MacMost: iCloud

Many people decide to skip using a backup like Time Machine to protect the files on their Mac, in favor of simply using iCloud Drive and iCloud Photos. While cloud services are a great way to sync and access your files across devices, they fall short when compared to backing up with something like Time Machine. Learn why you should use Time Machine in addition to iCloud to keep your files and photos safe.

A new feature in macOS Catalina will be the ability to share entire folders in iCloud Drive with others. Any files you place in the folder will be available to others that you specify, or anyone with a link of you wish. All with access to the folder can modify, add and delete files. This collaborative feature has been a part of other cloud soltuions for a while, so it is nice to finally have it as part of iCloud. You can also do this with iOS 13.

Mail rules in the Mail app on your Mac are robust and powerful but they no longer work well in a world where we get email on multiple devices. Instead, use iCloud email rules, or filters you can set on your email server. These rules will be applied on the server before the messages get to yoru devices, so they will work properly and consistently.

Here are some useful tips for getting even more from your iCloud service. You can backup and sync photos from cameras using just your iPhone, create family Calendars and shared Notes, you can even add funds to your Apple account so you don't have to pay a few dollars every month.

In my new course, I try to help you get the most from iCloud. Here is an excerpt from the first lesson which explains how cloud services work. The course then goes on to show you how to set up iCloud on Mac and iOS. Further videos explain each feature of iCloud such as iCloud Drive, Photos, data syncing, backups, email, sharing and more. You can learn about this and more in the new Guide to iCloud course at https://macmost.com/icloud

Most iPhone and iPad users rely on iCloud Backup to keep their data safe, even if they don't realize they are using it. You can customize which apps backup to iCloud if you look in the right place in the Settings app. If you want to stick with iCloud's free storage plan you may need to do this to remain under the limit. You can learn about this and more in the new Guide to iCloud course at https://macmost.com/icloud

By default your iPhone will be backed up wirelessly to iCloud using iCloud Backup. Most iPhone users probably don't even know they have this turned on, but it will save them if they lose their iPhone. You can see how much space your iPhone backups are using and customize your backup. You can remove data from apps that you don't really need to be backed up.

You can work with other people on a Pages document in real-time or at separate times. All you need to do is to share the document with them using the Collaborate feature inside Pages. This relies on iCloud, though the other person can use the Web-based version of Pages if they don't have Pages or even a Mac.

If you are using a third-party email address as your Apple ID, you may need to change it if you are losing that email address or plan to move on to another email service. Apple has a page that spells out the steps needed to change which email address is used as your Apple ID.

You can see which web pages you have open on all of your devices using iCloud Tabs. This makes it easy to start reading a page or searching the web on one device, and then continue on another. iCloud Tabs works between your Macs, iPhone and iPad, as long as you are using the same Apple ID for all of them.

When you use iCloud Drive, your files are stored on your Mac, Apple's iCloud Drive server, and also any other Macs using iCloud Drive with your Apple ID. When you save or modify a new file, it is automatically mirrored on the server and your other Macs. If you wish to save storage space on a Mac, you can turn on the Optimize Mac Storage option to have some files automatically offloaded from that Mac, even though they will still be represented by an icon and can be reloaded by simply attempting to access the file.

A new feature in High Sierra is the ability to share single files with other people. You can choose to share with specific people, or anyone with the link. You can choose to allow others to just view, or also edit the file. This could be a good way to collaborate, or just to distribute a file to many people.

If you are using iCloud Drive Documents & Desktop, then all of the files you put in those folders are uploaded to iCloud. If you have projects that you would like to only be stored locally, you can create your own folders in your Home folder for these projects. It is a good idea to create one Local Documents folder and arrange those files in there. This can come in handy for those that use large files where uploading to iCloud for those files is an issue.

If you delete files from an iCloud Drive folder you can usually recover them from the Trash on your Mac. But even after you have emptied the Trash, you can still recover files by using a function on the iCloud.com website.

Usually you cannot use iCloud.com on an iPad or iPhone because you are automatically redirected to a screen that asks you to set up iCloud on the device. But by using the Request Desktop Site button, you can access your iCloud.com account on someone else's iPad or iPhone, or access iCloud.com settings on your own iOS device.

With macOS Sierra you can easily put your Documents and Desktop folders in iCloud Drive. This makes these folders available to all of your Macs and iOS devices. It syncs them effortlessly, so you essentially have the same Desktop and Documents folders on all of your Macs.

Deleting a file from iCloud Drive means that it is deleted across all of your devices. A copy will remain in the trash of the Mac you are using. But even if you empty the trash there is a way to recover the files using iCloud.com.

A new app in iOS 9 called iCloud Drive gives you the ability to access all of the files in your iCloud Drive. Even files for apps such as Preview which has no equivalent in iOS can be accessed. The iCloud Drive app acts as a simple viewer for images and PDFs, and can show previews of other document types. You can then share those documents with other apps on your iPhone or iPad.

The new Photos app for Mac allows you to store all of your photos on Apple's servers as part of their iCloud service. This makes your entire Photos library available on all of your Apple devices including Macs, iPads and iPhones. You can add, edit or delete photos on any device and see the changes on all of them. You can choose to store original photo files on a device, or have the device only use optimized versions of the photos. You can also view your Photo Library on iCloud.com.

With iCloud, you can create shared family calendars that appear on your Mac and iOS devices. You can add anyone with an iCloud account to the calendar and they can view, edit and add events. This makes it easy for a family to stay organized. You get notifications when someone changes the calendar. You can create many of these calendars for different subjects or different groups of people to share. If someone does not have a Mac or iOS device, it may be easier to use a Google calendar instead, which can still be accessed in the same Calendar apps on Apple devices.