iCloud Drive – Apple needs to fix this product

I am not sure why Apple feels the need to restrict the way I use iCloud Drive.  They believe they are helping users by trying to take the file system away from the user so they don’t have to think about it.  I can’t speak for everyone, but this is my largest frustration.

iCloud Drive

When I look at iCloud Drive, I see a bunch of folders by application.  I don’t organize my files this way.  I organize them by project I am working on.  If I am working on “Project X”, I put all files related to that project in a folder, then it is all in one tidy location.  iCloud Drive, by default, tries to force you to put everything in a sub-folder by application.  That is just strange.

Apple should look at something like Dropbox.  I can see every folder I want and organize HOW I want.  It does not have the concept of “by application” filing systems.

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The really strange part for me is when I contemplate opening a file on a project.  Let’s say on my iPhone, I open Pages.  I can’t get to anything other than what is in my Pages folder.  Apple won’t even expose the entire folder structure to you.  This drives me bonkers.

I get they are not trying to compete with Dropbox directly, but if you want me to dump a bunch of files in your system and become dependent on you, it better work with my workflow.. or it won’t fly.  I would love if Apple got to the point of sharing simplicity like Dropbox.  I know they are trying with some stuff integrated into Mail.app, but it is not enough yet.

My preference is to let the user control how they organize.  File systems are intuitive. Don’t try to “save me from myself”.. let me do it my way.