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Re: Merits of using Dropbox vs iCloud for links to documents in Airtable?

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Alexa_Corcoran
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator

Hi there - 

I am an academic researcher and using Airtable to keep a database of primary source documents that I have scanned and will be using in future grad research. I am not collaborating with anyone on these documents at the moment.

I want to link the actual files to the database entry, but don't think dropping in the actual file will be sustainable over time (thousands of high res scans of various sizes)?  I'll quickly overrun my Airtable space, I believe.

When I scan the files at the National Archives, I use a program (ScanSnap) that is much faster and more reliable in saving the file locally to a folder than uploading to Dropbox automatically, though it is a built-in option. So, I'm somewhat torn.

I am a Mac user and was going to go through the (somewhat tedious) process of using iCloud links to put in the columns where I want to link to the documents. I have plenty of iCloud storage space. The only thing throwing me off is when I'm on my Mac, that link just takes me to the file name to open the file. It doesn't actually *open* the document to see it? 

I do have a Dropbox Essentials account and could put all the files there instead? The process of creating a dropbox link is easier - and when you click on it, you actually SEE the document. But, in the end, it would require more storage purchased and it's an extra step, plus I have to spend more on storage.

Any thoughts on the merits of one vs the other?

Ideally, I would have the folder on iCloud automatically synced over to Dropbox so I could use those links, but alas you cannot have an icloud folder backed up to Dropbox. It's one or the other. I could COPY them into dropbox but then I'm worried about version control?

Hope this makes sense and thanks in advance for the advice.

~ A

P.S. Currently I have some to both, which is obviously not ideal. Just gave a little screenshot as an example.

3 Replies 3
ScottWorld
18 - Pluto
18 - Pluto

@Alexa_Corcoran 

I would highly recommend avoiding iCloud, and using Dropbox instead.

Apple does not provide you with any of the flexibility or customizability or power that you get with a tool like Dropbox (or a tool like Google Drive), and iCloud cannot be automated in any way like you can automate Dropbox.

For example, many of my clients are automating & integrating Airtable with Dropbox using Make's Dropbox integrations (which I highly recommend over Zapier for these reasons).

Also, you are 100% correct to not store your attachments in Airtable, because not only do you have a very limited amount of space in Airtable, but also those files cannot be easily shared outside of Airtable because their URLs expire after 2 hours of accessing them.

Hope this helps! If you’d like to hire an expert Airtable consultant to help you with anything Airtable-related, please feel free to contact me through my website: Airtable consultant — ScottWorld

Alexa_Corcoran
6 - Interface Innovator
6 - Interface Innovator

Ahh, thanks. Value your input. I guess I'll have to plunk down more $ for Dropbox space but sounds like it could be worth it in the end. Sigh.

Thanks for the quick reply - I may have more questions so thanks for the consultant link. Historians do not exactly think in databases. It is not my strong suit. In fact, I got NO suits of data management in my closet AT ALL. ðŸ˜‚

ScottWorld
18 - Pluto
18 - Pluto

Haha! Glad I could help! 🙂 And yes, I think you’ll be much better served by Dropbox in the long run. You might also want to consider Google Drive as a more affordable alternative to Dropbox. Google Drive also offers better integration with the Google Workspace Apps.

- ScottWorld, Expert Airtable Consultant