How can I make Dropbox wait for Truecrypt? (including password input)

Question

I am using Truecrypt to secure my data and am obliged to use Dropbox for some file sharing. I've set up my Dropbox folder on the Truecrypt mount.

When I log in Dropbox throws an error, because the Dropbox folder doesn't exist yet. I then have to mount the folder and restart Dropbox.

Is there any way that I can script the following:

• start Truecrypt, prompting to mount favorite volumes
  • cannot set a time for this as it's based on user input (I have to enter my admin password and Truecrypt password, and I must admit that sometimes I get distracted and make coffee while doing this)
• only when volume is mounted, start Dropbox
• options to do this automatically (on login) and manually

Answer 1

You can add a script to delay Dropbox from starting up - the link to a dropbox forum question with the answer is here

Answer 2

iwatch is a commandline tool to allow you to monitor and respond to filesystem events using the inotify subsystem. I'm not sure which event would be best but I would guess that some filesystem event occurs when a filesystem is mounted.

Answer 3

Maybe you can parse to df output to discover if the volume is mounted. My Bash-foo is quite feeble, so here is a python script that should do it:

#! /usr/bin/python
# *-*coding=utf-8*-*

"""Try to start dropbox after some volume is mounted"""

import os
import time

MOUNT_POINT = "/home/javier/Private"

mounted = False
while not mounted:
    f = os.popen("df")
    for line in f:
        if MOUNT_POINT in line:
            mounted = True
    f.close()
    if not mounted:
        time.sleep(3000)
os.system('dropbox start')

You should change MOUNT_POINT to anything that df will output only when the volume is mounted.

I add a more pythonic way of doing it, but harder to port to bash and less flexible, it will need the real mount point.

#! /usr/bin/python
# *-*coding=utf-8*-*

"""Try to start dropbox after some volume is mounted"""

import os
import time

MOUNT_POINT = "/home/javier/Private"

mounted = False
while not mounted:
    if os.path.ismount(MOUNT_POINT):
        mounted = True
    else:
        time.sleep(3000)
os.system('dropbox start')

Answer 4

The script should be something like this:

First, create it in your home. Added a dot at the beggining so it will be a hidden file:

gedit .dropboxdelayed

Then, paste this inside:

#!/bin/sh
#dropboxdelayed()
sleep 20 &&
dropbox start -i &

20 is the number of secconds of delay, don't know how much does truecrypt to mount your encrypted data so you should try it and adapt the number.

Give it permision to run:

chmod +x .dropboxdelayed

And create an entry pointing to it in System>Startup applications (remember to disable the other Dropbox entry there or you will be running two instances of it at the same time).

Whish it helps.

Answer 5

You could try the following batch script. I use this in some of my own scripts that require some pieces I keep within a truecrypt container. Just throw the following in a .bat file. You will have to update some of the code depending on where you store your files and what not.

@echo off

IF EXIST "Z:\" (goto startDropBox)
"C:\Path\To\Truecrypt\truecrypt.exe" /v C:\Path\To\Truecrypt\Volume /lz /a /q

:startDropBox
C:\Path\To\DropBox\Executable\Dropbox.exe

The code assumes you always mount your volume on drive Z. From my experience, the code should hang at the truecrypt log-on screen before proceeding to the next part (running the dropbox executable).

To run this at startup, you could try replacing the dropbox shortcut in your startup folder with this batch file and you could run this manually if you wanted as well.

For other command line switches with Truecrypt look here:

http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/?s=command-line-usage

Hope that helps!

EDIT: Just realized this was an ubuntu forum, my bad! But could be nice for wandering Windows users quickly hides