Dropbox Connection
Dropbox is commercial file hosting service that offers free and paid plans.
Tella allows users to sign into their Dropbox account directly from Tella and upload files directly to it.
Similarly to other server connections (like Tella Web, Google Drive, Nextcloud, Uwazi or Open Data Kit), connecting to a Dropbox server enhances the security of data collected on Tella by:
- السماح للمستخدمين بجمع البيانات مباشرة داخل حاوية Tella المُعمّاة.
- Ensuring that data is sent directly from Tella to Dropbox, without needing to install the Dropbox app on the device or sending the data through a third-party app.
- Allowing users to back up their data to a remote server, to lower the risk that data is discovered on their mobile device.
- التأكد من أن المنظمات يمكنها الحفاظ على المعلومات المهمة حتى في حالة مصادرة الجهاز أو عند تدميره، والتأكد من أنه يمكن تنظيم تلك المعلومات للبحث أو للمناصرة أو لإجراءات المساءلة.
Submissions to Dropbox take the form of "reports" which include a title, a text description, and files like photos, videos and audio recordings.
Even though data is transferred to the server securely (SSL), anyone with access to the Dropbox account can view the files. If you need encrypted file transfers, explore Nearby Sharing.
The Dropbox connection is not available in Tella Android FOSS, because it uses closed-sourced libraries.
When to Use Dropbox
The Dropbox connection may be particularly well-suited for:
- Organizations that already use Dropbox.
- Organizations that cannot or don't want to self-host an app (like Tella Web server) on a server.
- Users who already have a Dropbox account and want to backup their data to the cloud.
- Projects where the privacy needs do not preclude the use of a cloud or commercial tool like Dropbox.
- Users who will be sending mostly media files, with some text and don't need structured data collection like forms or surveys.
If you need help figuring out if Dropbox is best for your use-case, check out this guide or contact us!
Connect to Dropbox
In order to connect to Dropbox:
- حدد "Dropbox" من قائمة أنواع الخوادم المتاحة.
- Select "Dropbox" from the list of available server types.
- A new page will automatically open in your phone's web browser and direct you to Dropbox.
- Login your Dropbox account in your web browser.
- Grant Tella permissions to modify your Dropbox account (we need this permission to be able to upload files to your drive and create folders on your behalf).
Manage the Dropbox connection
- In Settings ⚙️ > Connections > Dropbox > ⫶ you can:
- Delete the connection
For the moment it is not possible to sign into multiple Dropbox accounts at the same time. If you want to sign-in with another account, delete your Dropbox connection and create a new one.
Submit to Dropbox
- Once connected, a "Dropbox" card will appear in the "Connections" section of the homescreen. Tap on this card to start submitting to Dropbox.
- The main Dropbox screen allows navigation between the Drafts, Outbox, and Submitted tabs.
- Tap the "New report" button at the bottom of the screen to create a new report to Dropbox.
- On the "New report" screen you can fill in the report's details, including title, description, and optional attachments of photos, videos and audio recordings.
- Use the "Save draft" button 💾 (on the top right of the screen) to save the report as a draft without leaving the "New report" screen.
- لكي تتمكن من الحفظ كمُسوَّدة، ستحتاج على الأقل إلى إدخال عنوان للتقرير.
- ستظهر رسالة على الشاشة لتأكيد حفظ المُسوَّدة.
- The "Submit later" button ⏱️ saves the report to the Outbox for manual submission.
- The "Outbox" tab is often used when data collectors don’t have access to the internet or if the connection is not stable.
- The “Submit” button immediately sends the report to Dropbox.
- If submission fails due to connectivity issues, the report goes to the “Outbox" tab.
- If the report is submitted correctly, it goes to the “Submitted” tab and a new folder (named after the report title you typed in) will be created in Dropbox under Applications >> Tella. All attachments will be added to the folder and the description will be added as a text file inside the folder.
Draft Reports
A Draft report is a report that was created and saved but not yet submitted. Drafts reports are useful to save work in progress that can be editted later on. It allows users to create reports offline or over a long period of time before finalizing and sending them. This is especially useful in low-connectivity areas or when a user needs to gather information in multiple stages.
Reports in the Draft tab can be edited.
- On the "New report" screen, tap the "Save draft" button 💾 (on the top right of the screen) to save the report as a draft.
- A confirmation will be displayed, and you can continue working on the report or exit to come back to it later.
- If you try to exit a report without saving, you will be asked to confirm whether you are sure you want to exit without saving.
- في لسان المُسوَّدات، يمكنك عرض وإدارة مُسوَّدات التقارير. افتح مُسوَّدة التقرير لمتابعة العمل عليه ولإرساله.
- You can delete a draft report by tapping on ⫶ > Delete or by entering the report and tapping the Delete button.
Submit a Report to Dropbox
- في التقرير، المس "إرسال" لبدء عملية إرسال التقرير.
- سيتم توجيهك إلى شاشة ملخصة تعرض تقدُّم تحميل كل ملف مرفق.
- هناك زر "حذف" لإيقاف التحميل وحذف التقرير.
- إذا كان يتم تحميل التقرير بنشاط، فإن زر "إيقاف مؤقت" يسمح لك بإيقاف التحميل مؤقتا، والذي يمكن استئنافه لاحقا باستخدام زر "استئناف".
- لا يؤثر الخروج من التقرير على حالة التحميل. إذا كان يتم تحميل التقرير بنشاط، ستستمر العملية.
After a report has been uploaded to Dropbox, it is not possible to delete it on Dropbox from the Tella mobile app. Deleting a submitted report will only delete the local version of it, not the report on the server.
Deleting a report in the middle of submission will cancel the upload of the files that haven’t been uploaded yet, but submitted files and partially submitted files that are already on Dropbox won’t be deleted.
البريد الصادر
The Outbox tab contains reports that are finalized and have been saved for later submission. Reports in the Outbox are ready to be submitted once the device reconnects to the internet or when the user chooses to manually send them.
Reports in the Outbox tab cannot be edited.
To send a report to the Outbox, use the Submit later button (⏱️), at the bottom left of the Submit Report screen.
The Outbox contains:
- الإرسالات الموقوفة مؤقتا
- إرسال التقارير التي توقفت بسبب مشاكل في الاتصال.
- التقارير التي تم وسمها بـ "إرسال لاحقا"
If you need a fully offline way to share files with others, consider exploring Nearby Sharing.
التقارير المُرسَلة
- The Submitted tab displays reports that have been successfully submitted to the Dropbox server.
- In the Submitted tab, you can view and deleted the submitted reports.
If the internet connection is interrupted, reports will go to the "Outbox" tab and you will need to manually resume the submission.