Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Is Files just iCloud Drive?
- Thread starter Pete Rodgers
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
You have to wait until Dropbox updates their app for iOS 11, at which point your Dropbox files should behave much like the iCloud files. Dropbox did say on their blog that an update is coming this week.
But what if I don't want to store my files on any cloud services? What if I just want to store them locally on my iPad? I don't see any way to do that using IOS 11. Am I missing something?
No. You're not missing anything. Files is just a way to consolidate and streamline cloud servers at this point. There's no directory of files on the device.
Yeah, I'm kind of disappointed by Files. It's just iCloud Drive with the ability to also access cloud accounts. "Documents" by Readdle is a free app that's been around for ages that basically does the same thing while also letting you save files locally. This is not iOS finally getting a file manager as some have said.
You need to use an app to create a local directory first. Once that’s done you’ll get a “On My iDevice” option on the left side and you can freely create folders and move things around after that. I attached a photo showing it.
Oh wow! Great to know. I didn't realize this functionality was there. Just tested by saving a doc to device in pages and works as described. I could move anything from icloud drive to on my device afterwards.
There's still not functionality to create folders on the top device directory, but I guess it's a start. That said, I really don't see much usage for me here because I like to save to cloud anyway so that I can access files across multiple devices...but good for those who need it.
Yea. I think all anyone would need to make good use of “On my iDevice” would be an app that’s basically just a shell that makes a “My Documents” folder or something in that location, then you work with whatever you want from in there.
I’m like you, though, I work from the Cloud and this now does everything I want.
Ok.. sorry for the dumb question but how do I save an individual Pages doc to my device? I can only find the operion to save all docs on device or in the cloud from the settings/Pages for my iPad. Thx
Update… figured it out! Thanks for all the info.
Last edited:
No, you can store files locally. Install any app that supports local storage on iOS 11, like PDF Expert. You can create subfolders, store whatever you like in there, etc. The only thing different than Mac Finder is that you don't have access to root folder, meaning an app needs to create a starting folder. It's a bit weird at first, but basically, it works fine.
Edit: sorry, just noticed others have already answered this
Could you please upload the pic you are referring to? It does not seem to be with your post. Thanks.
I also thought we were going to get a real file manager but after reading about it, I realized that we were getting duped. I was shocked to hear that Apple was going to give us such a thing, I should have known better.
I suppose Apple is on a tricky one here. They have to balance the security of sandboxed apps with the openness of a file system. It's a bit confusing at the moment, like iCloud was to start with. I doubt I'll be using it much other than to access my iCloud data.
I used PDF Expert to create a folder, but I only got a folder within the PDF Expert folder, and no "On My Device" option.
EDIT: to say that I'm trying this on my iPhone SE, not on iPad. Maybe this is the reason.
Attachments
Also weird is that I can't really open files in their correct apps. Word and Excel files clicked in ICloud Drive or OneDrive don't open in Word or Excel, they open in Pages or Numbers.
That is so weird.
Apple should just allow top level root access and then your „stuff“ folder could be placed more sensible.
This is very interesting if true. I am in the market to buy a new ipad pro and have been waiting to understand more about the iOS11 capabilities. If the files app is really just a way to access and store files through various cloud services, I wonder if getting a 256GB model is even worth it... (unless you like to store a lot of music / movies on your device).
You are able to store files locally. For example in „Documents.app“. But also there it is quite strange: You cannot move files without creating a copy and you cannot delete files.
In my opinion Files.app is BETA. Or I don‘t understand the concept.
GoodReader is more of a files app then whatever the hell apple created ever could be. in goodreader you can store and upload files, create complex directories. open many file types right in the manager. its so much better. I thought apples file manager would replace GoodReader for me. no way in a million years could it replace it. apples file manager sucks so bad.