ctennant1987

Q: Do I still need to store my files locally with iCloud drive? Can I link the iCloud drive to an external hard drive? I am space limited by my internal hdd.

Do I still need to store my files locally with iCloud drive? Can I link the iCloud drive to an external hard drive? I am space limited by my internal hdd.

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2012), iOS 8.3

Posted on May 27, 2015 4:53 PM

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Q: Do I still need to store my files locally with iCloud drive? Can I link the iCloud drive to an external hard drive? I am space lim ... more

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  • by Old Toad,Apple recommended

    Old Toad Old Toad May 27, 2015 5:07 PM in response to ctennant1987
    Level 10 (141,552 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 27, 2015 5:07 PM in response to ctennant1987

    Any file on the iCloud Drive also has a copy on your hard drive.  It's not for off computer mass storage but for sharing working files between all devices signed into the same iCloud account. It's not a replacement for a local backup. 

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  • by ctennant1987,

    ctennant1987 ctennant1987 May 27, 2015 6:26 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (1 points)
    May 27, 2015 6:26 PM in response to Old Toad

    I was most curious about my photo library which I store on an external. Photos has allowed me to use my external volume and the program said that it configured the pictures to be available via the cloud. Is the cloud just acting as an access point to the this drive now for my remote devices? My cloud storage did not lose any additional space when the program prepared the library.

     

    I appreciate your earlier response! I was hoping that I'd be able to start using the cloud as separate storage more so then a workspace.

  • by Old Toad,Apple recommended

    Old Toad Old Toad May 28, 2015 8:58 AM in response to ctennant1987
    Level 10 (141,552 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 28, 2015 8:58 AM in response to ctennant1987

    The iCloud Photo Library is entirely different from the iCloud Drive.  It copies you photos up to the iCloud servers and makes it accessible to all devices which enable iCloud Photo Library and are signed in to the same iCloud account.  If that other device is a mobile device you can choose to have optimized sized files on the device to save space.

     

    iCloud Photo Library FAQ - Apple Support

     

    iCloud Drive FAQ - Apple Support