"Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing." - Salvador Dali

Stop, Dropbox and Roll x 3
Mar2009

Tags: , , , , | 16 Comments

dropbox-iconSome of you may already be using “cloud storage” in one form or another. Web-based services like Flickr, Gmail or Google Docs are good examples. The relatively new Dropbox is a great online data storage service for anyone who has multiple computers, or who wants to share a folder with friends or coworkers across the Internet. It’s handy for syncing data across multiple machines, or as an online backup storage space.

While Dropbox is incredibly easy to setup, a problem arises when a user needs to be connected to multiple accounts. I have three accounts: two 50GB paid accounts with each of my employers, used to share documents, code and design mockups; and one 2GB free account that I share with my spouse for photos.

I’d rather not have to mix the various accounts, and Dropbox doesn’t have a built-in feature for multiple dropboxes on the same computer. Windows XP users might have some luck with Dropboxen, but Apple OSX users seem to be stuck. After searching around for a solution, I decided to write up some instructions to enable multiple accounts on a single OSX-based computer. Please use this guide sensibly.

  1. If you haven’t downloaded and installed Dropbox already, it’s at http://getdropbox.com
    • When you install it, make sure you check the box “I want to choose where to put my Dropbox” at the end of the intro (don’t click Next too fast)
  2. Copy the following code into a text editor (like TextEdit)

    mkdir -p /Users/$USER/Applications/DropboxAltStarterX02.app/Contents/MacOS/

    cat <<EOF >/Users/$USER/Applications/DropboxAltStarterX02.app/Contents/Info.plist
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
    <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
    <plist version="1.0">
    <dict>
    <key>CFBundlePackageType</key>
    <string>APPL</string>
    <key>CFBundleExecutable</key>
    <string>DropboxAltStarterX02</string>
    <key>LSUIElement</key>
    <string>1</string>
    </dict>
    </plist>
    EOF

    cat <<EOF >/Users/$USER/Applications/DropboxAltStarterX02.app/Contents/MacOS/DropboxAltStarterX02
    #!/bin/bash
    # Assumes you have Dropbox in /Applications
    HOME=/Users/$USER/.dropbox-altX02 /Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox
    EOF

    chmod 755 /Users/$USER/Applications/DropboxAltStarterX02.app/Contents/MacOS/DropboxAltStarterX02

  3. In the text editor, Find ‘X02′ and Replace with ‘X03′ (or any identifier – it must be different for each Dropbox account you want)
  4. Select All the text and Copy
  5. Open Terminal, and Paste (Cmd-V)
  6. Press Enter and close Terminal
  7. Goto Finder > yourUserName (under Places) > Applications, and double-click the new DropboxAltStarterXXX you just created
  8. Either setup a new account or enter your existing username and password
    • I.e. My spouse and I share a single account; one of my employers and I share folders but have different accounts, etc.
  9. Make sure you checkbox the “I want to choose where to put my Dropbox” box
    • Tip: I’ve setup new folders like ‘Dropbox-personal’ ‘Dropbox-work’ under Finder > UserName > Documents to keep things organized
  10. To have Dropbox load on startup, goto your System Preferences > Accounts > Login items, click the + button, and add DropboxAltStarterXXX
  11. Repeat Steps 2-10, changing the X02 to something different for best results.

If you like, you can also change the icon displayed in the menubar by clicking the Dropbox icon (in your menubar) > Preferences > Checkbox ‘Use Leaopard style…’

Again, please be sure not to abuse the Dropbox service. That being said, this tutorial should help anyone who needs to compartmentalize their Dropbox usage, whether for security/logistical reasons, or simply for the challenge of making it work.

16 Comments on “Stop, Dropbox and Roll x 3”

  1. 1 patrick denny said at 9:26 am on April 21st, 2009:

    When I follow these directions, I get an error that reads

    “You can’t open the application “DropboxAltStarterX02.app” because it is not supported on this architecture.”

    Do you have any suggestions.

    thanks!

  2. 2 eliot said at 10:14 am on April 21st, 2009:

    It could be due to the OS version you’re using. Are you running Leopard (10.5) or Tiger (10.4)? I don’t think Dropbox is compatible with Panther (10.3) or earlier versions of the Mac OS.

