Filed under: Software, Internet Tools
Dropbox is taking suggestions on new features, vote for resource fork support!
Dropbox, one of my current top 5 favorite apps, has opened voting for their features roadmap. Some neat suggestions so far, but the most cryptic of the top 5 is among the most useful for Mac users: resource fork support!
For those less technical among us, the resource fork is metadata attached to a file that helps Mac OS better understand a file. Things like custom icons, folder info, spotlight comments, openmeta tags, and even file type are defined here. This is how Mac OS can do extension-less file names. This resource fork information is stripped in many backup applications (including Dropbox).
Go vote this feature request up (sign-in required) so we can all rejoice!
Here's the top 5 requests at time of writing:
- Selective sync. Ability to choose which files or folders get sync'd to which computers.
- Watch any folder. Sync folders outside the My/Dropbox folder
- Share folders without forcing other members to lose space.
- Email files to Dropbox.
- Mac resource fork support
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
terssi said 1:19PM on 11-13-2009
Apple should buy Dropbox.
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Odineye said 10:28PM on 11-13-2009
Agreed - take that cash in the bank, buy dropbox, and use it to replace iDisk.
Josh said 1:24PM on 11-13-2009
Get 256mb bonus using this referral code
https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTIxODYxNDU5
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mrsteveman1 said 1:29PM on 11-13-2009
Why? They have iDisk and they seem to be quite happy getting people to pay $99 for it every year.
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terssi said 2:01PM on 11-13-2009
> Why?
To integrate Dropbox server in Mac OS X Server. For business use.
Rockstar said 1:40PM on 11-13-2009
Client side Private Keys are MUCH more important than resource forks IMHO.
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Ryan said 1:41PM on 11-13-2009
Can I suggest cheaper prices? I'd gobble up a paid account if it went back to yearly payments and had smaller allotments.
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Jamus said 2:04PM on 11-13-2009
Boooooo resource forks. I hope they keep it optional only and not by default if they do support them.
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alf said 3:02PM on 11-13-2009
my ONLY complaint about dropbox is the fact that if you drop a url link into it, then try to open it on another synced computer, it refuses to work. after seeing this resource fork post, it all made sense, as i didn't realize it was stripping the meta data from the link, i.e. causing it not to work on the other side. thanks for the post!
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Tris Hussey said 3:10PM on 11-13-2009
I'd like to suggest Nested folders that have different sharing (right now all sub folders must be shared with all the same users):
https://www.dropbox.com/votebox/252/nested-sharing-folders-with-different-permissions-#votebox:0
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Janichsan said 3:51PM on 11-13-2009
Erm, Matt, I'm afraid you aren't really up to the most recent developments regarding the resource fork: while it is still in existence, Apple no longer uses it.
*None* of the metadata you mention is stored in the resource fork but in invisible files like the notorious .DS_Store.
So why ask for support something that is basically deprecated?
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anon said 6:54PM on 11-13-2009
Just for the heck of it Google extended attributes.
dennis said 4:06PM on 11-13-2009
I vote they don't waste their time or resources developing a feature that many of us, including Apple, don't need or want. Most of my work is going to be used or viewed by PC people or on web sites where the extension is key. Going back to resource forks will enable Mac users to to the same typical newby mistake of keeping files around that can't be used with other OS's, and probably future versions of MacOS.
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Maxwell said 5:25PM on 11-13-2009
You can voter up to 5 times, by the way...
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Gil said 6:20PM on 11-13-2009
Is that resource fork thang the reason my Scrivener folders won't sync correctly if I put them in Dropbox? I tried it a few times (both originating a project in Dropbox and placing it in there after originating elsewhere), and changes got lost from machine to machine.
Of course, this would only happen with the one writing program I use. Grr.
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Janichsan said 3:32AM on 11-14-2009
Definitely not. No modern MacOS X program uses the resource fork anymore.
sageimac said 9:24PM on 11-13-2009
Dropbox is a great, free system. It replaces the need for a flashdrive, with no chance of losing it. I can work on the same files from my PC at work and my Mac at home.
If you sign up through a referral, you get 250MB extra storage for free.
Here is a link to get an additional 250 MB free storage when you sign up:
Get Dropbox
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sageimac said 9:26PM on 11-13-2009
Let's try that link again:
https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTEwNDQ3MTU5
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Johnny Thrash said 4:54AM on 11-14-2009
My suggestion is lower the price. I'm not paying $99 a year for it and that's just the way the cookie crumbles.
I could use a couple more referrals if anyone still needs an account: https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTY4MTE4MTk
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Peter Payne said 8:20PM on 11-14-2009
Yes, cheaper would be better. I am a huge Mac fan yet I dissed my .mac account because it's not a $99 value. And their service, which rules of course, is another $99 a year which I am not willing to pay. Flickr, at $100 for two years, gets my money much faster. I've suggested this to them and they said sorry...
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