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Apple Computing Products:
macOS - Operating System
iCloud versus iCloud Drive Confusion
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<blockquote data-quote="MacInWin" data-source="post: 1951464" data-attributes="member: 396914"><p>Thank you for the kind words. </p><p></p><p>iCloud and iCloud drive are not that complex, but Apple's choice to name them that way makes it more confusing.</p><p></p><p>Stop here if you don't want the details:</p><p></p><p>iCloud is a generic term for Apple's cloud storage. It's used by your AppleID when you log multiple devices into it for syncing things like pictures, for example. It can also be a backup location for your iDevices. </p><p></p><p>iCloud Drive is a service Apple offers that has two modes of operation (Jef Raskin would be furious at that). In one mode, if the user opts for "Optimize storage" the contents of the user's Documents and Desktop folders are MOVED to the cloud and what are called "dataless" files, or tokens are left behind to point to the location in the cloud. When the user wants to use one of these files, it is downloaded from the cloud to the local storage. When the user is done, it is saved locally, then again moved to the cloud and replaced with a new dataless file.</p><p></p><p>Now, all is good unless the user is not connected to iCloud for any reason, or if the connection is poor quality or speed. Then things fail or get very slow.</p><p></p><p>Where it gets confused is that if the user then decides to reverse the Optimize option, macOS creates a new Documents folder and a new Desktop folder to replace the ones with the dataless tokens in them. Then it creates new folders with those names in the iCloud Drive folder on the local storage and downloads all of the actual files from iCloud to those two folders. It's up to the user to then move them into the new, empty, folders created by the system when Optimize was turned off, if the user wants them there. Apple doesn't make assumptions about what user's intend to do.</p><p></p><p>In the other mode of iCloud Drive, it operates more like other file sharing services (Dropbox, etc.). The user can put things into the iClod Drive folder and whatever is there is duplicated (not moved) to the iCloud Drive folder in iCloud. Other devices also logged into that same AppleID can access that iCloud Drive folder for those files. That access can be manually or automatically triggered by the settings for sync. This second method is how I use iCloud Drive for my stuff. If I want to get a file to my iPad from my MBP, I drop it in iCloud Drive folder. </p><p></p><p>It didn't have to be this way. Apple developer ignored Jef Raskin's advice to always be modeless. And in this case, modeless would have been achieved simply by NOT naming all of these functions with "iCloud." </p><p></p><p>I think I'll mark this post because I seem to end up repeating this same story as new users stumble into the morass.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MacInWin, post: 1951464, member: 396914"] Thank you for the kind words. iCloud and iCloud drive are not that complex, but Apple's choice to name them that way makes it more confusing. Stop here if you don't want the details: iCloud is a generic term for Apple's cloud storage. It's used by your AppleID when you log multiple devices into it for syncing things like pictures, for example. It can also be a backup location for your iDevices. iCloud Drive is a service Apple offers that has two modes of operation (Jef Raskin would be furious at that). In one mode, if the user opts for "Optimize storage" the contents of the user's Documents and Desktop folders are MOVED to the cloud and what are called "dataless" files, or tokens are left behind to point to the location in the cloud. When the user wants to use one of these files, it is downloaded from the cloud to the local storage. When the user is done, it is saved locally, then again moved to the cloud and replaced with a new dataless file. Now, all is good unless the user is not connected to iCloud for any reason, or if the connection is poor quality or speed. Then things fail or get very slow. Where it gets confused is that if the user then decides to reverse the Optimize option, macOS creates a new Documents folder and a new Desktop folder to replace the ones with the dataless tokens in them. Then it creates new folders with those names in the iCloud Drive folder on the local storage and downloads all of the actual files from iCloud to those two folders. It's up to the user to then move them into the new, empty, folders created by the system when Optimize was turned off, if the user wants them there. Apple doesn't make assumptions about what user's intend to do. In the other mode of iCloud Drive, it operates more like other file sharing services (Dropbox, etc.). The user can put things into the iClod Drive folder and whatever is there is duplicated (not moved) to the iCloud Drive folder in iCloud. Other devices also logged into that same AppleID can access that iCloud Drive folder for those files. That access can be manually or automatically triggered by the settings for sync. This second method is how I use iCloud Drive for my stuff. If I want to get a file to my iPad from my MBP, I drop it in iCloud Drive folder. It didn't have to be this way. Apple developer ignored Jef Raskin's advice to always be modeless. And in this case, modeless would have been achieved simply by NOT naming all of these functions with "iCloud." I think I'll mark this post because I seem to end up repeating this same story as new users stumble into the morass. [/QUOTE]
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Apple Computing Products:
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iCloud versus iCloud Drive Confusion
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