Dropbox for Teams - alternatives

Dropbox for Teams - alternatives

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We have been using Dropbox for teams, but are having problems with conflicted copies and some other issues, which Dropbox have advised cannot be resolved

What is everyone else using?

Replies (12)

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By Captainblack
16th Nov 2012 21:01

Try box.com

Captain

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By occca
17th Nov 2012 06:48

Box

Can you open a document from Box and save directly back onto it though?

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Replying to justsotax:
By Captainblack
17th Nov 2012 08:08

Yes, using Box Edit

See https://www.box.com/services/browse/59

There are many add-ons catering for all sorts of requirements.

Captain

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FT
By FirstTab
18th Nov 2012 07:43

Box - conflicting files
I looked at Box.com. The problem of conflicting files is still there. All that happens is that others get an email saying someone else is working on the file. Both versions of the files are saved.

This is one of the problems I am looking to overcome as well.

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By Tkwhitehouse
18th Nov 2012 18:58

Google Drive
I've started using Google Drive and love it.

Everything is in a single folder with good standardised file names and the use Google Apps for word docs and all but the most complicated spreadsheets. The search function on the web app makes finding everything pretty easy.

You can then have multiple users editing spreadsheets at once seeing each others changes real time.

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By James26
23rd Nov 2012 11:45

Software development tools

A long while ago now I used to develop software and used an open sourced tool called Subversion.  It was quite good then and I'm sure it must have developed since.

Big caveat I don't know for a fact this it works with excel / word / xxphatax files but I can't think off the top of my head why it wouldn't.  However, if it does work then that might be an option as you keep all the version history (well all the check out/in versions).  If you want to edit files you check them out, work on them and check them back in which creates a new version, if you want to view them well you just view them. 

You won't need to use the advanced features (merging / compiling etc), I doubt they would work too well anyway as source code!  So if you don't mind having lots of menu options with things you will never use it might be an ok free option if version control is a problem with the above suggestions.

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By chrispike
23rd Nov 2012 12:27

Dropbox alternatives

https://www.sugarsync.com/ is worth a look too.

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FT
By FirstTab
23rd Nov 2012 12:52

Overcome problem?

Do any suggestions overcome the problem of conflicting files - ie not to let another use open the file if the file is being used by someone else? 

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By BigBadWolf
23rd Nov 2012 14:23

Notifybox

add on for dropbox - should solve your problem

http://www.notifybox.com/

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By richard.andersson
23rd Nov 2012 15:05

Dropbox alternatives

I work for a software company, which targets SMEs with a document management & collaboration tool called clinked.com, based in Cambridgeshire.

We have earned several clients who have had same issue with Dropbox as you described. With Clinked, you only store files in the cloud, preventing document duplicates or loss of files completely, which apparently also happened to our clients when they used Dropbox.

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By JohnH
03rd Mar 2013 15:18

A way to avoid conflicted copies of Word and Excel files

Our team used Notifybox for several months to check-out and check-in shared Excel and Word files in Dropbox. Some of the issues with Notifybox are that it sometimes misses file opens and closes, seems to block reboots on Windows XP, sometimes falsely concludes that there is no active internet connection on that PC even though Dropbox is having no problem synchronizing files, and doesn't run on Macs.

I came up with some simple Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros that handle file check-out and check-in. We have been using them on PCs running Office 2010 and Macs running Office 2011. They have been designed to work with Office 2003 on PCs and Office 2004 on Macs but have not yet been tested in those environments.

The way the macros work is that when a file is checked-out to a user, that user’s name is stored as "Manager" name in the file’s built-in properties and the revised file is immediately saved and synchronized through Dropbox.

If another user attempts to open a file that has been checked out to someone else, they will get a message that the file is currently being edited and the name of the other user is displayed.

When the first user completes editing the file and closes it, the Manager's name in the file’s built-in properties is set empty and the file is immediately saved and synchronized through Dropbox thereby checking in the file so someone else can check it out.

We add the macros to each shared file. You can read the documentation and download the macros at www.ocn.me/comacs.htm.

In the present version, if a user checks-out a file and then uses File Save As to save that file under another name, the file under the new name is checked-out to that user but the original file is not checked-in. The user is asked to reopen the original file and then close it. That will check-in the original file. Likewise, if when closing a file the user decides to discard changes, the file remains checked-out to the user. If someone leaves a file checked-out then goes on vacation, anyone can open the file and delete the Manager name in the file’s built-in properties. That will force a check-in of the file.

The macros are working great for our team. I think they could be fairly easily modified to work with other synchronization products such as Google Drive, SugarSync, or Box.com.

If needed, versions could probably be developed for PowerPoint presentations and Publisher files.

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