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RoundAreWay

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Am I missing something here?? I was about to get 200gb of icloud storage. But a little research tells me it doesnt work like dropbox. Its just a mirror of the information you already have on your device.

so what would anyone get 200 gygas if they dont have a device that matches the storage!! The reason I was going to get it is because I need the space!! My ipad is always full! I dont have a macbook, just an ipad and iphone, not even combined matches the 200gygas.

so the icloud storage is only for people who already have that capacity in their devices?
 

rui no onna

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Oct 25, 2013
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Am I missing something here?? I was about to get 200gb of icloud storage. But a little research tells me it doesnt work like dropbox. Its just a mirror of the information you already have on your device.

so what would anyone get 200 gygas if they dont have a device that matches the storage!! The reason I was going to get it is because I need the space!! My ipad is always full! I dont have a macbook, just an ipad and iphone, not even combined matches the 200gygas.

so the icloud storage is only for people who already have that capacity in their devices?

Not at all.

iCloud Storage is pretty perfect for offloading pictures. It stores large original copies on iCloud and just keeps thumbnails on your phone saving a lot of storage. That's how my mom's old 32GB iPhone SE1 was setup.

For other stuff, not so much. The devices don't automatically download files stored on iCloud so they don't take up space right off the bat. You have to manually download these files. Alas, once you do, I have yet to find a way to force offloading back to iCloud using the Files app.
 
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RoundAreWay

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Not at all.

iCloud Storage is pretty perfect for offloading pictures. It stores large original copies on iCloud and just keeps thumbnails on your phone saving a lot of storage. That's how my mom's old 32GB iPhone SE1 was setup.

For other stuff, not so much. The devices don't automatically download files stored on iCloud so they don't take up space right off the bat. You have to manually download these files. Alas, once you do, I have yet to find a way to force offloading back to iCloud using the Files app.

I use flickr pro for my pictures, I dont really keep any photos on my devices.

Still, my iphone and ipad are always almost full LOL :)

I was really looking forward to having those 200gygas of cloud storage, but the way its set uo, doesnt really works like storage, at least to me.
 

bluespark

macrumors 68040
Jul 11, 2009
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Am I missing something here?? I was about to get 200gb of icloud storage. But a little research tells me it doesnt work like dropbox. Its just a mirror of the information you already have on your device.

so what would anyone get 200 gygas if they dont have a device that matches the storage!! The reason I was going to get it is because I need the space!! My ipad is always full! I dont have a macbook, just an ipad and iphone, not even combined matches the 200gygas.

so the icloud storage is only for people who already have that capacity in their devices?
iCloud Drive is very similar to DropBox, but iCloud overall goes far beyond that and in many ways makes it feel like your devices have much more storage space than they actually do. With photos, for example, the originals live in the cloud and it intelligently moves them to your machine (or off your machine) according to your usage patterns. For music, everything lives in the cloud and you can choose to download particular albums, playlists, etc., to make them available when you have no internet connection. Documents also live in the cloud but can simultaneously be local on a Mac if they are on the desktop or in the Documents folder.

In short your plan to get 200GB as a supplement to your iPad's storage makes perfect sense, and it will all work best if you trust the system and don't worry about *where* a particular item currently resides (cloud vs. local) unless you need that item when offline.
 

rui no onna

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Oct 25, 2013
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In short your plan to get 200GB as a supplement to your iPad's storage makes perfect sense, and it will all work best if you trust the system and don't worry about *where* a particular item currently resides (cloud vs. local) unless you need that item when offline.

Yeah, this doesn't really work if you're running out of space on your local device and iCloud still won't offload that 200MB file or that folder with 2GB worth of PDFs you had previously downloaded in the Files app. There needs to be an option to manually offload files like you can now do with apps.
 

AutomaticApple

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Yeah, this doesn't really work if you're running out of space on your local device and iCloud still won't offload that 200MB file or that folder with 2GB worth of PDFs you had previously downloaded in the Files app. There needs to be an option to manually offload files like you can now do with apps.
With FileBrower Business?
 

RoundAreWay

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Just bought the app and I'm not seeing that option.

I know GoodReader can do it but only for files stored in GoodReader's iCloud folder.

In any case, this is functionality that should be baked into the OS.
GoodReader can remove local files? That would be a good solution. I bought the app a while ago but didn’t like the UI, but I’m willing to use it if it can work like a dropbox for me, combined with icloud.
 

rui no onna

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Oct 25, 2013
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GoodReader can remove local files? That would be a good solution. I bought the app a while ago but didn’t like the UI, but I’m willing to use it if it can work like a dropbox for me, combined with icloud.

It's limited. It can only eject files stored in its own iCloud folder. When managing files/folders stored in iCloud, it has an iCloud download and iCloud evict option.
 

RoundAreWay

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It's limited. It can only eject files stored in its own iCloud folder. When managing files/folders stored in iCloud, it has an iCloud download and iCloud evict option.
I was trying it last night, in fact I discovered the “evict” button, I was thrilled at first, it was working great at first but I found out icloud was putting the files right back in my ipad (downloading them). Damn! It looked like a great solution for having an offsite folder for documents.
 

rui no onna

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I was trying it last night, in fact I discovered the “evict” button, I was thrilled at first, it was working great at first but I found out icloud was putting the files right back in my ipad (downloading them). Damn! It looked like a great solution for having an offsite folder for documents.

