One of Apple’s bigger oversights with the design of iOS devices has to be the hassle we all undergo to get files from Mac to gadget and vice versa. To continue working on a Pages document on a different platform, you have to connect your device to iTunes and sync before the file will be transferred. This oversight leaves most of us spamming our own email accounts with files we need to quickly move around…until now. Enter DropCopy—the ultimate file-sharing tool for both Macs and iOS devices. Here’s how to use it to achieve file-sharing nirvana.
DropCopy is available for free in the Mac App Store for Mac-to-Mac connections and as a universal app in the iTunes App Store ($4.99) for file transfers between Macs and iOS devices. You will need both the Mac and iOS version to transfer files between all of your devices. The clients both require zero configuration, so they’ll work out of the box as long as your devices are connected to the same network.
After a few seconds, your iPad will show an incoming file transfer.
First, open DropCopy on both devices. To transfer a file from your Mac to your iOS device, locate the DropCopy bubble that appears on your Desktop (by default, it’ll be in the upper-left corner of the screen). Drag a file, group of files, or a folder containing files to the bubble. After a few seconds of holding the files over the bubble, a list of connected devices will appear. Continue dragging to move those files to the device you want to transfer to.
Your iPad will begin transferring the selected file to your selected device.
To transfer files to your Mac from your iPad, open the DropCopy app and tap the bubble in the center of the screen. From the pop-up menu, select Browse/Preview Files and select from the browse option the location you would like to share from. In searching for files to send, you can browse DropCopy Home, User Home, Photo Library, or even the Filesystem Root. Once you’ve located a file that you would like to transfer, tap on the file, and a menu will pop up, allowing you to select the destination device.
By swiping one finger from left to right across the file name, you can delete the file from DropCopy on the iPad.
After your files have been transferred, you can manage them by opening DropCopy on your iPad and tapping Files in the lower-left corner of the window. The file manager will then appear. By tapping on the Share icon to the right of the file you want to share, you can choose to preview the file, open in another application on your iPad, send the file through DropCopy, or email the file.
