Apple's iCloud Drive is one of the coolest new features to come from the company in a long time.
Those of you who updated to iOS 8 probably noticed a little pop-up window that asked you to activate iCloud Drive, a new feature that Apple introduced at WWDC 2014.
Like Dropbox or Google Drive, though there are some differences.
If you're confused about iCloud Drive and want to know more about the feature, read on
Note: You should think of iCloud as an external hard drive...only all your content is securely saved online rather than on a physical hard drive (although we arent entirely sure about the whole secure thing after the 4chan shenanegans).
Also, because computers and mobile devices don't have to be wired to iCloud, you can access all your content from anywhere in the world.
The new iCloud Drive simply lets you sync, save, manage, access, import, and edit your iCloud-saved content from compatible devices and apps.
Prior to iCloud Drive, all your files were limited to their respective apps. For example: You could never access a note saved in the Day One app by using a different note-taking app. Also, if you posted a photo to Instagram but later wanted to open the photo in Snapseed, you would need to save the photo to your Camera Roll before opening it in Snapseed. You wouldn't be able to pull photos from your Instagram library using the Snapseed app.
iCloud Drive gets rid of this type of tedious workflow (really really tedious): it lets you save files in the iCloud (where you can access them from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac), and it lets you quickly re-open those files in any app that is compatible with iCloud Drive (regardless of file type or which app you used to create it).
iCloud Drive even syncs changes in real-time. So, if you start a spreadsheet in Numbers on Mac, you can pick up where you left off on your iPhone or iPad.
iCloud makes this easy on iOS. Just follow these steps:
Subscription plans range from free all the way up to $19.99 a month for 1TB of storage:
You should think of iCloud Drive on iPhone and iPad as an integrated feature, because it is not a mobile app. You can only get to it through an Apple app (such as Numbers, Keynote, Pages) or a third-party App Store app. With iCloud Drive on your iPhone or iPad, you can only save files to iCloud as well as access and edit those files.
But that's not all: one of the coolest parts about iCloud Drive for iOS is that you can import iCloud Drive documents. In other words, if you created a graphic in an iCloud Drive-compatible app and then saved it via iCloud Drive, you can later import that graphic into a Keynote presentation on your iPhone or Mac.
If you want to organise your files into folders, you have to move to a computer running OS X Yosemite or Windows (more on that later). Keep in mind iCloud Drive doesn't have backward compatibility with iOS 7 or even OS X Mavericks, meaning you won't be able to sync files from your device unless it is running iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. Unfortunately, OS X Yosemite isn't even available yet.
Many reports warned users - who rely on iCloud to sync data - to not active iCloud Drive on their iPhone or iPad until OS X Yosemite releases with built-in iCloud Drive. If you were to go ahead and activate iCloud Drive on your iPhone or iPad, be aware that your files (including app files) won't sync across all your devices. You'd also have no way to manage your iCloud-saved files from your Mac.
If you initially said no to activating iCloud Drive on your iPhone or iPad, you can enable iCloud Drive in just a few taps by following these steps: launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad running iOS 8 or higher, then tap on iCloud, and select iCloud Drive.
From there, turn on the option for iCloud Drive.
To open a document in Pages on iOS 8 in iCloud Drive:
In this standard iCloud Drive browser, you'll see the same file and directory listing as on your other devices, allowing you to select and import a file to edit from your drive. Whenever you're done editing the file, you can save the file back out to your iCloud Drive and have the edited file synced back to all of your devices.
Just like any other cloud-storage service, such as Dropbox or Google Drive, iCloud Drive appears listed in Finder under your Favourites sidebar. Click on the icon to open your iCloud Drive folder, and then you every file you have saved to iCloud will show up. You can access, import, and edit these files through compatible Mac apps. (You can, for instance, import an Instagram photo you added to iCloud Drive into a Pages document on Mac.)
Your iCloud Drive folder has a gridview by default, displaying your folders and files and every app that has files stored in their own folders. You can distinguish app folders by their icons, visible on top of folders. Apple has also included a handy search box for when your iCloud Drive folder starts filling up with tons of app folders, folders, and files. You can always change the view from grid to list as well as sort by date, name, and even tags.
