Navigate iCloud Drive

When you’re on the move—from home to office, classroom to dorm room—it’s not always possible to work on the same device. So how do you move your files between devices? Much like Dropbox and Google Drive, Apple’s iCloud Drive stores your files in the cloud, making it easy to access them on any of your Apple devices (or a Windows PC)—so long as the device has a fast enough Internet connection. Drag files to and from the iCloud Drive folder in your Mac’s Finder ①, and iCloud Drive syncs them across your devices so they’re always up to date.

What iCloud Drive Can Do

Use iCloud Drive to store documents, presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs, images, you name it, on Apple’s servers. Everything you save here is immediately synced and available on other compatible Apple devices you’ve set up.

That means you can work on a document on your iPad and then open it later on your Mac. In many cases, you can also work with it on the iCloud.com Web site.

Turn On iCloud Drive

If you’re the lucky owner of a new Mac running Sierra or an iOS device running iOS 10, iCloud Drive is turned on automatically.

Follow these steps to check whether you’re using iCloud Drive and to turn it on if you’re not:

On the Mac, go to System Preferences > iCloud and, if you aren’t already signed in to iCloud, sign in with your Apple ID.

1. If you haven’t already, select the iCloud Drive box ②.

   

2. Click the Options button here to see which apps store files and data in iCloud. Uncheck the box next to one to prevent it from doing so ③. click Done.

   

3. On your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, tap Settings > iCloud > iCloud Drive > Upgrade to iCloud Drive. Documents that you’ve already stored in iCloud are automatically moved to iCloud Drive when you upgrade.

Size Up Your Storage

The more you store in iCloud—especially if you take advantage of Sierra’s new option for keeping your Desktop and Documents folders in the cloud, and if you use iCloud Photo Library (see Manage Your Storage)—the more storage you’ll need. Currently, in the United States, you get 5 GB of storage free per Apple ID and you can purchase 200 GB for $2.99/month, 1 TB for $9.99/month, or even 2 TB for $19.99/month. (See this Apple page for pricing by country.)

If you need more storage:

1. Go to > System Preferences > iCloud.
2. Click Manage and then click Change Storage Plan.
3. The Upgrade iCloud Storage window appears with your current plan highlighted. Click the next biggest plan to upgrade.
4. Click Next.
5. Enter your Apple ID password at the prompt and then click Buy.

If you decide later that you need less storage, go to the Upgrade iCloud Storage window and click the Downgrade Options button. iCloud tells you how to delete files, if you choose.

If you want to buy more space instead, click Change Storage Plan to see Apple’s current rates. Choose a plan, click Next, and then enter your Apple ID password to purchase it ④.

Save a File to iCloud Drive

For a new, unsaved document, choose File > Save (Command-S) or click the down arrow next to the file’s name in the title bar. Choose AppName — iCloud from the Where pop-up menu to save the file in the app’s iCloud Drive folder (Keynote, for example).

Saving into the app’s folder will simplify opening the file from within that app. Or, choose iCloud Drive to save it at the root level of iCloud Drive.

Access iCloud Drive Files

Here are just a few techniques.

Mac

• Go to iCloud.com in a Web browser and click iCloud Drive. A list of files and folders appears; upload and download from here.
• In El Capitan or newer, open a new Finder window by choosing File > New Finder Window (Command-N). Click iCloud Drive in the Finder window’s sidebar ⑥. Drag and drop a file to move it to or from here.

• In El Capitan or newer, in the Finder, choose Go > iCloud Drive (Command-ShiftI).

Windows 7 or later

Use the latest iCloud for Windows app to see your iCloud Drive folder in the Windows File Explorer.

iOS 9.3 or later

• Use the iCloud Drive app to browse and download files in your iCloud Drive folder ⑦.

  

  In iOS 10, if you don’t see the iCloud Drive app on your iOS device (perhaps because you deleted it), you can download it again from the App Store. On the Home screen, tap the App Store icon, search for iCloud Drive, and then tap Get.

• Open a file from within an iCloud Drive-compatible app, for example, Apple’s Keynote, if the file is in the Keynote folder on iCloud Drive.

Turn Off iCloud Drive

To make sure you can work with your documents offline, you will need to save copies of the ones you need to your Mac:

• On your Mac, navigate to iCloud Drive in the Finder, select a file, and press Command-C to copy. Navigate to the location where you want to save the copy, and press Command-V to paste.
• Alternatively, select multiple files in the Finder by Shift-clicking them (for contiguous files) or Command-clicking them (for non-contiguous files). Then, press Option while dragging and dropping them to another location.

Once that’s done, on your Mac, go to System Preferences > iCloud and uncheck the iCloud Drive box. When you do, your Mac apps will no longer be able to access documents stored in iCloud.