pCloud Drive App

MNR_201-demo-websiteDocs_pcloudDrive-web_v001.mov

Overview

To get the most out of pCloud and to properly use our pipeline, download the pCloud Drive desktop App linked in this article.

pCloud Drive is a file syncing application that works very similarly to the well known Google Drive Desktop Application.
pCloud Drive creates a virtual hard drive on your computer that allows you to access and stream from while you are connected to the internet. For users with internet connection issues, pCloud Drive also allows you to sync specific folders as needed for offline use.

Some users might not need to download and install pCloud Drive, such as specific stop motion animators who are only uploading files through the pcloud website. If that is the case for you, you can skip this section and move onto the next onboarding chapter.

We want all our other users to work within the pCloud Drive environment, this means using pCloud Drive as the location for saving and loading all working files.

pCloud Desktop Drive Install (Windows)

Step 1 - Download the Application

https://www.pcloud.com/download-free-online-cloud-file-storage.html

Step 2 - Install and Sign In

After downloading pCloud Drive from the pCloud website, run the application. Continue through the setup prompts and sign in using the same account you made when you were sent the folder invites.

Step 3 - Drive Overview

If pCloud Drive did not open up after sign in, you can open it from the desktop shortcut, application tab, or through the widget on the bottom right of the screen.

In addition to the Drive App, you will see a new "P" drive in your file explorer. This drive is what you will be mostly using to access files. While connected to the internet you can use it like any other drive on your machine.

Step 4 - Settings

Back to the pCloud Drive app, there are some Ease of Use settings that are best to have turned on in the Settings tab.

Check on the following
- Start pcloud Drive on system startup
- Show Context Menu
- Show File Status Icons

NOTE: If Windows Explorer Flickers and Refreshes when Uploading Files, turn off the "Show File Status Icons" Check Box.

In the Speed tab, confirm you have uncapped Upload and Download speeds.

Last, head over to the Disk Usage tab.

Files streamed through the virtual "P" drive live in a temporary cache directory that you can adjust the location and size of.
By default, pCloud Drive will not use more then a few gigabytes of cached storage space, even when multiple Terabytes of files are shared to your account.

We recommend increasing the Disk Cache Size to a much larger value. In this example we are increasing the Disc Cache Size to 100 gigabytes or 100,000 megabytes.

Next we are changing the Cache location to another drive. Set the cache location on your machine to an SSD if you have one. The location of the cache drive in the folder structure does not matter.

Remember to hit Apply!

Step 5 - Folder Syncing

If you need offline access to specific folders, you can use pCloud Drive's Sync feature. pCloud Drive Sync will write the full contents of a chosen pCloud folder to your disc instead of caching it. When you get back online, the pCloud Drive Sync will automatically upload and update any changes you made to the synced folder.

Be careful, only sync specific assets or shots that you are working with. Do not try to sync an entire project folder, as you increase the likelihood of overwriting or corrupting files with other users. For most users that have stable internet, you will not need to use pCloud Drive's Sync feature, even if you are doing storage heavy tasks like editing.

To set up a sync, go to the Sync tab and click Add New Sync.
First click Choose pCloud folder, then select the pCloud folder that you want to sync to your computer.
Next click Choose device folder and create a new empty folder in any location on your computer. Rename the new folder to the same name as the pCloud folder you selected previously. This is the location where pCloud will sync to.
Last press Add Sync.

Note , synced folders will have a different directory structure compared to the main virtual P drive. This may cause issues for some workflows.

If you need to remove a sync folder, you can press Stop in the pCloud Drive Sync tab. This will stop the syncing but will not delete the folder on disc, you will have to delete that manually.

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