getting pics into icloud through Preview?

Currently the only way to get photos into iCloud is either by an iOS backup, or via Photo Stream. Once the new Photo app is out, then you will be able to use iCloud drive to store your photos, but until then, there is no way to "put" photos into iCloud from a Mac unless you are using iPhoto and you create a Shared Photo Stream. You can also create a Shared Photo Stream from an iOS device.

Cheers,

GB

I want to get pictures into icloud so I open up Preview (I don't have iphoto) and click on the iCloud box in upper left. It says "you can drag files here from finder" but when I go to finder and click a file preview disappears into the dock. How do I get stuff in there? I drag files down to the dock and into previiew but they don't go into icloud, they just open in preview.

How do want to use iCloud? Do yo want to sync photos between devices, or do you want to store photos in iCloud? Do you want to use iCloud to access the photos from several macs, or also from mobile devices?

I am asking this, because currently iCloud can only be used for syncing or sharing and backups, not for storing.

if you also are using mobile devices - iPhone, iPad, and have upgraded them to iOS8 and iCloud Drive, you can no longer sync with Macs running MacOS X 10.9.5. (iCloud Drive FAQ)

I wanted to use it as storage from a Mac running 10.9.5

Currently iCloud Documents will upload documents to iCloud for syncing, but you cannot use it as a remote storage. If you remove a document from the Mac, it will be removed from iCloud and all devices.

To upload arbitrary documents to iCloud for syncing from a Mac running 10.9.5 see Winston Churchill's User Tip.

See this link: Using iCloud to sync multiple document types.

This will copy your documents (photos, or other documents) to iCloud, but also leave a local copy on your Mac.

Can I get them in there without iPhoto from my mac mini running 10.9.5?

No. But later this month when/if Yosemite is released and you upgrade to Yosemite you should be able to put photos on the iCloud Drive without going thru iPhoto.