Desktop organizer and quick launcher Berokyo has been around on the Mac and Windows for quite some time now. On the desktop, the app allows you to organize, sort and manage your most used files and folders for quick access and media consumption. The developers recently released a universal iOS version of the app, which like the Mac counterpart puts the focus on letting users visually organize their documents on a virtual bookshelf; unlike the desktop, though, iOS devices don’t have the possibility to display a file system. The developers thus had to rethink the whole approach of Berokyo, changing the way users get files into the app. Berokyo for iOS can create unlimited bookshelves for documents coming from other apps on your iPhone and iPads (like Pages and Numbers) but, most of all, can sync with Dropbox. Read more
Posts tagged with "dropbox"
Berokyo Creates Bookshelves for Anything, Including Dropbox
There’s A New Text Editor On My iPad: Writings
The iPad. The perfect writing device, right? The tablet surely doesn’t miss apps meant for writers, quick note takers and bloggers alike. There are hundreds of text editors available in the App Store, not to mention the word processors and apps meant for more specific tasks such as novel or screen writing.
The iPad has the writing tools.
One may wonder whether all these tools actually have something in common or are all single pieces of software based on fundamental differences and unique features. It is undeniable that the trend amongst most text editors for iPad is to come with Dropbox sync capabilities. Of the “writing tools” mentioned above, the text editors rely on sync nowadays. And to good reason: it was a pain to save a post or note as a .txt file and manually manage it. Now everything happens in the cloud, in the background, automatically.
The Dropbox trend has lead to great apps: PlainText, Elements, IA Writer – just to name a very few. Writings, a new app released today by Italian developers Ludovico Rossi and Vito Modena, shares a feature set similar to other writing applications available in the Store, but comes with new functionalities and interaction methods that have made it stand out from the others on my iPad.
Writings makes composing text on the iPad a real pleasure. Read more
Dropbox For Mac Hits Version 1.0
Dropbox, one of our favorite sync services here at MacStories, just hit version 1.0 on the desktop. The new build, released for Mac, Windows and Linux, it’s available for download on Dropbox official forums here.
If you’ve been following the development of Dropbox for Mac closely, then you know that this 1.0 build is actually a “remixed” version of the 0.8 that’s been available on the forums for a few months now. Dropbox 1.0 comes with a redesigned preference window that makes it easy to check on your computer’s settings and your account information, but the real new feature is selective sync: located in the Advanced tab in the settings, selective sync allows you to choose which folders already on your Dropbox account you want to sync back to your computer. If you want to keep a folder online but not locally, it will not download or sync to your computer. Very useful for files you just want to keep a backup of, but not an actual local copy.
Dropbox 1.0 is available here. As for what you can do with Dropbox, here’s where to start. Check out the full 1.0 changelog below. Read more
Printopia: Finally An App That Lets Me Enable AirPrint On OS X
Since Apple removed AirPrint support from OS X 10.6.5 (we’re referring to support for shared printers, which was enabled in earlier 10.6.5 beta versions), many tweaks and apps to re-activate the functionality have surfaced on the internet. We’ve covered some of them, such as the AirPrint Hacktivator, but in my personal experience I’ve found these hacks to be unreliable at best. I’ve tried many of them, and I don’t know why – after some time they just stop working for me. Perhaps my local network isn’t stable enough, perhaps I have issues with 10.6.5. I don’t know. But thing is, these apps and tweaks stop working after a couple of print sessions.
Yesterday I found out about this new app for Mac, Printopia, which the Ecamm developers tout as the simplest way to enable AirPrint for every printer you have configured on your Mac, together with the possibility to print from an iOS device to a local directory on your Mac and Dropbox. Read more
Create PDFs From Any iOS Device→
Create PDFs From Any iOS Device
I’ve decided to take it a step further for those who want to “print” but remain paperless: Print to a PDF. And not only print to a PDF, but then immediately have that PDF accessible to the same device.
