iCloud Broken (or very poorly conceived) How do you download folders?

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miditime Author

Level 1

8 points

iCloud Broken (or very poorly conceived) How do you download folders?

I'd like to download a folder from my iCloud drive to my Mac -

Much like drop box or Google drive allow.

My phone has sent the files to my iCloud Drive. They are visible there.

The download icon on my iCloud drive is greyed out.

I assume that's because I have iCloud turned off in my system prefs. on my Mac.

I just want to download the folder or files from my chrome browser - I don't want to turn on iCloud Drive on my MAC and essentially have Apple's engineers decide which files and folders are subject to deletion locally. Been there, done that. DO NOT TURN ON ICLOUD DRIVE ON YOUR MAC - fair warning.

can I just download the files from my browser which are clearly visible?

Thanks!

Mac Pro, OS X 10.11

Posted on Dec 31, 2023 8:20 PM

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Answer 1

miditime Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 2, 2024 10:57 AM in response to miditime

iMazing app seems to be a good place to look for Apple file management:

https://imazing.com/iphone-file-transfer?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhc-sBhCEARIsAOVwHuTpqlNZYSTB9pMRrhd4YTf1q3WAnIfrg0dYfdCz00GBpgRIYwDDvAEaAkwsEALw_wcB

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Answer 2

muguy

Level 10

92,300 points

Dec 31, 2023 8:35 PM in response to miditime

You'll find it far easier to sync your documents by enabling iCloud Drive on your Mac. Unless you choose to optimize, all of your files remain on your Mac.

You cannot download whole folders from iCloud.com, just documents.

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Answer 3

muguy

Level 10

92,300 points

Jan 2, 2024 11:04 AM in response to miditime

By default, it does not optimize storage. You need to turn on the option. Any file/folder in the files app will sync provided you have iCloud Drive turned on on all devices in question. Otherwise, you need to download individual files at iCloud.com.

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Answer 4

Lruth1

Level 1

12 points

Jan 14, 2024 11:36 PM in response to miditime

I use iMazing, but I also believe you can setup a folder in iCloud Files (and/or on Macbook) to be a shared folder. Then you can allow someone (yourself) to add/remove/copy contents in the shared folder.

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Answer 5

muguy

Level 10

92,300 points

Jan 2, 2024 10:22 AM in response to miditime

The best way is by syncing using iCloud Drive. So long as you do not optimize storage, all of your files always remain local. Should you opt to optimize, you simply download the file first before working on it. Otherwise, you'll need to download files through iCloud.com or zip your files together to have one download. Or, find a solution provider that does what you want.

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Answer 6

miditime Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 2, 2024 10:18 AM in response to muguy

I need a rock solid MAC where I know for sure where all of my files are and where they are backed up. I'm not sure why Apple would force you to work on a file in the cloud that is no longer local at snail like internet speeds - Do video guys do this? I must be missing something. A cool platform for the iPhone though - constant syncing and optimizing is nice - but not for anything requiring serious speed. I'd just like to download a 2 gig pdf folder my iPhone has uploaded to the cloud onto my MAC since my iTunes no longer supports file sharing with the phone OS. I don't understand why allowing downloading folders from the internet is so out of Apple's technical akill.

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Answer 7

miditime Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 2, 2024 10:53 AM in response to muguy

There is not an option to turn off optimize before turning on iCloud Drive - only a check box to turn it on - I'm guessing it defaults to instantly optimizing your drive - does turning off optimize really work - or does it take a while until it settles or you restart the iCloud connection? Still can't figure out how to get files and folders off of my iPhone - is there another provider that allows downloading folders off of it? (sounds like a question for Google.) Apple might allow that for an additional $20 per month charge - I'd be happy to sign up.

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iCloud Broken (or very poorly conceived) How do you download folders?

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