GUIDE TO USING DROPBOX

This is an intermediate guide to Dropbox for desktop and web-based application. It includes everything you need to know for using dropbox, including: (1) Downloading and installing dropbox; (2) Storing and sharing data; and (3) Finding more information for advanced options in Dropbox.

Dropbox is a free (for 2GB data space) application that allows users to store data and access it from various devices. It provides a cloud storage facility to view files and folders across devices to share files or folders with other people. You can upload files to your Dropbox from your desktop and then access it from any other computer with an Internet connection.

To use this guide, you must be familiar with working with[]Internet browseron a computer and have a basic knowledge of how to create files and foldersand to access them on the computer.

Dropbox Setup

Before you begin using Dropbox, you must make sure you have the right equipment to download and install Dropbox. It can be used as an application on computers, laptops or phones. It can also be directly accessed through the website

Getting Started

The Dropbox application runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems. To use these instructions for a desktop application, the following are recommended:

  • At least 512MB of RAM
  • An amount of free space on your computer equal to the amount you want to store on Dropbox
  • Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1
  • Mac: OS X Snow Leopard (10.6) or later

Dropbox can also be accessed through any modern web browser. To use these instructions for Dropbox website, the followingInternet browsers are recommended:

  • Internet Explorer ( version 9 or later)
  • Google Chrome
  • Safari (3+)
  • Firefox (3+)

Download Dropbox

Follow these steps to setup a Dropbox account and install Dropbox to your computer:[word pairs like “print out” and “log in” are two separate words when acting as verbs; one word or hyphenated (check your dictionary) when acting as nouns or adjectives]

  1. To install Dropbox desktop application, go to
  2. Create your Dropbox account by giving your First Name, Last Name, Email address and password.(Refer to Figure 1.)

Note: For creating a Dropbox account, you need to have a valid email address. This email address will be your Dropbox username. You only need one account to sync and access your files with various devices.

Figure 1: Dropbox signup page

  1. Select I agree to Dropbox terms and click on Sign Up. You will then see a screen showing Welcome to Dropbox! (Refer to Figure 2.)

Figure 2: Dropbox Download

  1. Click on continue to download. It will download DropboxInstaller.exe.
  2. Open the .exe file from the Downloads folder.
  3. Click Run. After it finishes installing, a Dropbox setup window will open. (Refer to Figure 3.)
  4. Click on Open my Dropbox folderto view Dropbox and save files in your Dropbox.

Figure 3: Dropbox Setup Window

Using Dropbox

Access Dropbox

To open Dropbox on your desktop, you can click on the Dropbox folderon your desktop. Or to access the web application if you are not on your computer, you can go to sign in with your username and password.

Store Files

Open the Dropbox folder created on the desktop. Move files into Dropbox by copying the file and then pasting it or by dragging the file and dropping them into Dropbox folder.

For storing files through the web based application, follow these steps:

  1. Open
  2. Enter your Dropbox account detail that is your email address and password.
  3. Click on Upload button from top of the screen.
  4. A new Window will open to choose file from computer.[not a step: you’re not telling the reader to do something here, take some specific action. Consolidate this back into the preceding step?]
  5. Select file and click Upload.
  6. You can also upload files by dragging the file and dropping them into Dropbox folder.

Note: Anytime a file/folder is updated through any of your connected devices, Dropbox will automatically sync the file/folder across all your devices.

Share Files

If you want to share your files with other people, you only need to create a shared folder by following steps:

  1. Open Dropbox folder.
  2. Right-click inside it and choose New Folder.
  3. Right click on the folder and you can see option to Share this folder. (Refer to Figure 4.)

Figure 4: Options to Share Folder

  1. Dropbox will then prompt you to enter the email address of the person you want to share the folder with. You can also enter multiple email address separated by comma (,).
  2. After you enter all the email address you can choose permission for each person − whether they can edit or only view the folder. (Refer to Figure 5.)[Use a comma after any introductory element regardless of length (for details see the online textbook). For more on commas, see prismnet.com/~hcexres/textbook/gram1.html#comma]

Figure 5: Options to Share Folder and Set permissions on Desktop

You can also invite people to folders from thewebsite application. To create a new shared folder, click theNew Shared Folderbutton at the top of the page.

Figure 6: Options to Share Folder and Set permissions on Web Application

Getting Information

Once you understand the basic steps to use Dropbox, you can access the online Help Center to get more information. You can go to On the bottom of the webpage, you can see the option Help Center. Click on this link to find additional information for using Dropbox.