Dropbox's new feature will make you believe all your cloud-based files are stored locally

[midian182]

Dropbox, the cloud-based storage and sharing solution, is previewing a new feature called Project Infinite that will let users see all the files they have stored on the service and directly access them from the desktop as if they were stored locally.

“Everything in the company’s Dropbox that you’re given access to, whether it’s stored locally or in the cloud, will show up in Dropbox on your desktop. If it’s synced locally, you’ll see the familiar green checkmark, while everything else will have a new cloud icon,” Dropbox product manager Genevieve Sheehan wrote in a blog post.

Project Infinite will let users manage their cloud files inside the Mac OS X Finder or Windows File Explorer in the same way they would any locally-stored file. When you click on one, Dropbox will automatically download and open the file as if it was on your computer's drive, and any changes will be synced back to the cloud.

Obviously, you won’t be able to access Dropbox files in this way if you’re offline, but adding them to your drive is just a matter of selecting the ‘save local copy’ option so it can be viewed when there’s no internet connection.

Not having to navigate Dropbox’s cumbersome web interface to access cloud-based content will definitely be a plus. Right now, Project Infinite is being tested with a “select number of sponsor customers.” Unfortunately, there’s no information on when it will launch or pricing, and the company didn’t say if it will be available to consumers or restricted to business customers.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/64598-dropbox-all-cloud-storage-local.html

 

[Kibaruk]

They used the same setup as the already existant selective sync but on a window and file to file basis, I find it smart, specially on the case demo'd. For home users this might not be very useful.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Doesn't Google Drive do the same thing already? I can see what I have stored there (not very much I might add) without being online from my desktop because there's a duplicate copy stored on my local drive.

 

[Kibaruk]

No Skidmark, it's different. And the same function is available on Dropbox by default, you put stuff on the folder and it gets synced online so you have an offline copy on your computer and an online copy on the cloud.

What this change brings, is you have everything online and you are able to see it from your computer and once you need something it gets downloaded instead of keeping everything offline. And you also have the option to select what is in your computer and what is in the cloud. This would be extremelly useful for people who have a lot of information online and don't need everything to be on the computer, as backup. Or for this case you have a work account and information shared with lots of people, you don't need everything.

Hope that clarifies a bit. Also, Dropbox client is way better than any of the others I've tried, being skydrive later to become onedrive, google drive and of course dropbox. Better in the way that it is smarter on keeping conflictive versions, less resource hungry on up/downloads and better indexing.

 

[MannerMauler]

This will help a lot when you already have a near fully loaded hard drive.