Dropbox Appendix

Using Dropbox for Input and Output

Dropbox is a company which provides 2 GB of free storage (and more for a fee). Dropbox offers our users several distinct advantages, which extend far beyond its use for our apps:

Files stored in the Dropbox cloud can be accessed by the user via any web browser
Files are automatically synced to a wide variety of computers, including computers running Windows and Linux, as well as Macs running operating systems earlier than Lion (OSX 10.7).
The user interface on the desktop is via a familiar folder and file interface, making it possible to access those files for input or output without the need for separate desktop application.
Dropbox maintains access to previous versions of all files for 30 days.

Click here to get your free Dropbox account

Configuring Dropbox

To set up a Dropbox account, simply visit www.dropbox.com and enter the requested information to set up a free account. Having done so, you will then be able to save and retrieve files to and from that account from our apps which support Dropbox, as well as access those files through a web browser on any computer. The first time you attempt to access Dropbox from a particular app, you will be transferred either to the Dropbox Android app (if you have downloaded and installed that app, which isn't required) or to the Safari web browser on your device, and asked to allow access to Dropbox by that particular app.

To have those files automatically synced to a computer, simply download and install the Dropbox software onto the computer, entering the appropriate account information so the software knows what Dropbox account to sync to. Note that you can do so on multiple computers and the files will be synced to all of them.

Now any file that you save from one of our apps to Dropbox will automatically appear on your computer(s) (typically within a few seconds). The first time you do this, Dropbox will automatically create in the master Dropbox folder (both in the "cloud" and on your computer) a sub-folder entitled Apps, and in that folder you will find a folder by the name of the app (e.g., On Hand BT in the case of our On Hand app). Any file which you put into that folder will then be accessible to the app on your Android device. If you have multiple devices, the file will be accessible to all of them. Thus you can upload a file from your phone to Dropbox and then immediately download the same file into your tablet; at the same time, the file will also be accessible on any of your computers which are being synced to your Dropbox account.

Of course you can use your Dropbox account for things that have nothing to do with our apps. Any files or folders that you put into the master Dropbox folder on your computer will be automatically backed up to the Dropbox "cloud," and will also automatically be copied onto any other computers which are syncing to the same Dropbox account, enabling you to easily share files between multiple computers in your home or office. In order for files to be accessible to our apps, however, they must be put into the particular sub-folder of the Apps folder as noted above.

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