Dropbox Automator: Process Dropbox Files with Different Actions

Dropbox is slowly becoming a powerhouse to perform different functions. This service is now not just limited to storing, sharing and syncing files, but it has a potential to offer a lot more. Dropbox Automator helps you automate certain tasks, it monitors Dropbox folder to perform actions on new files. For example, convert the document to PDF, upload the picture to Facebook, Flickr, email file, upload to a FTP server, etc tasks. There are many more tasks that can be done using this Dropbox Automator.

How Dropbox Automator Works

Dropbox Automator is an online app, head over to the site and click on Login with Dropbox. Login with your credentials and authorize the service to access your account. To authorize, you’ll be prompted with a message as “The app Wappwolf would like to connect with your Dropbox”. Click on “Allow”.

Now starts the process of creating tasks. First thing to do this is to “choose a folder”, so that every time you put a file in the selected folder, actions are performed. If you want to create a new folder, then you’ll need to do this from Dropbox’s official site or from a PC where Dropbox is installed.

After selecting the folder, the next step would be to select an action which you want to perform.

Actions are separated in four groups:

• Documents: Convert to PDF, summarize, translate, PDF to TXT, upload to Slideshare, sign PDF (electronic signature)
• Pictures: Upload to Facebook, upload to Flickr, downscale, rotate image, write text on image, photo effect, stamp a logo on the image, stamp a map on the image, stamp a dislike on the image
• Any file: E-mail, zip file, save it to another Dropbox folder, rename, upload to ftp server, encrypt file, decrypt file
• Send Info: Tweet, Set Facebook status

Basically we need to select a folder and actions would be performed on each files of that folder. Thus, we can automate Dropbox tasks easily, no advanced stuff here.

Some of the actions that we select need additional information, for example if we select e-mail, then we’ll need to add more information sender email address, receiver email, subject and message. The fields are self explanatory.

Also multiple actions can be configured for a particular folder. For instance we can convert the document to PDF and also zip the file.

After creating an action, the output result will be placed under a “results” folder. During processing of the files, a temporary “processed” folder will appear. After the process is complete, the final result will be under “results” folder.

Try out this online tool, it can be very useful to perform automated tasks for your Dropbox files.

Tip: Combine this useful tool with if this then that and see the magic happen.