It doesn't do that on my iPads. Of course, I don't really look inside the GoodReader folder from the Files app.
 

gadgetpete

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Nov 7, 2020
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If you want something that is cool and stores off the iPad then I just picked this SSD 1TB Samsung T7 Touch with fingerprint scanner for security from Amazon.de, they are £199 here but 125 Euro on black friday deal over there, I got next day delivery for 2 euro extra. The only problem is I have the 12.9' Pro and it flies on that, see all the reviews on YouTube, but not sure if it will work on non pro's as it has a USBC cable and links to the IOS Files App, anyway useful for other things. They do 500GB, 1TB and 2TB this seems the best deal, it may helps someone who wants secure storage, you can add 4 fingerprints on it, it comes loaded with Mac and Windows software and needs activated on a computer first, after that its plug and play on any device https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B082VW4QCX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

RoundAreWay

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It doesn't do that on my iPads. Of course, I don't really look inside the GoodReader folder from the Files app.
I only looking from the goodreader app. I hit “evict” to the entire folder. Then go in the folder and I see the files effectively offloaded, but they come back in seconds.
 

RoundAreWay

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Ive been researching this, and trying with GoodReader, but just cant get it to work like a normal cloud storage.

So my conclusion is that the 200gb and up icloud storage plan, is only good for people with a device that matches the capacity. Since icloud acts like just a mirror of the data.
(The only use that everybody keeps mentioning is for photos. I use Flickr Pro for that)
 

bradbomb

macrumors 6502a
Jan 7, 2002
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309
Los Angeles, CA
Ive been researching this, and trying with GoodReader, but just cant get it to work like a normal cloud storage.

So my conclusion is that the 200gb and up icloud storage plan, is only good for people with a device that matches the capacity. Since icloud acts like just a mirror of the data.
(The only use that everybody keeps mentioning is for photos. I use Flickr Pro for that)

I still don't get what you mean. I use iCloud Drive to have many different files stored in there. PDFs, old movies that were captured from Digital 8 & Mini DV Tapes that are not a part of my photos library. Also, apps use it as storage. It also does do backups. Here is the breakdown of my storage on there. My iPad Pro is 128GB, my iPhone is 256GB, my MacBook Pro is 256GB, the Mac Mini has 1 TB.

IMG_1C55E5D64A11-1.jpeg
 

McScooby

macrumors 65816
Oct 15, 2005
1,275
819
The Paps of Glenn Close, Scotland.
Ive been researching this, and trying with GoodReader, but just cant get it to work like a normal cloud storage.

So my conclusion is that the 200gb and up icloud storage plan, is only good for people with a device that matches the capacity. Since icloud acts like just a mirror of the data.
(The only use that everybody keeps mentioning is for photos. I use Flickr Pro for that)
Check out the files app on iOS as that's how you access your iCloud drive aka additional space.
 

RoundAreWay

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I still don't get what you mean. I use iCloud Drive to have many different files stored in there. PDFs, old movies that were captured from Digital 8 & Mini DV Tapes that are not a part of my photos library. Also, apps use it as storage. It also does do backups. Here is the breakdown of my storage on there. My iPad Pro is 128GB, my iPhone is 256GB, my MacBook Pro is 256GB, the Mac Mini has 1 TB.

View attachment 1680702
yes thats my point, it makes sense for you, not for the people with a 32g ipad who just wants to free up space.
 

rui no onna

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Oct 25, 2013
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yes thats my point, it makes sense for you, not for the people with a 32g ipad who just wants to free up space.

It could work. It just depends on what stuff is taking up space on the device.

It certainly worked for my aunt who had 32GB iPhone and 32GB iPad. She never gets "your device has ran out of storage" messages anymore.

Have you tried just adding more content to your device and testing if iOS would automatically evict files to iCloud? My main gripe with Files app/iCloud Drive is it's unpredictable. No way to select which files/folders to "pin" or which are okay be offloaded.

Mind, if most of your content are apps or local app data, then iCloud doesn't really do you any good.


P.S.
If a lot of your storage actually is on iCloud Drive and the files have been downloaded to device, a nuclear option to force offloading is to "Erase all contents and settings" on the iPad and "Setup as new".
 
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McScooby

macrumors 65816
Oct 15, 2005
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The Paps of Glenn Close, Scotland.
You didnt read the thread
I read the thread, I just don't get where you're coming from. You reckon that iCloud storage is a waste as it only mirrors your 32GB iPad, there's nowhere to offload info and it's just a mirror of your device, no?
I've given you the benefit of the doubt, that maybe you just don't understand how it works, so I've signposted you to the files app in case you weren't aware and said have a look in there and you've come back at me.

