confusion after importing Dropbox files

[ajoyce]

I was searching in Eaglefiler for a particular file that I use occasionally and couldn't find it. Then I discovered it was because that file was stored in a Dropbox folder so that it could be accessed by another computer.
Well, I wanted to index those files in that dropbox folder so that in the future Eaglefiler would find them. So, I made a folder in the library called dropbox and then I dragged and dropped the contents of my original dropbox folders into that Eaglefiler folder. It copied them and did its thing in indexing the files.

But then I got to thinking that I didn't really want to keep a few of my dropbox folders in Eaglefiler but I became confused as to how Eagle filer is going to handle those dropbox folders. Obviously I'm not going to delete the original files contained in the dropbox folders. And obviously if I access a file that was copied into the dropbox folder within Eaglefiler then I'm not really modifying that file in the dropbox folder but only the copied file from the dropbox folder.

So, does anyone have any ideas as to how best to handle adding files to my Eaglefiler library that need to be accessible to other computers who have dropbox installed on their machines and who are accessing my dropbox folder?

[Michael Tsai]

Obviously I'm not going to delete the original files contained in the dropbox folders. And obviously if I access a file that was copied into the dropbox folder within Eaglefiler then I'm not really modifying that file in the dropbox folder but only the copied file from the dropbox folder.

How about using two libraries: one that’s stored on Dropbox and one for your non-Dropbox files?

[ajoyce]

Hmmm. . . I don't think that would be a workable solution. Since I am the only one that uses Eaglefiler to manage my files, of those who are invited participants in the dropbox folders, I think that it would be more difficult. Also, I'm aware of utilizing multiple libraries in Eaglefiler because I did that initially, but when I'm searching for a particular file I don't want to have to search two or more libraries to try and find it, especially when I'm not sure of the name I used for the file.

I guess there really isn't a viable solution if Dropbox is being used. Thanks anyway.

Art

[Michael Tsai]

Also, I'm aware of utilizing multiple libraries in Eaglefiler because I did that initially, but when I'm searching for a particular file I don't want to have to search two or more libraries to try and find it, especially when I'm not sure of the name I used for the file.

Well, the other thing you can do is have a single library with one folder symlinked to a folder on Dropbox. For example, create a folder in your library called EagleFilerDropbox and create a folder in Dropbox called EagleFilerDropbox. Then remove the EagleFilerDropbox folder from the library’s Files folder, then replace it with a symlink:

rm -r ~/Desktop/EagleFilerLibrary/Files/EagleFilerDropbox
ln -s ~/Dropbox/EagleFilerDropbox ~/Desktop/EagleFilerLibrary/Files/EagleFilerDropbox

Then the EagleFiler library will be on the Mac, but the contents of that folder will be stored on Dropbox.

[ajoyce]

I actually wondered whether a symlink would work for me and I did a search through the user guide for Eaglefiler and couldn't come up with anything that told me how to do such a thing. The only thing I came up with was on page 92, 111, & 143. The word was used but nothing that told me how to use such a thing. When I clicked on the hyperlink on page 92 it took me to a post made September 9 of 2009 and quite frankly that didn't really help me either.

So, maybe a symlink would be what I want but I can't find enough information on a "symlink" or how to use, i.e. steps involved in using, a symlink.

Art

[Michael Tsai]

So, maybe a symlink would be what I want but I can't find enough information on a "symlink" or how to use, i.e. steps involved in using, a symlink.

I provided the relevant Terminal commands in the previous post. The first command deletes the (empty) folder that you created in EagleFiler. The second command creates a symlink in the library folder that points to the folder in Dropbox. Of course, you would need to adjust the paths/names if you’ve used different names for your library or the folder.

[ajoyce]

I provided the relevant Terminal commands in the previous post. The first command deletes the (empty) folder that you created in EagleFiler. The second command creates a symlink in the library folder that points to the folder in Dropbox. Of course, you would need to adjust the paths/names if you’ve used different names for your library or the folder.

Ah! You were assuming that I knew those were terminal commands. Plus. . . you were assuming I'd know what to do with them. However, in each case the answer would be that I didn't know.
Thanks for the info. I'll have to study this out more fully so that I have a basic understanding of what I'm doing. Thanks again.