Originally published at: The top 8 Dropbox apps for students | ONLYOFFICE Blog
Although Dropbox is widely used by teams and companies to store, share and backup files, students can also benefit from this cloud storage service. With a vast array of applications that can be integrated with your Dropbox account, you can get access to plenty of useful features provided by third-party solutions and increase your productivity as a student. Read this article to learn more.
Dropbox provides integration apps for a large number of software tools, and the majority of them are better suited for enterprises and companies as they make a difference in sales, marketing, accounting, project management, workflow automation and other business areas. However, some apps seem ideal for educational purposes, and students can integrate them with their Dropbox account to gain an edge in their studies. Let’s take a look at some of the best Dropbox integration apps for students.
1. Document editing: ONLYOFFICE Docs
If you need a powerful online office suite, ONLYOFFICE Docs is what can be seamlessly integrated into your Dropbox storage allowing you to open and edit text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, fillable forms and PDF files directly in the platform. This open-source office package has an official integration app for Dropbox available for free. When integrated, the app adds a new option called “Open in ONLYOFFICE Docs” that opens the selected office file on a new tab in full-screen mode allowing you to view the file and make the required edits if necessary.
The ONLYOFFICE Docs app can directly open OOXML files (Word, Excel and PowerPoint file formats) and PDFs. For other popular formats, such as DOC, RTF, ODT, FB2 and more, you will see the following options:
- Open the file for viewing only;
- Create an OOXML file copy;
- Open the file for editing.
Using these options, you can view non-OOXML files, create their editable copies and convert them to DOCX, XLSX and PPTX for further editing. Files created with ONLYOFFICE Docs can be opened with other office apps so you can share them with other Dropbox users.
The ONLYOFFICE suite is equipped with a full set of editing tools students need. When editing text documents, you can work with complex objects and use features such as tables of contents, footnotes, endnotes, bookmarks, cross-references and other tools for academic formatting and navigation.
When it comes to spreadsheets, the ONLYOFFICE editor offers more than 400 functions and formulas. You can apply table templates, and analyze and filter data using pivot tables, data slicers, conditional formatting and more.
With the ONLYOFFICE presentation editor, you can easily create interesting and informative presentations using a wide selection of formatting tools, objects, style options, animations and transition effects.
The ONLYOFFICE Docs app also offers a PDF editing tool that allows you to open and view PDF files. You can easily navigate through pages using navigation tools and delete them. Besides, you can annotate PDF files, leave comments, insert objects, draw whatever you want and edit text.
All in all, ONLYOFFICE Docs provides students with a complete office suite directly integrated with the Dropbox platform. Get it now for free and enable powerful document editing in your storage:
2. Video conferencing: Zoom
As a student, you might need to jump on a video call with your classmates to discuss your group project or exchange opinions on your homework. The easiest way to do so is to connect Zoom, a popular video conferencing software tool, to your Dropbox platform. When connected, Zoom allows you to join and instantly start Zoom meetings from your Dropbox content. You can also save recorded Zoom meetings and their transcripts to your cloud storage and watch them later. Another useful feature of this integration is the ability to share Dropbox files during online meetings and keep track of the Dropbox file activity.
The Zoom app is officially available on the Dropbox App Center and requires you to have the latest version of the Dropbox app for desktop devices. Another requirement is the availability of the Zoom desktop client. Finally, you also need to have a Google or Outlook calendar connected to your Dropbox. This seems complicated but if you meet all the requirements, you will get a powerful video conferencing tool for your studies.
3. File conversion: CloudConvert
If you happen to convert files to different formats, you will definitely like CloudConvert. This online service supports more than 200 popular formats allowing you to convert audio and video files, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, images and even archives. For example, you can turn your slides into a video or create GIFs.
After you connect the CloudConvert app to your Dropbox account, you can directly select files from your storage on the CloudConvert website. Alternatively, you can use the “Open with CloudConvert” option while browsing content stored in your Dropbox account.
After conversion, all your files are automatically stored in the same Dropbox folder as the input file so you won’t lose anything.
4. Graphics editing: Canva
For those who study design, Canva is a must-have tool. You can easily beautiful graphics in the Canva editor using content from your Dropbox storage. When you connect the Canva app, you will be able to select any file and open it using the “Open in Canva” option. After that, you will be redirected to the Canva interface and the only thing that will need to do is drag-and-drop ready-to-use designs and choose one of the available templates and illustrations.
With this integration, you can make the process of graphics editing simpler without uploading and downloading files. Everything will be accessible in your Dropbox storage.
5. Painting: Procreate
Procreate is an app for iPad that seamlessly integrates with Dropbox. This integration is designed for creative students who love creating expressive sketches, paintings, illustrations and animations. Although Procreate is available on a paid basis, it’s worth investing in because it turns your device into a powerful painting tool.
The app provides hundreds of brushes, innovative artistic tools and an advanced layer system, allowing you to create real masterpieces. Due to its integration with Dropbox, Procreate lets you work from any place, even on the go, and store your sketches and illustrations in your Dropbox storage.
6. Image editing: Pixlr Suite
If you need a tool to edit images for your home assignments, Pixlr Suite seems to be an ideal choice. This image editor allows you to select, edit and save changes to your images and photos from Dropbox with a few clicks. When editing something, you can quickly apply suitable effects, choose various filters and add layers. The editor also makes it possible to change the size of your images and play with different settings, such as colour balance, temperature and brightness.
The Dropbox and Pixlr Suite integration automatically saves your edits in your cloud storage so you don’t have to upload and download images manually. Just open the required file from Dropbox, edit it in the Pixlr Suite and open it again in the original folder.
7. Mind mapping: MindMeister
MindMeister is an online mind-mapping service that allows you to share your maps with other people and collaborate with them in real time. Mind mapping is a very useful technique that helps students visually develop and organize ideas, concepts and information for a better understanding. It can be used for brainstorming sessions when you work on a group project with your classmates.
The MindMeister and Dropbox integration makes it possible to share and view documents from Dropbox folders directly in MindMeister. When working on your mind maps, you are allowed to attach files from your storage, and your collaborators will be able to find and access these documents.
The key advantage of this integration is that you can view linked files in your mind maps without having to switch between the two apps to view the content you need.
8. Translation: Lugath
Lugath is an online translation platform that can help students get their documents translated into plenty of languages keeping the original format and layout. It’s equipped with advanced AI translation tools and accurately translates content to the required language. Using Lugath, you can create an automated translation memory and use previously translated sentences as often as you need, which makes the translation process easier and less time-consuming. Another useful feature is the ability to create custom glossaries for more precise translations.
When integrated with Dropbox, Lugath allows you to translate your Dropbox documents and sync back all the translated files. You just need to select the required file from your Dropbox storage, configure the translation settings, start the translation process and wait until it’s over.
Lugath is available for free but the free plan has certain limitations. Nevertheless, it’s enough for occasional translation tasks.
Conclusion
By integrating their Dropbox storage with various third-party applications, students can enhance the standard file-sharing capabilities of the platform and get access to numerous useful tools. Document and image editing, video conferencing, automated AI-based translation, mind mapping, file conversion and graphics creation are just some features that are available for students who use Dropbox. You can find more apps in the App Center and put them to the test to see if they fit your learning habits and make a difference in your studies.