To explicitly explain this as (I've a 32GB in my family also).
  • If I run out of space on device & need space for pictures - iCloud drive solves this (allowing for space originals are only kept on device if there's space available otherwise they're offloaded to iCloud drive, freeing up all 24GB or so available space on the iPad) - you can sign up to iCloud photos & it lifts all photos from the Pad which frees the space (after it's been plugged in & connected to WiFi usually overnight for the first time).
  • If I have loads of PDF's / Books I can save these on iCloud drive and the pad can access them using the iBooks app or whatever, again giving me all 24GB or so space on the iPad - just by sharing a copy using the share sheet & then deleting the original.
  • If I want to save music & films (other than AppleMusic/TV/Movies which don't count within your storage anyway) on iCloud drive no prob. Different apps can access my media there and again means it's not saved on device giving me all 24GB available again using the share sheet option.
  • If I want to access iCloud drive on my Mac, no prob drop something in there & I can then see it on the Pad (again not taking up space on the iPad.
To accèss all my media I use the files app on iOS and iCloud drive to manage stuff, I just point the iPad to content on iCloud drive, which means I've got a 32GB iPad acting as a thin client and 100's of GB's of data.

You've been quick to say it doesn't work for you, your little research tells you otherwise that your that iCloud drive is just a mirror, so please explain explicitly how you get to this conclusion, what are you trying to do?

How many devices do you have attached to iCloud, if a few sharing the account you might have back-ups that can be deleted.
 
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Tsepz

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I read the thread, I just don't get where you're coming from. You reckon that iCloud storage is a waste as it only mirrors your 32GB iPad, there's nowhere to offload info and it's just a mirror of your device, no?
I've given you the benefit of the doubt, that maybe you just don't understand how it works, so I've signposted you to the files app in case you weren't aware and said have a look in there and you've come back at me.

To explicitly explain this as (I've a 32GB in my family also).
  • If I run out of space on device & need space for pictures - iCloud drive solves this (allowing for space originals are only kept on device if there's space available otherwise they're offloaded to iCloud drive, freeing up all 24GB or so available space on the iPad) - you can sign up to iCloud photos & it lifts all photos from the Pad which frees the space (after it's been plugged in & connected to WiFi usually overnight for the first time).
  • If I have loads of PDF's / Books I can save these on iCloud drive and the pad can access them using the iBooks app or whatever, again giving me all 24GB or so space on the iPad - just by sharing a copy using the share sheet & then deleting the original.
  • If I want to save music & films (other than AppleMusic/TV/Movies which don't count within your storage anyway) on iCloud drive no prob. Different apps can access my media there and again means it's not saved on device giving me all 24GB available again using the share sheet option.
  • If I want to access iCloud drive on my Mac, no prob drop something in there & I can then see it on the Pad (again not taking up space on the iPad.
To accèss all my media I use the files app on iOS and iCloud drive to manage stuff, I just point the iPad to content on iCloud drive, which means I've got a 32GB iPad acting as a thin client and 100's of GB's of data.

You've been quick to say it doesn't work for you, your little research tells you otherwise that your that iCloud drive is just a mirror, so please explain explicitly how you get to this conclusion, what are you trying to do?

How many devices do you have attached to iCloud, if a few sharing the account you might have back-ups that can be deleted.
It sounds to me like OP needs to go make a Genius appointment at their local Apple Store, so they can walk him/her through how to do it.
 
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McScooby

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The Paps of Glenn Close, Scotland.
It sounds to me like OP needs to go make a Genius appointment at their local Apple Store, so they can walk him/her through how to do it.
I get it now, after reading this for the nth time. OP is having issue with the way the Goodreader app syncs its data with the iPad. N.B. this is zero to do with iCloud drive and everything to do with their chosen app.

It looks like there's 2 types of syncing the app can do - Normal and Download only - One syncs a mirror of what's on the the server/iCloud and one doesn't.

Maybe OP should change the post title, change their chosen app or maybe just reach out to the developer explaining the issue as it doesn't fulfil their needs.

I wouldn't waste time trying to shoehorn an app to fit the iPad, it should always be the other way around.
 

rui no onna

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Oct 25, 2013
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  • If I have loads of PDF's / Books I can save these on iCloud drive and the pad can access them using the iBooks app or whatever, again giving me all 24GB or so space on the iPad - just by sharing a copy using the share sheet & then deleting the original.
  • If I want to save music & films (other than AppleMusic/TV/Movies which don't count within your storage anyway) on iCloud drive no prob. Different apps can access my media there and again means it's not saved on device giving me all 24GB available again using the share sheet option.

How well does iCloud handle offloading of non-Photo Library content from the device that uploaded said content?

GoodReader isn't really the issue. It's just an attempt to try to force offloading since the official Files app doesn't give you that option.

The OP is trying to find a way to offload iCloud content that's already been downloaded to the device.

For example, if I upload a 1GB file to iCloud Drive using my iPP 12.9, then yes, that 1GB file isn't using up space on my iPhone, iPP 10.5 and Air 3. However, it's still using up space on the iPP 12.9. If I delete the file from my iPP 12.9, then it also deletes it from iCloud Drive. I've yet to figure out a way to remove it from the iPP 12.9 but still keep it on iCloud Drive.
 
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