Clear, practical technology insights About · Contact
TMTipsMake

How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices

By following a few simple steps on your Mac and your target device, you can easily get your documents synced using iCloud, Google Drive, or Dropbox. Click the menu. This is the upper left corner of the screen.

Author: Marvin Fry4 minutes read
Table of Contents
Method 1 of 3:

Using iCloud

  1. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Click the Apple menu. This is the upper left corner of the screen.
  2. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Click System Preferences.
  3. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Click iCloud.
  4. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Sign in with your Apple ID.
    1. If you do not have one yet, you can make one by clicking 'Create a free Apple ID'.
  5. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Check the iCloud Drive checkbox.
  6. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Click Options.
  7. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Click Desktop and Document Folders.
    1. This option requires macOS Sierra and iOS 10 (if syncing to an iOS device). [1] Older versions of macOS can use the Documents option in the main iCloud menu.
  8. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Check all boxes in the window.
  9. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Click Done.
  10. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Open the Settings app (iOS).
    1. If you want to sync your documents to another Mac or Windows device, download iCloud Drive (if Windows) and repeat the previous steps.
    2. iCloud is not supported for Android devices.
  11. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Tap iCloud.
  12. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Tap iCloud Drive.
  13. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Tap the iCloud Drive slider to enable.
  14. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Open the iCloud Drive App. The files synced from your Desktop and Document folders will appear in the iCloud Drive app interface.
Method 2 of 3:

Using Google Drive

  1. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Navigate to https://drive.google.com/ on your Mac.
  2. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Sign into your Google account.
    1. If you do not have a Google account, you will need to make one.
  3. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Click New.
  4. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Click File Upload.
    1. You can also click Folder Upload to upload multiple documents.
  5. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Select a file on your computer to upload.
  6. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Click Open.
    1. You can also drag and drop files into the Google Drive window to upload them.
  7. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Navigate to https://drive.google.com/ on your other device.
    1. If you are using an iOS or Android device, you can also download the Google Drive app.
  8. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Sign into your Google account. You will have access to all of your files uploaded from your Mac.
    1. You can click/tap a document to view it or open the menu for a document and click/tap Download to save it to your device.
Method 3 of 3:

Using Dropbox

  1. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Go to https://www.dropbox.com/ on your Mac.
  2. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Sign up for an account.
    1. You will need to provide a name, email and password to do so.
  3. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Click the Download.
  4. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Run the installer.
  5. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Sign into the app.
  6. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Click the Dropbox menu. This will appear in the upper right corner of the top menu
  7. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Click Open Dropbox Folder.
  8. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Drag and drop your documents into your Dropbox folder.
    1. A file in the process of uploading will display a blue loading icon. This will change to a green checkmark when the upload or sync is complete.
  9. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Go to https://www.dropbox.com/ on your other device.
    1. If you are using an iOS or Android device you can install the Dropbox app.
  10. images 1 of How to Sync Your Mac Documents to Other Devices
    Sign in to your Dropbox account. Your synced documents will appear in your Dropbox.
    1. You can click/tap a document to view it or open the menu for a document and click/tap Download to save it to your device.

Was this article helpful?

Your feedback helps us improve.

Discussion

Reader Comments 0

Sign in with email or Google to join the discussion.

How to turn off iCloud sync for Desktop and Documents folders on a MacHow to turn off iCloud sync for Desktop and Documents folders on a Mac3 minutes read How to sync files for free across all devices with SyncThingHow to sync files for free across all devices with SyncThing6 minutes read Fix the Google Chrome sync feature not workingFix the Google Chrome sync feature not working5 minutes read How to Keep Your Notes in Perfect Sync Everywhere Without Spending a DimeHow to Keep Your Notes in Perfect Sync Everywhere Without Spending a Dime7 minutes read How to sync settings on Windows 10How to sync settings on Windows 102 minutes read 8 to-do list apps sync on all devices8 to-do list apps sync on all devices9 minutes read