Using the ‘save to Dropbox’ feature to preserve your files on the cloud is an excellent way to keep them secure as well as accessible from anywhere. All you need is a connected device running a modern browser, and you can easily figure out how to save files on Dropbox. As a matter of fact, if you have the iOS app, you can even save a file from Dropbox to iPhone. However, Dropbox has evolved quite a bit since it was first introduced back in 2008. In this article, we’ll show you how to save files to Dropbox (how to save to Dropbox), and what you can do once the files have been uploaded. We’ll also show you an excellent alternative cloud storage service that’s ideal for PDF workflows because it has an electronic signature feature integrated into it, similar to HelloSign in Dropbox.
Overview of Dropbox
Let’s look at some of the newer features that you’ll find in the latest version of Dropbox. It has come a long way from being a file-hosting service and now boasts tons of new capabilities. It is now the perfect platform for the work-from-home model that most companies have gravitated to since the pandemic shook the business world to its core. Some important features:
- API integrations for Slack, Zoom, and 300,000 other applications
- Easy user management using the admin console
- Large files can be saved to Dropbox for secure file transfer
- Team folders offer a sync management feature
- File versioning and recovery
- Wipe data from a remote location
- Desktop apps for various platforms
- Folder and link-sharing
- Secure shareable links
Let us now look at how to save a file to Dropbox.
How to Save Files to Dropbox (in Steps)
Assuming you already have a Dropbox account, the steps we show here outline how to save files to Dropbox in Windows 10 and other OS platforms like Mac and Linux.
1. First, log in to your Dropbox account in your browser.
2. Now click the Upload Files or the Upload Folder option in the menu on the right, which will launch Windows File Explorer.
3. In the Explorer window, choose multiple files or a single folder and click OK to save to Dropbox.
Once the files or folder is inside, you’ll see them in the Files tab on the left or in the Recent section in the Home tab. After this, you can do various other things:
What To Do After I Save to Dropbox?
Once your files are in the cloud, you can view and download them again, share folders or links with others, etc. In terms of advanced functions, you can do any of the following:
- Dropbox Paper - This allows you to collaborate on a document in real-time with other users who have Dropbox accounts.
- File Request - This feature allows you to request and collect files from others using a link. These files are stored in a cloud folder, and the folder link can be sent to others; they can access the link even if they don’t have a Dropbox account of their own.
- Delete or Restore Older Versions - If you’ve modified a file and re-uploaded it, you will see several versions. You can now restore an older version and make it current or you can delete all older versions so there’s no confusion.
- For Dropbox mobile app users - You can control your settings so all photos that are taken or documents that are downloaded from email attachments or the web are stored in your Dropbox account.
- Sharing - As mentioned, folders or links can be shared in a secure manner by using specific permissions and restrictions.
- Two-step Verification - This feature allows you to add an additional security step so if your device is lost or stolen, your files are still safe.
Dropbox gives you the ideal multi-terminal experience, but it can get pretty expensive if you have a lot of files. On the other hand, if you only need to save specific types of files such as PDF and also get an electronic signature feature built-into the platform, you can try Wondershare Document Cloud.
Introducing a Dropbox Alternative - Wondershare Document Cloud
This secure cloud storage platform comes with a built-in e-signature service that allows you to send PDF documents to several users at a time. With enterprise-grade security protocols and a single-sign-on requirement, it is cross-compatible with your login from any other Wondershare product such as Filmora, PDFelement, RecoverIt, Dr. Fone, etc. In addition, the multi-terminal nature of the service allows you to access it from any connected device with a modern browser installed. PDF documents can be saved to the cloud and sent for signatures in a completely secure manner no matter where you are.
How to Save Files to Document Cloud
The platform is extremely user-friendly. If you don’t already have a Wondershare ID, you can create one on the official website. Once you log in, follow the steps shown here to upload your files to Wondershare Document Cloud:
1. Go to the Home tab, where you will see an Activity Summary and Recent Document Activity below it.
2. Click the Upload Files button that you see on the right side between those two sections.
3. When the app triggers your local file manager, such as File Explorer or Finder, select your PDF files and click OK or Open to upload them.
