How do I use iCloud Drive?

Question

How do I use iCloud Drive?

I apologize for asking such a basic question, as I've been using computers since the 8086 models of the early 80s, so I am a bit stymied by my inability to understand something that should be, fairly basic.

I recently switched from Windows to Mac, got an iMac for my wife and a MBP for myself. I have 2TB iCloud Drive, and can't for the life of me figure out how to use it.

Example: In Windows 10, you have Onedrive. I can simply open up Onedrive in any browser, and drag a file or folder from my desktop to it. Then, on any device (including my Mac) I open Onedrive (through a browser login or app) on, I can access those files, view them, edit them, etc.

I've read through all the information on iCloud Drive, and can't figure out if I can do the same thing with iCloud Drive.

When I look at my iCloud Drive (by going through finder) all I see are a few folders that are either something I did not put there or stuff I've never used/heard of like: Desktop (which just appears to have the alias's I have on my desktop in it), Shortcuts (?? never used it once), Downloads (empty as I clear it every time I download something), Documents (I have no idea where the stuff in there comes from, as I can't find a documents folder on my Mac), Configurator (no idea what that is or why it's there) and Pages (never used).

Can anyone help me understand how I can get rid of all that, and manually add things to iCloud Drive like OneDrive, or does it not do that? If not, I don't want to spend the $$ for 2TB of storage every month. Is iCould drive a cloud storage app and I'm just misunderstanding how to use it?

I appreciate, genuinely, any help/advice/answers, bearing in mind I'm not 100% Mac fluent at this time.

Thanks

Posted on Oct 8, 2019 3:39 PM

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Answer 1

chuck_3rd

Community Specialist

Oct 10, 2019 3:30 PM in response to Luminax-the-Chargekeeper

Hi Luminax-the-Chargekeeper,

It sounds like you need some help using iCloud to share files between your devices, and I want to help.

First, let's make sure iCloud Drive is enabled. Here are the steps you need to follow to enabled iCloud Drive

Set up iCloud Drive - Apple Support

For the Desktop and Documents folders, these are options to keep those folders synced via iCloud Drive. You can review the explanation of that here:

Add your Desktop and Documents files to iCloud Drive - Apple Support

Any file or folder you place in your iCloud Drive folder will go to the iCloud Drive folder of any other device that is logged into the same Apple ID for iCloud and has iCloud Drive enabled.

Are you trying to share files between your wife's iMac and your MacBook Pro?

When use her iMac, you'll want to make sure you're signed into your own user account and that user is connected to the same Apple ID that your MacBook Pro is connected to:

Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - Apple Support

Let me know if that helps you get this configured to your satisfaction.

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.

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Answer 2

sterling r

Community Specialist

Oct 10, 2019 6:57 PM in response to Luminax-the-Chargekeeper

Hi Luminax-the-Chargekeeper,

I want to help you clear up any confusion, and I want to thank you for your patience.

To answer if iCloud Drive works to your expectations is a yes.

The iCloud Drive folder works just like the cloud synced "drive" folder does on the Mac if you were to use one of the other services mentioned instead.

You place a file or folder into the iCloud Drive folder in Finder, and that is uploaded and accessible on any device logged into the corresponding Apple ID. That's how it works for the services you mentioned, and that's how it works for iCloud Drive.

If you're logged into the correct account on both of your Mac devices, and you place content into the iCloud Drive folder, that content will sync to iCloud and push those changes to the other Mac.

In addition to the above functions, you can optionally enable Desktop and Documents for iCloud Drive so that those folders will also get synced across your devices.

If there's still some confusion, it might be best to contact Apple Support to have someone assist you with configuring and using iCloud Drive to meet your expectations. You can contact Apple Support here:

Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Good luck.

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.

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Answer 3

Oct 10, 2019 7:10 PM in response to sterling r

Thanks, that clears it up. So I can drag and drop (and upload) to iCloud Drive. Much appreciated answer!

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Answer 4

Oct 10, 2019 4:25 PM in response to chuck_3rd

First, thank you for trying to be helpful, your time is appreciated.

This does not address my initial question, which is not about keeping files synched across all my devices. I don't understand this statement at all "Any file or folder you place in your iCloud Drive folder will go to the iCloud Drive folder of any other device that is logged into the same Apple ID for iCloud and has iCloud Drive enabled."

What I want to know, is can I just drop files into iCloud Drive, like you can with Google Drive, OneDrive, DropBox, or almost any other online cloud storage?

I really can't tell you how frustrating it is, and it's not your fault, to not be able to find a simple "yes" or "no" answer to that question.

Again, please forgive my tone, your time is appreciated, my frustration is not at you, it's at the explanation of the service.

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How do I use iCloud Drive?

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