If you have been using an iPhone or iPad for a while before the arrival in 2011 of Apple’s revolutionary iCloud service, it is quite likely that we had quite a few questions, especially after the launch of iCloud Drive .
iCloud basically consists of Apple’s online storage service (or in the cloud) , but it should not be conceived as a service to share different files, as it could be the case with Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive.
In the case of iCloud, however, we are faced with a tremendously useful service when it comes to carrying out backup copies of much of what we have stored on our device, while synchronizing some of that data with other devices on which Let’s access with the same Apple IP.
Subsequently, iCloud Drive fulfills a function similar to an online file sharing service; We could assimilate it as Apple’s version of Dropbox, since it is a cloud-based file storage service mainly oriented to sharing documents , useful when keeping files synchronized between different devices.
In this way, the files that we put in the iCloud Drive folder will be saved on the Mac, but they will also be synchronized with our own online account. Thus, if we have other macOS or iOS devices, the files will also be synchronized so that they are available on these devices.
Is it helpful to use Desktop and Document Folder sync on Mac?
When we configure macOS for the first time, the operating system asks us to activate the synchronization of both the Document Folders and the Desktop, although it is possible not to enable this function and activate it manually later when we need it.
This option is useful, for example, when we are using a free 5 GB iCloud storage plan from Apple, and, at least for the moment, we do not intend to upgrade to a higher plan, so not activating this functionality may be Useful for leaving only some of the most important files in iCloud Drive , such as photos and videos (which, as you may have already discovered, tend to take up a lot of storage).
In case we’re getting close to our iCloud storage limit, and we don’t plan on upgrading to any new plans, it might be more helpful to put off storing Desktop files and Document Folders, at least until we’ve freed up some space. .
Setting up iCloud Drive sync
The process to go through to set up iCloud Drive sync is actually quite simple and straightforward. To begin, we must click on the Apple icon, which as always we will find located in the upper left part of the screen, and then go to System Preferences .
Then, click on Apple ID , although if you use macOS Mojave or any other previous version, it will not be necessary to follow this step. We now select iCloud and, if necessary, we log in with our Apple ID.
Now click on iCloud Drive and then on Options . Now we only have to select those apps and folders that will use iCloud Drive, so that all the options that we select in this section will save documents and data in iCloud.
How to configure it in Windows?
In case you prefer to configure iCloud Drive on a Windows PC , you should know that it is also perfectly possible. First, we must configure iCloud Drive on iPhone, iPad, Mac or iPod Touch, and then proceed to do it on the PC.
To do this, we download and install the iCloud application for Windows , and once done, we enter our Apple ID to log in to iCloud. We simply select iCloud Drive and click Apply .
Remember that after setting up iCloud Drive, all documents and files stored in iCloud will be automatically moved to iCloud Drive.
