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Forum Discussion
Scheduling Uploads to Dropbox
We use dropbox to share photos with clients. We can have 4-6GB to upload in a day of various files. I would like to schedule this to happen overnight rather than during the working day. Of course I forget to do this last thing as I leave the studio. Any way to have this done so I can schedule it during the day and then the actually transfer happens overnight?
thanks
OS X does have a sophisticated framework for task scheduling, but it's well hidden and not at all intuitive. Several third-party apps exist which aim to bridge that usability gap.
At a simpler level, which may suit your purpose, it's quite straightforward to wake and sleep a Mac to a preset schedule.
Open System Preferences, choose Energy Saver and click Schedule... Startup or wake your Mac at a set time on a specific day of the week, just weekends, weekdays, or everyday. The second tick box allows you to apply the same choices to when you want your Mac to sleep, restart, or shutdown. Note: if you have a MacBook this will only work if it’s plugged into a power outlet.
- Robert S.
Super User alumni
I am trying to figure out how to avoid having to get up at an ungodly time of the morning to start my sync...
Have you looked at Windows built in Task Scheduler?
OrlaDropbox Staff
Hi Andy, unfortunately it's not possible to schedule uploads at present but you can pause syncing on your Dropbox until the end of the day and then unpause it before you leave at night. The downside to this is that your computer needs to be always on to sync.
Hi Holly, I have the same problem that Andy has. The problem is the off-hours period that my internet provider gives us is between 2:00 am and 8:00 am. I am trying to figure out how to avoid having to get up at an ungodly time of the morning to start my sync which could take several hours given my internet speed. This is true with all HughesNet customers and I am sure a lot of other satellite companies. This would be a great feature to include for us poor folks who have no better choice than these internet companies.
Hi Bob, I have a Mac, OS 10.11
- Rich
Super User II
There's likely a task scheduler of some kind available for Mac as well. Find one, and use it to launch and quit the Dropbox client as needed.
- Robert S.
OS X does have a sophisticated framework for task scheduling, but it's well hidden and not at all intuitive. Several third-party apps exist which aim to bridge that usability gap.
At a simpler level, which may suit your purpose, it's quite straightforward to wake and sleep a Mac to a preset schedule.
Open System Preferences, choose Energy Saver and click Schedule... Startup or wake your Mac at a set time on a specific day of the week, just weekends, weekdays, or everyday. The second tick box allows you to apply the same choices to when you want your Mac to sleep, restart, or shutdown. Note: if you have a MacBook this will only work if it’s plugged into a power outlet.
Hi Robert, You are a life saver or perhaps more accurately a sleep saver. ;-) I just gave it a try and it worked! Thanks very much!
