Has anyone made the transition to storing all/most of their files in iCloud?

[yongren]

I really wish I could do this, but as convenient as it would be, I haven't made the switch yet for one big reason—the way files are categorized by app rather than folder.


I know iCloud allows sorting into folders a la iOS. But it doesn't change the fact that files have to be linked with a specific program in the cloud.

Like everyone else has been doing for the past few decades, I organize my stuff by folder. If a file has to do with a specific project, it goes in the folder for that project, whether it's a PDF, Word doc, Photoshop file, JPEG, Excel... but I can't do that anymore with iCloud. Instead, things are scattered around in as many different places as there are file types.

I'm in college—if I use iCloud, I can't have one folder for each class, in which I can store the syllabus, readings, homework, essays, notes... The only way out is to have duplicates of my old folders, one within each app, be it Pages, TextEdit, Preview, or something else.

This behavior is totally ridiculous, the exact opposite of the user-friendly experience I love on OS X. It actively prevents people from organizing their stuff. In real life, people don't think in terms of "files I open with Preview" and "files I open with Pages." They think in terms of "Tax stuff" and "Eng 202" and "Thesis project."



I really, really want to like a cool feature like iCloud. But until Apple allows for better file organization, or at least access through Finder, I'll be leaving that "Documents & Data" option unchecked in iCloud preferences... and sticking with Dropbox.


Thoughts? Has anyone found a work-around for this? Or figured out a new workflow?
If you guys agree with me, please use the feedback form on Apple's website to let them know.

 

[mmomega]

You can access it through Finder.
You'd have had to at least used an iOS device with your iCloud account in some way or another.

/Library/Mobile Documents/

I created a Folder and named it iDisk (for the loss of iDisk and MobileMe) created an alias and added it to my Favorites sidebar.

I just create this folder on each of my Macs and it works like DropBox; drop a file in Mobile Documents on my MacBook Air and walk into the other room and it is on my iMac.

 

[dcorban]

My biggest beef is that the iCloud documents don't appear in "Documents". I understand that this is likely intended to eventually negate the need for a Documents folder, but for now, it is odd to have files in two different places.

If I need to open a document, do I go to Documents, or do I open the App? Now I have to make that decision every time. For now, I am content to only have my iWork documents in the cloud. Other documents can stay local.

I really wish there was some sort of Preview app on the iPhone, so I could put all my PDFs in the cloud. Currently, I have to put them in iTunes to sync with iBooks if I want to read them on the go.