To add files to iCloud Drive while on a Mac, just drag and drop them into your iCloud Drive folder. If you're using a iCloud Drive-compatible app on an iPhone or iPad, you should see an option to save your file to iCloud via iCloud Drive. All files visible in your iCloud Drive folder for Mac and are also accessible on your iOS device.
The Windows version of iCloud Drive lets you sync everything from mail and documents to contacts and calendars (between your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, and Windows PC) You can also store any file in iCloud by dragging your documents and photos into iCloud Drive folder on your PC. The feature will even keep your IE, Firefox, or Google Chrome bookmarks on Windows in sync with your Safari bookmarks on an iPhone or iPad.
Go to Apple's Support Page to download iCloud Drive for Windows 7 or later, but keep in mind you should first upgrade your iPhone or iPad to iOS 8.
Simply navigate to iCloud.com in your web browser, then sign into your iCloud account. Once you've done that, click the Drive icon to see, download, and upload files to your iCloud Drive storage
Do you use iCloud Drive? Have you tried syncing files between your devices? How do you like it? Do you want additional features?
Those of you who updated to iOS 8 probably noticed a little pop-up window that asked you to activate iCloud Drive, a new feature that Apple introduced at WWDC 2014.
Like Dropbox or Google Drive, though there are some differences.
If you're confused about iCloud Drive and want to know more about the feature, read on
What is iCloud Drive?
Apple's iCloud Drive debuted alongside iOS 8. It's a subscription service that helps you manage documents and other types of files across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It further works with compatible iOS and OS X apps, allowing you to sync and save files made with those apps in iCloud. You can of course also access, import, and edit those files directly from within compatible apps.Note: You should think of iCloud as an external hard drive...only all your content is securely saved online rather than on a physical hard drive (although we arent entirely sure about the whole secure thing after the 4chan shenanegans).
Also, because computers and mobile devices don't have to be wired to iCloud, you can access all your content from anywhere in the world.
The new iCloud Drive simply lets you sync, save, manage, access, import, and edit your iCloud-saved content from compatible devices and apps.
Prior to iCloud Drive, all your files were limited to their respective apps. For example: You could never access a note saved in the Day One app by using a different note-taking app. Also, if you posted a photo to Instagram but later wanted to open the photo in Snapseed, you would need to save the photo to your Camera Roll before opening it in Snapseed. You wouldn't be able to pull photos from your Instagram library using the Snapseed app.
iCloud Drive gets rid of this type of tedious workflow (really really tedious): it lets you save files in the iCloud (where you can access them from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac), and it lets you quickly re-open those files in any app that is compatible with iCloud Drive (regardless of file type or which app you used to create it).
iCloud Drive even syncs changes in real-time. So, if you start a spreadsheet in Numbers on Mac, you can pick up where you left off on your iPhone or iPad.
Cost?
iCloud Drive shares the total storage allotment from your iCloud account. By default, you're given 5 GB of storage for free. This isn't much if you are the kind that stores and syncs lots of files, so you'll probably want to upgrade to additional storage.iCloud makes this easy on iOS. Just follow these steps:
- Open Settings | iCloud | Storage
- Tap the Change Storage Plan button
- Chosose the storage plan you prefer
- Click 'Buy' in the upper right-hand corner
- Sign in with your iCloud account
Subscription plans range from free all the way up to $19.99 a month for 1TB of storage:
- 5GB of storage - Free
- 20GB of storage - $0.99 per month
- 200GB of storage - $3.99 per month
- 500GB of storage - $9.99 per month
- 1TB of storage - $19.99 per month
How does it work on iOS?
Apple's iCloud Drive for iOS rolled out with iOS 8. But there is no iCloud Drive iOS app.You should think of iCloud Drive on iPhone and iPad as an integrated feature, because it is not a mobile app. You can only get to it through an Apple app (such as Numbers, Keynote, Pages) or a third-party App Store app. With iCloud Drive on your iPhone or iPad, you can only save files to iCloud as well as access and edit those files.
But that's not all: one of the coolest parts about iCloud Drive for iOS is that you can import iCloud Drive documents. In other words, if you created a graphic in an iCloud Drive-compatible app and then saved it via iCloud Drive, you can later import that graphic into a Keynote presentation on your iPhone or Mac.
