which says "If any files have been modified since we last checked (matched) this folder, then sync the 'Documents' folder (located inside ~/Library/Mobile Documents/) with the Byword folder in Dropbox. If it has been modified, you can tell Hazel to do specific things, including "sync" from that folder, so another one. For example, Hazel can tell if a file has been modified since the last time Hazel checked a specific folder. It allows you to create rules for all sorts of actions to happen in specific folders if different criteria are met. For those who don't know Hazel, you should, it's one of my irreplaceable apps. Hazel was recently updated to version 3, and one of the new features is a 'sync' option. I bet you can guess what is stored in there.

Inside each one is a "Documents" sub-directory. You'll find something like the list of directories shown here. Once you are in, look for a folder called Mobile Documents Or use ⌘ + Shift + G and type in "~/Library/" if you prefer keyboard shortcuts. When you do that, you'll see the Library folder appear. My recommendation is to go to the Finder, select the "Go" menu, and press the Option/Alt key. Fortunately for you there are at least 18 ways to view that folder. You have to get into the "Library" folder in your Home directory, but that folder has been hidden in Lion. Here's where things get a little bit tricky. Step Three: Find the local iCloud folder. Byword has a File » Move to iCloud menu item. The exact process for this differs from app to app. Go to System Preferences » iCloud and make sure that you have "Documents & Data" set to sync. I'm going to use Byword as an example because it's fairly straight-forward, but the process should work roughly the same for any iCloud enabled Mac app. But if all you want to do is backup iCloud files and be able to retrieve previous versions from Dropbox, it's pretty simple to do. The bad news is that it's a one-way sync from iCloud to Dropbox. The good news is that you can sync iCloud to Dropbox. One of my favorite features of Dropbox is the ability to go back and see revisions from the previous 30 days. I hope I'm wrong and that iCloud turns out to be great, but in the meantime, I know Dropbox, and I trust Dropbox. Apple's previous attempts at online services have left me suspicious about iCloud's performance, reliability, and long-term future. I like the idea behind iCloud, but I don't really trust iCloud yet. I expect that Apple will continue to push more and more features to iCloud that will make people want to use it, and I expect that Apple will continue to make iCloud easier and easier for iOS and Mac developers to use, so developers will want to support it. Mac and iOS users are going to be increasingly pushed to choose between storing their documents in iCloud or Dropbox.