  3. 3 patrick denny said at 1:52 pm on April 21st, 2009:

    Macbook 2.4ghz
    4gb ram
    OS 10.5.6

    Nothing unusual that I’m aware of.

    Are there any type of permission issues?

    I’m running as an Admin.

    Thanks for responding.

  4. 4 eliot said at 2:49 pm on April 21st, 2009:

    hmm.. at what step do you get the error message?

    Also (just to be sure), your Macbook is running an Intel chip and not PowerPC?

  5. 5 patrick denny said at 3:30 pm on April 21st, 2009:

    When I double click on the application in the local application folder.
    Yes, I am running Intel.

    I could send a screen capture if you would like.

  6. 6 eliot said at 12:07 pm on April 22nd, 2009:

    I’ve been reading about the “non supported architecture” problem and it seems to affect many different programs (like iPhoto, or iMovie in some cases), but no explanation is available.

    It looks like the only possible solution is to uninstall Dropbox and then reinstall Dropbox, after which you can try this multi-Dropbox tutorial again.

    If I find out any additional info, I’ll be sure to let you know.

  7. 7 patrick denny said at 12:30 pm on April 22nd, 2009:

    Thanks, I’ll try that and let you know what I come up with.

    best,

    Patrick Denny

  8. 8 Patrick Denny said at 6:56 pm on April 22nd, 2009:

    Eliot,

    I tried uninstalling and reinstalling. I got the same message.

    I’ll test it on a different computer.

    Let me know if you find anything else.

    thanks!

  9. 9 Patrick Denny said at 6:38 am on April 23rd, 2009:

    Eliot,

    I installed the script on a similarly configured Macbook Pro and a Mac Mini. Unfortunately, I got the same error message..

    Thanks

  10. 10 eliot said at 8:34 am on April 23rd, 2009:

    I just tried the app on another Mac and it worked.

    It might have something to do with how you are running the code in Terminal. Maybe try copying the code above into a text editor first (like TextEdit). Then be sure that all ” marks are correct (sometimes copying the ” marks directly from a website doesn’t work). Then copy the code into Terminal and run it.

    The only other possibility I can see at the moment is that you might be running conflicting software. Hope this helps.

  11. 11 patrick Denny said at 1:24 pm on April 23rd, 2009:

    I did the text edit copy and paste. Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe I’ll try typing it in rather than pasting it.

    When Terminal comes up, it gives me

    Last login: Fri Feb 20 23:03:06 on console
    You have new mail.
    pmd:~ tanata$

    I then copied and paste this

    mkdir -p /Users/$USER/Applications/DropboxAltStarterX03.app/Contents/MacOS/

    cat </Users/$USER/Applications/DropboxAltStarterX03.app/Contents/Info.plist?????CFBundlePackageType?APPL?CFBundleExecutable?DropboxAltStarterX03?LSUIElement?1???EOF
    cat </Users/$USER/Applications/DropboxAltStarterX03.app/Contents/MacOS/DropboxAltStarterX03?#!/bin/bash?# Assumes you have Dropbox in /Applications?HOME=/Users/$USER/.dropbox-altX03 /Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox?EOF
    chmod 755 /Users/$USER/Applications/DropboxAltStarterX03.app/Contents/MacOS/DropboxAltStarterX03

    Then hit enter. The application shows up in the User Applications folder. Let me know if you see something unusual, or if I’m doing something stupid on my end.

    thanks!

  12. 12 eliot said at 5:54 pm on April 24th, 2009:

    Copy and paste it into an editor and then just verify that it’s the same. Looks like there are many “?” marks in your copied version (though it could just be the way it was pasted into your comment).

  13. 13 patrick denny said at 8:41 am on April 26th, 2009:

    Okay, I figured it out.

    DO NOT USE SAFARI to copy and paste.

    I used Firefox to copy and past the script and it works like a champ.

    THANK YOU!!!!!!

  14. 14 STuart said at 7:56 am on August 16th, 2009:

    Thanks, I also had the same issues as Patrick. Finally used mail app of all things to cut paste find and replace, that worked , thanks for the script !

  15. 15 Prya said at 9:40 am on August 21st, 2011:

    Thank you kindly!

  16. 16 jane b said at 11:54 am on October 8th, 2011:

    saved me some time. thanks

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