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:
- Allowing users to collect data directly inside Tella's encrypted container.
- 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.
- Ensuring that organizations can preserve important information even in the event of device seizure or destruction, and can organize it for research, advocacy, or accountability processes.
Submissions to Dropbox take the form of "reports" which include a title, a text description, and files like photos, videos and audio recordings.
The Dropbox connection is only available on Tella Android. We are currently working on adding it to Tella iOS as well.
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:
- Navigate to Settings ⚙️ > Connections > +
- 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.
- In order to be able to save as a draft, you need to at least enter the report’s title.
- A message will appear on the screen to confirm the draft was saved.
- 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
- On the "New report" screen, tap the "Save draft" button to save the report as a draft.
- A message 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 the report.
- In the Draft tab, you can view and manage draft reports. Open a draft report to continue working on it and submit it.
- 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
- In a report, tap "Submit" to start the submission of the report.
- You will be redirected to a summary screen displaying the upload progress for each file attachment.
- A "Delete" button is available to stop the upload and delete the report.
- If the report is actively uploading, a "Pause" button allows you to temporarily halt the upload, which can be resumed later using the "Resume" button.
- Exiting a report doesn’t affect the upload status. If the report is actively uploading, the process continues.
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.
Outbox
The Outbox contains reports that have been saved for submission. This could be:
- Paused submissions
- Report submissions that were interrupted due to connectivity issues.
- Reports that were marked as "Submit later"
Submitted Reports
- 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.