You may store plenty of photos, videos, music and other files on your iPad, iPad mini or iPad Air. And backing up iPad to your Mac computers regularly is a pretty good way to prevent from losing data and free up iPad storage space. When it comes to how to backup iPad to Mac, you may take iTunes as the first choice. However, iTunes won't allow copyright infringement-prone iPad to Mac music backup to happen. That is to say, you are not allowed to backup the non-purchased media files from iPad to iTunes on Mac. No worries! Here we introduce another iPad backup extractor Mac and some other methods for you to backup iPad files to Mac computers. Thus, you can selectively backup iPad files to Mac computers.

Part 1: How to Backup iPad to Mac with iTunes

This can be the primary choice when people want to know how to backup iPad to Mac. Most of the important data like contacts, message and so on will be backed up to iTunes or iCloud. Backing up iPad with iTunes is easy to be done, the following guidance will show you how to do it:

1. Connect your iPad to your Mac computer using a USB cable. Then launch iTunes.
2. Click device button to the left of the iTunes Store button in the top right corner in iTunes. Then click "Summary" in the left sidebar.
3. Click "Back Up Now" in the right part, iTunes will begin to back up your device.

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4. After the process ends, you can see if your backup finished successfully in iTunes "Preferences > Devices". You should see the name of your device with the date and time that iTunes created the backup.

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Although this solution seems to be easy, you should know that it does not allow you to backup iPad files to Mac selectively. You have no choice but to back up all iPad data to Mac. As for the backup of purchased files from iPad to Mac, iTunes will do you no help.

Part 2: How to Backup iPad to Mac via iCloud

Except iTunes, you can also resort to iCloud to help you to backup iPad to Mac. You just need to sync iPad data to iCloud and then download the iPad files from iCloud.com on Mac computer. Check out the following steps, and you will be clear of how to make it. Photos will be taken for instance in this part.

1. On your iPad, you need to launch Settings app from the home screen and the hit on "Apple ID > iCloud". You will see several options you can sync to iCloud from iPad in the section of "APP USING ICLOUD". Turn the corresponding data tab on and wait until the syncing process is over. You need to make sure your iPad is connected to good Wi-Fi network.

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2. On Mac, open a web browser and then log into iCloud.com with your own Apple ID and password that you are applying on iPad.

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3. In the interface, if you want to download iPad photos or videos to Mac from iCloud, you can click on the "Photos" option to view all iCloud photos and videos. From the left sidebar, you can choose a category and then select the images or videos that you desire to download to Mac folder. In the end, you can tap on the download icon to save them to Mac.

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This method is not so hard for you to have a try. Since iCloud is one built-in feature in iOS devices, you can always use it to sync files from iPad to iCloud at any time you like and then use the website on computer to export them to computer local folder.

Part 3: Selectively Backup iPad to Mac with Leawo iPad Backup Extractor Mac

You should note that the music, video and other non-purchased files which are synced from computer won't be backed up in iTunes. At this moment, people will need the help of the iPad backup software. Leawo iTransfer for Mac is helpful on this issue. This software is used for transferring files among iOS devices, iTunes and computers, and it will help users to back up iPad music, videos and so on to computer easily. The following guidance will show you how to backup your iPad, and you can free download the software to have a try.

Step 1. Run Software and Connect iPad to Mac

Run Leawo iTransfer for Mac and connect iPad to Mac computer with the USB cable. Click the name of iPad and choose files you want to backup in the left sidebar. Then contents will show up in the right part.

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Step 2. Choose Files to Backup

Press "Ctrl" and click to choose certain files, then click the transfer button at the bottom right of the interface to back up the files. Or right-click the files you want to backup, and choose to "Transfer to > My Computer".

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Step 3. Transfer Files to Mac

In the dialog of transfer settings, choose the location on the computer to put the iPad backups. Check "Save to Folder" and click "Change" to choose the target folder. If users want to backup the files to iTunes as well, check the "Save to List" and choose "iTunes". Click "Transfer Now" to start the iPad backup.

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When the transferring process finishes, you will get the files in the target folder. Apart from backing up files from iPhone/iPad/iPod to Mac, Leawo iTransfer for Mac also supports to transfer data from Mac to iOS devices. For example, you are able to transfer music from Mac to iPhone with the tool. If you are interested in it, please check it out.

Part 4: Selectively Backup iPad to Mac with AirDrop

If both your iPad and Mac computer have the feature of AirDrop, you can also make use of it to achieve your aim of backing up iPad to Mac perfectly. Follow the step-by-step instruction below to see how to handle it smoothly.

1. On your iPad, you need to swipe upwards to find the feature of AirDrop and then turn it on.
2. On your Mac, you need to click on "Finder> Go" to call out the interface of AirDrop. Here I recommend you to choose to be seen by everyone instead of selecting to be seen by "only those in your Contacts".
3. After that, your iPad device will display in the interface of AirDrop on Mac. Your Mac icon will also show on the window of iPad AirDrop.
4. At this time, you are able to drag and drop your iPad files onto the Mac icon in the interface of AirDrop. On your Mac computer, you need to click on the "Accept" option to receive the iPad files.

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Before you apply this solution, you need to make sure your iPad and Mac have the AirDrop feature. If not, you can choose other means to assist you to backup iPad files to Mac.

Part 5: Selectively Backup iPad to Mac with Dropbox

It is also a good idea to take advantage of Dropbox to selectively backup iPad to Mac. You need to upload iPad files to Dropbox on iPad and then download them to Mac. Read the contents shown below and you will learn this backup solution easily. Images will be taken for example in this method.

1. On your iPad, you need to open Dropbox app from home screen and then click on a folder that you desire to upload photos from iPad to. After that, you need to hit on the 3-dot icon in the window and select the button of "Upload" to hit on.

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2. A panel may appear to inquire you to grant Dropbox permission to get access to your Camera Roll. Approve this permission and you will be able to see a list of iPad albums. Hit on the album and then choose the images that you desire to backup to Mac for later use. Wait for a moment and your iPad images will be available on Dropbox app. In this process, you need to connect iPad with sound Wi-Fi network.
3. On your Mac computer, you need to run the Dropbox software and then click on the folder of Dropbox. Move to the photos album that you have uploaded from iPad. In the end, you can copy and paste the album to your Mac.

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In conclusion, Leawo iTransfer is one tool with multiple transfer functions. If you download and install this software on computer, it will be more convenient for you to deal with various kinds of file transfer issues smoothly.