14 DAY TRIAL // If you’re a Dropbox user who regularly reinstalls his / her OS, you must know what a drag it is to re-download the app, re-enter your name and password, hope you remembered them correctly, and then wait for the files to sync.
Not anymore. Thanks to the wonders of QR code scanning, you can tell your computer to automatically download Dropbox and authenticate the client with your account. In Dropbox 3.2 for iOS and Android, you can use the Link function to do all this in a few simple steps:
Step 1
Launch Dropbox on your mobile device and visit the Settings panel.
Step 2
Tap “Link a Computer” and in the screen that follows tap “Yes, continue” (or “No, thanks” if you’re not ready yet).
Step 3
Visit dropbox.com/connect on your desktop computer and wait for the unique QR code to show up. It will be depicted as the Dropbox logo made up of various copies of the same QR code.
Step 4
Point your device’s camera to the computer’s screen and fit the QR code in the square window that appears on your mobile device. Keep your hand steady so that the app recognizes the code. When it does, the phone will vibrate and your computer will automatically download the desktop client of Dropbox, ready to be installed with your credentials. (screenshots below)
On a Mac, you’ll be asked to authenticate with your administrator’s password, but that’s an OS X thing (not a Dropbox prompt).
Dropbox will also send you a confirmation email that you’ve linked your computer using the new authentication method. If you receive this email by accident, someone may be trying to tap into your Dropbox account.
Other new stuff in Dropbox mobile version 3.2: you can reorder your Favorites list with a simple touch and hold, the app now remembers recent locations when importing files, there are new accessibility improvements, additional languages are supported (Danish, Dutch, Swedish, and Thai), and the usual bag of fixes is also delivered with this release.
Not tied in any way to the QR code thing, the desktop Dropbox client has also been updated with bug fixes recently. And there’s a new experimental release that contains new translations and other small fixes, in case you’re looking to test the latest stuff.
A word of advice before you start using the desktop setup feature: don’t do this with every computer in sight. You need to be very careful with the security of your account. You don’t want it falling into the wrong hands.
