Dropbox is a fantastic application. Dropbox lets provides you with one, simple folder in your My Documents folder. Anything you put in this folder is *magically* uploaded to your online Dropbox account. Install Dropbox on multiple computers, and anything you put in your Dropbox folder will be synced across all of your computers/devices.
We’ve been using Dropbox since they launched the service back in 2008 to keep important travel documents, files we frequently work with, etc. in-sync across all of my devices. It’s great when you can pull out your smartphone and grab a document you need while you’re on the road.
Dropbox is extremely lightweight, does not interfere with your system, does not slow it down, and it is extremely easy to use.
The benefits to using Dropbox are:
- Dropbox is free
- Simple – put your files in the Dropbox folder and they are synced.
- You can install Dropbox on as many of your computers as you’d like
The drawbacks to using Dropbox are:
- Dropbox will only sync one folder – you have to put anything you want to sync, in that folder.
- The free version only includes 2 GB worth of storage
For consignment software backups stored in a secure, off-site location, Dropbox can come in handy. Install Dropbox at home and your daily consignment software backups will automatically arrive on your home computer, long before you get home. Dropbox should NOT however, be utilized as “backup software” and instead should be utilized for the convenience of synchronizing files between multiple computers. Dropbox by design, is file-sync software.
As we discussed in the SugarSync article, not all consignment programs use the same backup methods. Since ConsignPro does not have a backup path option, you cannot tell ConsignPro to backup to your Dropbox folder. It’s for this reason that we do not recommend Dropbox for ConsignPro users.
Dean
I am a Software Developer, System Administrator, and consignment software specialist. I currently manage hundreds of consignment workstations, point of sale systems, and database servers all across North America and I am the developer of Peeps' Software, Peeps2Go, and Peeps' Consignor Login for iOS and Android. I've been helping consignment & resale store-owners since 2003. I started The Computer Peeps in February of 2010. Peeps' Software launched in 2016 and is now on hundreds of systems all across North America. I have successfully converted dozens of stores from all of the major consignment software systems. After 20 years of working with consignment stores, I understand the unique challenges consignment & resale store-owners face. From electrical issues in old buildings or strip malls, to advocating for them when their old consignment software keeps crashing.