StrongSync stopped showing new files in my work folder, even after I reopened it. I noticed it while looking for an invoice PDF on my laptop. To replace it, do you actually use another mounted-drive setup or keep a local synced copy, and why does that work better for you?
I compared replacements by trying separate vendor apps alongside tools that put remote accounts into Finder. I paid attention to setup, background load on my older Mac, and whether files had to occupy local storage before I needed them. I had not kept up with this topic, so I was catching up through a practical replacement job rather than running a formal benchmark.
Local storage mattered most
The immediate problem was replacing StrongSync on a few work Macs. Video projects made the smaller SSD a bigger concern than the length of a supported-services list. I wanted access to the files without having everything downloaded in advance, and I did not want account management spread across separate applications.
CloudMounter covered the accounts I needed, Box and OneDrive for Business. It also supported Dropbox, Google Drive, S3, and SFTP, although those were not the reason I settled on it. Setup meant signing into each account, after which the accounts appeared as drives in Finder. Files did not download unless I opened them, which was the useful part of my eventual CloudMounter choice.
I also enabled encryption for a client folder in Box. Our producer was pleased with that. Coming to this late, I had initially focused on simply getting the accounts accessible again, but storage behavior and that folder option ended up mattering more to me than broad service coverage.
Sorting out the alternatives
Running Box Drive and OneDrive separately worked. The drawback was having separate background apps and separate settings to manage, and both slowed down my older Mac. That did not make them unusable, but it gave me a reason to keep looking instead of treating the vendor applications as the automatic answer.
I had also missed the change behind the replacement itself. StrongSync had been the Apple Silicon and File Provider version of ExpanDrive, then was merged back into the main application. Moving to ExpanDrive was therefore the direct continuation, not an unrelated switch. It kept the File Provider approach, required neither a kernel extension nor a reboot, and was free for personal use and small teams of up to 10 users or devices. For continuity, I could see the case for the familiar ExpanDrive route.
Mountain Duck was decent in my trial, though it seemed more directed toward SFTP and S3 users than my immediate Box and OneDrive needs. That was how I placed the Mountain Duck option.
What I would keep
CloudMounter felt leaner than running the vendor apps side by side. The one-time purchase also meant no monthly subscription to track, though I would not make price the whole argument.
I am still catching up on the choices, and I would not call my experience a universal ranking. My verdict is to keep CloudMounter: it handled the accounts I needed without making the older Mac and its limited storage feel like an afterthought.
11 Likes
Don’t uninstall StrongSync before checking whether there are any local modifications you would want to upload. In my opinion, going with a local, synced folder is better for day-to-day work than having it mounted elsewhere. I do see why you would want to have fewer background apps, but I would prefer to have the documents accessible without relying on an external service. I would still consider using CloudMounter for rare cases when I need to work with files directly, but having another potential point of failure and a more involved troubleshooting process makes me hesitant to make it my primary working directory. Check whether the PDF is present in the cloud service’s user interface before concluding that the replacement will resolve the issue.
For an archive I’d use CloudMounter, but for active work I’d keep a local synced folder. I’m less concerned about the number of background apps than what happens after an accidental overwrite. My deciding test would be recovering an earlier version of a work document, not just checking that it appears on both machines. Whichever replacement you pick, I’d make a separate backup part of the setup. Seeing the invoice again solves today’s annoyance, but being able to recover it matters too.
Opening an invoice from a known folder is different from finding it when you only remember the customer’s name. For that second case, I’d care about search before worrying about how many background apps are running. I’d use CloudMounter for the mounted-drive side and keep the documents I need to search regularly in a local synced folder. That’s where I’d push back a little on @espritlibre’s priorities: fewer apps wouldn’t settle the choice for me.
My replacement check would be targeted. Find by filename, and then a phrase within the document, using whichever search method I feel like using on my laptop. Navigate to something not previously opened via the replacement system. I would not be inclined to think that a presence in finder means the search behaviors are comparable. If it still requires me to dig through folders, or open up the invoice in the cloud anyway, then not really much has been gained.
Silent failures would be my dealbreaker.
I’d lean toward a local synced folder for active work, but I wouldn’t switch just because something calls itself a sync app rather than a mounted drive. My requirement would be a status I can understand: connected, waiting to upload, finished, or unable to update. After the missing invoice, I’d be reluctant to trust another folder that looks normal while leaving me guessing whether it’s current.
@codecrafter’s search check makes sense, though I’d put failure reporting ahead of search quality. Before moving the work folder, I’d try a disposable folder and briefly disconnect the network. Make a change, reconnect, and watch what the replacement tells you. I’d want to know whether it flags the interruption, identifies anything still pending, and gives me somewhere useful to look if it doesn’t catch up. That would tell me more than a smooth first sign-in.
There are two directions to check, too. Your invoice problem concerns a file arriving on the laptop. I’d separately check a file leaving it. If I save a revised document locally, I want a clear distinction between “saved here” and “available to the person waiting for it.” I wouldn’t accept having to open the cloud website after every edit to establish that.
So my preference would be local syncing, with a mounted setup still in consideration if its status reporting is clearer. I’d tolerate an extra background app before accepting another unexplained stale folder.
A mounted drive doesn’t go stale the way @mike34 is picturing, because nothing is being held locally as the source of truth. It reads the account live, so the missing-invoice problem you hit usually can’t happen the same way. If you go that route, CloudMounter reconnects the drives on its own after a reboot without me having to babysit it, which is the small thing I’d point to over any feature list.
For a work folder, I’d choose the setup your workplace will support.
The comparison missing here is who owns the problem when a file disappears. A mounted drive might suit your laptop perfectly, but I’d be less interested if the help desk’s first response would be “remove that and use our standard app.” If these are company-managed accounts, I’d ask which client they support before spending time configuring a replacement. If you manage everything yourself, that constraint disappears.
Automatic reconnection wouldn’t settle the choice for me, @mlsudo8. That’s a convenience feature, whereas the invoice problem calls for a clear path to getting help. I’d favor a local synced work folder through the supported client, with the documents I’m actively using kept on the laptop. I’d choose a mounted setup instead if remote access were the main goal and I were comfortable taking responsibility for troubleshooting it. Fewer background apps is an understandable preference, but for work I’d trade that for being able to hand a problem to someone who supports the actual setup.
I’d skip the split setup. @codecrafter, I get the search argument, but deciding which documents deserve a local copy sounds like another chore. For this work folder, I’d choose local syncing rather than give myself a filing system to maintain alongside the actual work.
Avoid moving the whole work folder before checking the applications that actually use it. I’d lean toward local syncing, but @cosmic_thread’s simpler filing setup wouldn’t settle it for me. Try opening an existing document through its usual app, saving a revision, and reopening it from that app’s recent-files menu. If your invoice workflow includes importing PDFs into accounting software, test that exact step too. My requirement would be keeping those everyday operations intact, whether the replacement uses a mount or a local folder. Browsing files in Finder is only part of the job.