HOW TO Work with Desktop and Documents in iCloud

1 Set things up During Sierra’s install process, you’ll be asked whether to store your Desktop and Documents folders in iCloud Drive. If you rejected the idea then, you can enable this behaviour in iCloud’s prefs pane: click Options next to iCloud Drive and check Desktop & Documents Folders.

2 Access your files Files awaiting upload or in the process of uploading show a progress indicator. Once done, there’s no real evidence anything’s changed with your Desktop and Documents folders compared to El Capitan, other than them being under iCloud in Finder’s sidebar.

3 Use multiple Macs If you activate syncing of Desktop and Documents on more than one Mac, their contents and changes made to them are synced to those Macs, if they’re online. If a Mac joins in later, its Desktop/ Documents go in a folder named after the Mac; things aren’t merged for you.

4 Try an older Mac Although pre-Sierra Macs can’t sync Desktop and Documents to iCloud Drive, they can still access those synced from Sierra. In Finder, pick Go > iCloud Drive. Those folders are at the top level. Items dragged from iCloud Drive to a pre-Sierra Mac are moved; hold å too for a copy.

5 Use iCloud Drive on iOS In iOS’s iCloud Drive app, you can access Desktop and Documents folders synced from Sierra. Tap a folder to open it, then tap a file to download and view it (if its type is supported). Alternatively, tap the Share icon to send the item to another app for viewing or editing.

6 Find files online

When you’re using a non-Apple device, you can get at your synced docs: sign in using your Apple ID at iCloud.com and click iCloud Drive. Your folders will (sometimes slowly) load. This works in Chrome on Android by checking ‘Request Desktop site’ in the menu.