Who knew clouds could print?

Once again, thanks to podcasts−one of my personal learning input feeds, I discovered all about cloud printing. I recently set up a green screen room for some future vodcasting and I plan to put a new computer in the room I just vacated. I, therefore, needed a way to print to the sole printer in the house. Also, Bernadette needed a way to print from her computer. And to add to our list of needs, we also wanted to be able to print from our mobile devices like phones and iPads. 

Setting up a couple of Dropbox folders to do your bidding

I just wanted to put a shout out for the two new features I incorporated on my Dropbox: automatic printing and automatic upload to Evernote. In other blog posts, I talked about these upgrades to my operations. In this post, I want to let you know how great it has been.

A couple of weeks back, I set up remote printing with Dropbox. Basically, I created a folder in Dropbox called print queue and installed a script to check this folder for new updates and print them. It has worked like a champ. By simply copying documents to this folder, they are waiting for me on my printer when I get home. This has been especially useful when I am on the road, and I need to print something for my wife. All she has to do is pick it up off the printer. I also use it when I am doing research for my dissertation. I drop a journal article in the folder, and it is ready for my review when I get home.

If you were working on a team or through a central office, you could set up a shared Dropbox folder just for printing. When you dropped something in the folder, it would print at the office computer that was set up to run the script.

The other feature I installed was the capability to send documents to Evernote. When I drop a file into this folder, it is automatically uploaded to Evernote where I can squirrel it away. These are typically for files I want to be able to do referral to on a regular basis.  Here are the steps for connecting your Dropbox folder to Evernote:

1. Create a folder in Dropbox. I personally call mine, Evernote.
2. In Evernote, access the Tools menu and then click on Import Folders.
3. Add the folder that you wish to watch, and decide upon the setting. I personally delete the files once they have been uploaded.

While working my way to a “Zero Inbox,” I uploaded 40 PDF documents with no problems. If I had to do this one file at a time, it would have taken a lot more time and effort. This was time I could devote to other tasks.

Right now I am exploring the Wappwolf Dropbox Automator. This will allow you to do the following:

• Convert document to PDF
• Convert PDF to TXT
• Upload document to Google Drive
• Print via Google Cloud Print
• Send document to Kindle
• Upload document to Slideshare
• Electronically sign PDF
• Convert document to ebook.

I am excited about the possibilities. How are you using Dropbox for more efficiency?

 

Remote printing with Dropbox

A while back, I read that it was possible to remote print through Dropbox. Well, I just tried it and it works great! This now allows me to send documents to my printer from anywhere.

I will share the two articles that helped me get this set up. This process is extremely easy to use, you simply drop a file into your dropbox subfolder, and it will automatically print to the printer set up for such actions. Once the file prints, it will automatically move to a print log folder. Here is what you need:

• Computer with a printer attached (either local or networked)
• Dropbox installed
• eprint.vbs file loaded into your startup folder.

You will first have to download the eprint.vbs file, and run it. This file will create a folder in your Dropbox called PrintQueue. Once you have run the eprint.vbs file, move it to your startup folder so that it will automatically start the process when you reboot your computer.

Now when you drop a document into the PrintQueue folder, it will automatically print. I recommend that you copy a file into the folder rather than using an original document so that you can maintain your file structure.

Here are the two documents that helped me get set up:

• Print Files From Anywhere via Any Device With Dropbox
• Print Files from any Mobile Phone using Dropbox

Digital Inspiration has also put together procedures for Mac users. Here you go: How to Print Files on a Remote Mac via Dropbox

Since I regularly use three computers (work, home, and laptop) as well as an iPad and an Android phone, this will be a great help.

Let me know if this has been useful to you.