For years, Evidentia cloud storage meant one thing: Dropbox. Just Dropbox. Dropbox and nothing else.
A number of you had thoughts about this.
I heard you. Trust me, I heard you. Evidentia 3+ now supports Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive.
That means you can store your research database and all your attached files — scans, images, documents — in a cloud folder that stays in sync across every computer where you do your research. No more copying databases on a thumb drive. No more wondering which version you had open last week.
Evidentia Cloud Storage — Pick the Provider You’re Already Paying For
The honest answer to “which provider should I use?” is almost always: the one whose subscription you’re already paying for.
If you’re a Microsoft 365 subscriber, OneDrive is sitting on your computer right now, paid for, probably mostly empty. If Dropbox has been your file-sync home for years, stick with Dropbox — you already trust it and know where things live. If Google Workspace runs your life, Google Drive is right there.
The only cloud storage more annoying than the one you don’t like is a second monthly subscription for the one you switched to.
What It Looks Like in Your Research
Once you connect a provider, Evidentia stores your database and attached files in a folder you can see and manage yourself — no black box. Every computer where you install Evidentia and sign in with the same account stays in sync automatically.
The Record Library shows a small provider badge on each cloud-stored file so you always know at a glance where it lives. Everything else works the same way it always has. (If you’re new to the Record Library, this post walks through it in detail.)
One Thing Worth Knowing About Google Drive
All three Evidentia cloud storage options work well for everyday research. But there’s a meaningful difference for researchers who work in places where the internet is… optimistic about its own availability.
Offline access: Dropbox and OneDrive only
Dropbox and OneDrive both support Evidentia’s offline mode. Mark your research folder for offline availability in the provider’s app, and Evidentia can read and write your files even without a connection. When you’re back online, everything syncs up.
Google Drive works beautifully when you’re connected, but as of Evidentia 3.8.25, offline access isn’t available for Google Drive. If courthouse basements and rural archives are a regular part of your research life, Dropbox or OneDrive will serve you better.
How to Connect Your Provider
Getting started takes about 30 seconds:
- Open Settings → Storage
- Choose your provider
- Authenticate with your account
- Select or confirm your research folder location
The next time you open a database, Evidentia begins syncing. That’s the whole setup.
You’re Not Stuck
Here’s the part I’m genuinely happy we built: if you connect Dropbox today and decide OneDrive makes more sense next year — or if your Google Workspace situation changes — there’s a guided migration tool. It moves your database, your attached files, your backups, and updates every file reference across all your databases so nothing goes missing in the process.
You don’t have to commit. Start with whatever makes sense today. If you change your mind next year, the migration tool handles the move — files, database, backups, all of it. I’ll walk through that process in detail in an upcoming post.
Ready to try Evidentia 3+?
Download it below, or sign up for the interest list and I’ll let you know when the next license cohort opens.
— Ed Thompson / Evidentia Software