Dec 10
15
Writers Toolbox – Dropbox for Backup
When you read about screenwriting on other blogs and printed publications, most focus (as they should) on the words on the page and making your written work better. But, as with any craft, it’s worth talking about how we work, the tools available to keep us productive, and how we protect our creative investment.
One tool that’s hugely important to my work flow is called Dropbox, a free utility and web storage solution that protects my content, gives me accessibility from multiple computers, and has proven to be a great tool for collaborating.
In this post, I’ll talk about Dropbox as a backup utility and an aid for multi-device users.
Backup is obviously a huge concern for anyone who sinks time and effort into digital files, whether they are written documents, film editing, music, or graphics. It would be disastrous to lose a day of work, let alone many days. Some people are dedicated enough to include manual backup in their work flow, but any process that requires this kind of discipline, for me anyway, is subject to risk.
Dropbox is a software utility that operates like an intelligent cloud-storage version of Apple’s Time Machine, for automating this backup process. When you install it, it creates a dedicated folder for documents and files you want to track and then automates the copying of those files up to a duplicate folder on Dropbox’s servers, only when those files change. It means the second you hit “Save” on your document, the Dropbox utility starts backing you up off-site. If your computer crashes, or is stolen, you have another copy safely hidden away.
And like Time Machine, it remembers older versions of your files, which allows you to go back and retrieve previous drafts if something good was unintentionally overwritten.
The other reason I use Dropbox is because I am a multi-device user. Usually, I write on the communal desktop Mac at home. But sometimes I take my old Windows laptop with me to get work done elsewhere. Most recently, I have added an iPad to my workflow to allow me to work on files while I’m commuting to and from the office. So even for a single user, when multiple devices are involved, there is a challenge in making sure the latest copy of your files is always accessible.
While Dropbox automates the copying of files to their server, it also automates the copying of updated server files to any other computer on which Dropbox is installed. Make a change at on your notebook, sync with Dropbox, and immediately the latest copy of your file will be pushed to your computer at home, at the office, anywhere the Dropbox client is active. This is a great feature for the multiple-device user. It means you’re never separated from the files you need.
Dropbox can also be a great cool for collaboration — something I’ll save for a future post — but even for single user, it provides enough benefit that I would recommend using it if you don’t already. For creative writers, the 2GB limit of a free Dropbox account will more than suffice. For musicians, filmmakers, and photographers, you can upgrade to 50 or 100GB of storage for $9.99 or $19.99 per month.