If you want to organise your files into folders, you have to move to a computer running OS X Yosemite or Windows (more on that later). Keep in mind iCloud Drive doesn't have backward compatibility with iOS 7 or even OS X Mavericks, meaning you won't be able to sync files from your device unless it is running iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. Unfortunately, OS X Yosemite isn't even available yet.
Many reports warned users - who rely on iCloud to sync data - to not active iCloud Drive on their iPhone or iPad until OS X Yosemite releases with built-in iCloud Drive. If you were to go ahead and activate iCloud Drive on your iPhone or iPad, be aware that your files (including app files) won't sync across all your devices. You'd also have no way to manage your iCloud-saved files from your Mac.
If you initially said no to activating iCloud Drive on your iPhone or iPad, you can enable iCloud Drive in just a few taps by following these steps: launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad running iOS 8 or higher, then tap on iCloud, and select iCloud Drive.
From there, turn on the option for iCloud Drive.
Viewing and editing files on iOS
We'll use Pages for this example to show you how you can open and edit a file stored in your iCloud Drive in iOS 8, but other applications that support iCloud Drive will let you open and edit compatible files in the same manner.To open a document in Pages on iOS 8 in iCloud Drive:
- Open Pages
- Select the plus sign [+] in the Documents list
- Select iCloud
In this standard iCloud Drive browser, you'll see the same file and directory listing as on your other devices, allowing you to select and import a file to edit from your drive. Whenever you're done editing the file, you can save the file back out to your iCloud Drive and have the edited file synced back to all of your devices.
How does it work on OS X?
iCloud Drive for Mac launched alongside OS X Yosemite.Just like any other cloud-storage service, such as Dropbox or Google Drive, iCloud Drive appears listed in Finder under your Favourites sidebar. Click on the icon to open your iCloud Drive folder, and then you every file you have saved to iCloud will show up. You can access, import, and edit these files through compatible Mac apps. (You can, for instance, import an Instagram photo you added to iCloud Drive into a Pages document on Mac.)
Your iCloud Drive folder has a gridview by default, displaying your folders and files and every app that has files stored in their own folders. You can distinguish app folders by their icons, visible on top of folders. Apple has also included a handy search box for when your iCloud Drive folder starts filling up with tons of app folders, folders, and files. You can always change the view from grid to list as well as sort by date, name, and even tags.
To add files to iCloud Drive while on a Mac, just drag and drop them into your iCloud Drive folder. If you're using a iCloud Drive-compatible app on an iPhone or iPad, you should see an option to save your file to iCloud via iCloud Drive. All files visible in your iCloud Drive folder for Mac and are also accessible on your iOS device.
How does it work on Windows?
Windows PC owners who want to use iCloud Drive have been able to do so for a while, while Mac users had to wait. On a new support page recently launched, Apple unveiled an updated Windows version of iCloud that lets Windows users download and install a pared-down iCloud Drive.The Windows version of iCloud Drive lets you sync everything from mail and documents to contacts and calendars (between your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, and Windows PC) You can also store any file in iCloud by dragging your documents and photos into iCloud Drive folder on your PC. The feature will even keep your IE, Firefox, or Google Chrome bookmarks on Windows in sync with your Safari bookmarks on an iPhone or iPad.
Go to Apple's Support Page to download iCloud Drive for Windows 7 or later, but keep in mind you should first upgrade your iPhone or iPad to iOS 8.
Viewing files online
What if you're on another computer that isn't compatible with iCloud Drive or if you're on a shared public computer? Fortunately, you can still access your files. That's because iCloud Drive is also accessible from iCloud.com.Simply navigate to iCloud.com in your web browser, then sign into your iCloud account. Once you've done that, click the Drive icon to see, download, and upload files to your iCloud Drive storage
Note: Once iCloud Drive has been enabled on one device, all of your existing iCloud devices will be migrated over to use iCloud Drive as well. If you were previously using iCloud document sync with various applications, then those documents will be available inside of iCloud Drive.
Synchronize everything
As you can see, iCloud Drive is almost a Dropbox replacement, letting you synchronize files and folders between your Macs and iOS devices, but also between Windows and any other device by using the iCloud.com interface.Do you use iCloud Drive? Have you tried syncing files between your devices? How do you like it? Do you want additional features?
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