Great tip over at TUAW. Not only you’ll be able to create PDFs inside apps that support AirPrint, you’ll end up having the document available in Dropbox with just one tap.
IA Writer Now iOS 4.2-ready
I’ve been waiting for this update: when IA Writer first came out, I couldn’t use it. I was already running iOS 4.2 beta on my iPad, and the app had a few bugs with the new operating system. The focus mode wasn’t working (and that feature is possibly the most important one in the app), custom keys didn’t match.
With the latest 1.0.2 that showed up a few minutes ago in iTunes, the app is finally ready for the elusive OS. Subfolders and auto-sync aren’t included yet, but they’re coming soon.
Finally, I can use IA Writer. Go get it, as it seems totally worth it.
How To Sync Your Entire iTunes Library With Dropbox
Those who follow me on Twitter have probably read that I’ve been struggling in trying to make iTunes play nice with Dropbox. As I wrote many times here on MacStories in the past, I moved all the files and app databases I access on a daily basis into Dropbox, but iTunes was missing. I read in many forums and blog posts that making iTunes work fine with Dropbox sync across multiple computers was quite a mess, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to take the effort and spend hours messing with 80GB of music (and hours of uploads for my connection) and all those apps I have in my library. Fortunately, I don’t store movies in iTunes.
So as I wrote, I was having doubts about going Dropbox all the way with iTunes. The advantages of this method are obvious: you can sync your devices on multiple computers as long as Dropbox is updated to the latest version, you can check for app updates on any of your computers – you can add music to your library no matter the computer you’re using. With Dropbox, iTunes simply thinks it’s running on a single machine, while in fact you’re using it on multiple machines. I have a MacBook Pro and an iMac, but I’m sure the same method works on 2 or more computers.
There are some tricks you must know, however, and some steps you have to follow in order to make it work and avoid errors. iTunes is not exactly the most stable app for the Mac or the easiest to tweak: by default, it stores its database in a directory other than /Library (where most apps usually reside), it relies on a .xml library file that can easily be corrupted and if you go ahead and store app betas in your iTunes Library, you’ll have to deal with additional folders. In my experience, iTunes has turned out to be the hardest application to sync with Dropbox, but I think I’ve nailed it. Here’s how. Read more
Elements 1.5: Sub-folders, Markdown Preview, Better File Saving
Second Gear’s Elements for iPhone and iPad has been updated to version 1.5 today, a major revision of the popular Dropbox-based text editor that adds lot of new (and much requested) features together with a plethora of bug fixes. We previously covered Elements here and here.
First off, Elements now supports sub-folders and Markdown previews. Sub-folders are really a huge deal for many users out there, as now you’ll be able to hook Elements up with other Dropbox-based apps that organize their documents with a similar structure, such as Plaintext. The family of Dropbox text editors keeps on getting more connected and better integrated.
For me, however, the really huge deal is the improved Markdown support: the app can now view Markdown formatted files (.md, .markdown, .mdown, .mdwn) and open Markdown files from external applications that support the “Open in…” feature. Similarly to Second Gear’s own MarkdownMail, Elements can now generate a live HTML preview of Markdown formatted text for you to instantly check on. Read more
JotAgent for Dropbox: 5 Promo Codes Up for Grabs
JotAgent is a neat little utility for iPhone and iPad that lets you quickly save notes in Dropbox with literally two taps. I reviewed it here a few weeks ago:
The concept is simple: you link the app to your Dropbox account, you fire it up and start writing. With the tap of a button, the note gets quickly saved in Dropbox. That’s it. You can then browse all the notes you saved, or simply write a new one.
JotAgent is not a tool for professional writers: it’s a lightweight app to “jot” down an idea and have it stored on Dropbox, which runs on your iOS devices, the web and Mac. It’s a great way to save random ideas, thoughts and pieces of text in a service that works anywhere, on any device.
The app is available at $0.99 in the App Store, but in case you haven’t bought it yet we have 5 promo codes up for grabs. Jump after the break, check out the giveaway rules and good luck!