4. Saved files can be viewed in the Recent Document Activity section mentioned above.
Once the files are uploaded, you can perform any or all the following operations after clicking the three horizontal dots (...) against the corresponding file name:
- View Files - Use this option to see the contents of the file so you can check what it contains
- Download Files - This can be used to save cloud documents to your desktop computer
- Rename Documents - This feature allows you to assign a new name for a document that saved in the cloud
- Delete PDFs - You can conserve space by using this to delete or archive old documents you no longer need
- Send PDFs for Signature - This is the first signature collection type, where several users can be sent a single copy of a document to collectively sign
- Bulk Send - This second type can be used when you need individual signatures from different people on their own copies of the document you send
- Status Dashboard - The Activity Summary section shows you how many documents are still in the queue for signing, how many need your signature, and how many are complete - you can click on each metric to drill down to specific categories such as drafts, declined documents, and so on
- Templates - If you need to use a template to create a document or if you need to create your own template for future use, you can use the Template option in the Sign tab.
If you think Wondershare Document Cloud is impressive with its rich collection of features and intuitive interface, you’ll be even more pleased with this next product we’re showcasing today.
Introducing PDFelement Pro DC for Windows with Document Cloud Integration
PDFelement is Wondershare’s star PDF editor for Windows and Mac. Offering an extensive list of capabilities ranging from simple PDF editing to advanced document management, it is a comprehensive solution for your document workflows. The newest version for Windows, dubbed PDFelement Pro DC, gives you everything you need to manage your digital files. Here are just some of the key features you can expect:
Wondershare PDFelement Pro DC
Simplify your Workflow with the Document Cloud for PDFelement.
- Edit PDF: This feature allows you to take full control over all elements in a PDF, from watermarks to footer and header text to images to links to embedded media.
- Convert PDF: Create PDFs from other files and convert PDFs to different formats using the powerful conversion engine. Highly accurate in terms of maintaining layouts, alignment, font attributes, etc.
- PDF Security: Strong encryption with passwords for access and modification.
- Reviewing and Commenting: Wide range of annotation and mark-up tools to collaborate with other users.
- Forms Management: Extensive features to create, fill, sign, convert and extract data from PDF forms and other form types.
- Organize PDF: Split and merge files, reorder pages, remove/add pages to files, add bookmarks, etc.
- OCR: Advanced and accurate text recognition for scanned PDFs and image-based text.
- Batch Process: Bulk processing available for file conversion, encryption, and other features.
Possibly the best feature in PDFelement Pro DC is the integration with Wondershare Document Cloud. There are essentially three ways in which you can leverage the power of the cloud from your desktop application:
Upload
If you need to save your current file to the cloud, simply click the Share option at the top and choose Wondershare Cloud as the destination. The file will be saved in your Document Cloud account and displayed on your browser. If you see the screenshot above, you’ll see that you can also save files to Dropbox or Google Drive from within PDFelement Pro DC.
Download
To fetch a document from the cloud and open it in PDFelement’s interface, use the File → Open option. It will trigger your browser to open a new tab and log into your cloud account, from where you can click the Download option against the appropriate file to save it locally and open it with PDFelement.
Send for Signing
The two signing features can be accessed by clicking the Electronic Signature button in the toolbar right below the Protect tab in PDFelement Pro DC. Once the browser is triggered, follow the process by clicking Initiate below either of the first two options.
To Summarize
Now that you know how to save to Dropbox, you can easily build it into your company’s document workflows. In addition, having tools like Wondershare Document Cloud and PDFelement Pro DC for Windows gives you a robust document management solution to handle any volume of work. Not only will these tools from Wondershare make you more efficient and more productive, but they’ll save a lot of money in the long run.