A reader wants to know one simple thing:
“Just how do I even get stuff into the Cloud? And or then get it out? How can I see what I’ve got in the Cloud if I ever find out how to put stuff in there?
If anyone knows, Cyn, it’s you!”
I’d better know as it is literally my job. I’m willing to bet you access files from the cloud every single day. Because that’s where all of your email is stored. Even if you download your messages to an email client, you’re just making a copy of the cloud file. When you attach an image or a document to send, you’re saving that to the cloud server to send.
Saving something to the cloud is usually as simple as just saving it. For example, all Windows users get 5GB of free OneDrive cloud storage space. If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription you have a full TB.
OneDrive is like any other drive on your computer. You can choose to save pictures, documents, or anything else to it. Just select it when you save as the destination. You’ll notice I also have Dropbox as an option. That’s because I downloaded the app for that service.
Opening a cloud document is just like opening any other location. I just select OneDrive and the contents of the drive displays in the window.
There’s nothing really complicated about the Cloud. It’s just an off-site computer connected to yours with the Internet.
Another example of cloud storage is Google Photos. Click here to learn how that works.
Apple’s Mac computers and iPhones are tightly integrated with their cloud and it’s pretty close to the same process to save and open things from there. You can then save the items to your device instead of the cloud.
I hope that helps.
Thanks, Cyn. That explanation on the cloud, and cloud storage was the most helpful I’ve ever read! Much appreciated!
I don’t want most of my saved documents in the One Drive cloud. I save them under This Pc, then Documents. However, they also are saved to the cloud. How do I stop this from happening?