After the release of Google Drive, many perceived it as another "online flash drive" like Dropbox, others just as an additional feature that expands the capabilities of Google's online office suite. In some ways, both are right, but this is only a small part of the real meaning of GDrive. In fact, it is a whole platform on the basis of which a new user-friendly ecosystem of online applications is being created. Let's see how it works and get acquainted with the five best applications of this system.
So, to add a new web app to you need to log into your account and press the red button Create a... In the menu that appears, move to the very bottom and open a submenu Yet, where we select the item Other applications.
As a result, we are taken to a special page in the Chrome Web Store that contains applications for Google Drive. They are installed with one click of the mouse, and installation is possible not only in Chrome, but also in other browsers. After installing the application, you will be able to create and manipulate with it the files stored in your Google Drive. To manage applications in the settings menu, it is possible to call a special window in which you can change file associations or remove installed applications.
Now let's talk about some interesting extensions for Google Drive.
Lucidchart
LucidChart is a special HTML5-based program that allows you to easily and easily create charts, diagrams, sketches. It is one of the most powerful web applications in its category today. You will be able to work both independently and with an unlimited number of other participants, while all changes will appear synchronously in real time.
One of the best solutions for fast photo editing. With its help, you can perform not only all the basic operations for processing and correcting images, but also apply many different effects, add frames, overlays and much more. A user-friendly interface and space speed make this editor indispensable when you need to process photos stored in Google Drive.
This application will add support for popular e-book formats like epub, mobi and fb2 to Google Drive. Store your e-books in GDrive and open them with 8reader. The application has text display settings, as well as the function of converting e-book formats.
It is one of the best online presentation and slideshow maker. Now, thanks to the integration with Gdrive, you can use not only the standard application, but also SlideRocket to create presentations.
WeVideo for Google Drive
WeVideo for Google Drive is a powerful video editor that works right in your browser. With it, you can easily edit video clips stored on Google Drive, add transitions, apply effects and much more. You can publish the finished result on social networks or YouTube and, of course, save it to Google Drive.
We have introduced you to just a few Google Drive apps that we found the most interesting. The rest of the applications, and there are about 40 of them in total, you can find on this page. Thus, through integration with third-party web services, Google Drive can expand its functionality almost indefinitely, becoming a universal platform for storing and editing almost any content.
Google Drive is a client for the cloud service of the same name that allows you to store any files in online storage, as well as easily access them from computers and some portable devices connected to the network. It is quite young and was created as a competitor to another popular service called Dropbox. The principle of operation of both cloud storages is almost identical, but the service from Google, according to observations, provides a higher download speed and initially provides the user with 5 GB of space in the "cloud" versus 2 GB for Dropbox. As mentioned above, the Google Drive client can also be downloaded to your portable devices. Its versions are available for iOS and Android operating systems.
Installing the program will take you no more than a minute. Upon completion, you will need to enter data from your Google account and start working with the service. In order to upload files to the storage, you just need to add them to the local Google Drive folder. The latter is accessed by double-clicking on the program icon in the notification panel.
Key features and functions
- simple upload and download of files from storage;
- 5 GB of free space with the possibility of its expansion at an additional cost;
- easy installation;
- integration with other services from Google;
- fine-tuning file synchronization between devices.
Special requirements
- to use Google Drive and Docs, you must enable cookies and JavaScript in your browser;
- Google Drive and Docs work fully on the latest versions of the following web browsers: Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox.
For those who use Google Drive cloud storage, we recommend downloading Google Drive for Windows 10. Many are accustomed to the fact that access to the drive is available only through a browser or other browsers, but there is also a separate application on a computer that makes the use of Google Drive much more convenient.
Download Google Drive to your computer
After you install Google Drive on your computer, you will see a virtual cloud drive icon in your explorer. It's not just an icon - it's a great tool to upload data directly to the cloud. Anything you put on this drive will be available to you on all computers where Google Drive will be. Of course, all this is available only after you go to your profile. The key features of Google Drive are:- You are provided with 5 GB of space;
- The service is absolutely free;
- Maximum upload and download speed \u003d your internet speed;
When it comes to speed, this is the most important issue in any cloud storage. Google does not limit upload or download speed in any way, you can upload and download files as fast as your ISP allows. The advantage of this utility is that it is available not only for Windows 10 32/64 bit, but also for other operating systems, including iOS, as well as Android. If 5 GB is not enough for you, then you can add space, but this is already a paid feature. Otherwise, everything is free, and in Russian.
Google, which works mainly in the field of Internet technologies, presented many products that are particularly stable in work, have a visually understandable graphical interface. Just what is their Chrome browser used by millions of users, both for desktop and mobile devices. An equally high-quality product is also for storing user information in the cloud. Using this service, each user will be able to use data located in the cloud anywhere in the world at any time, just have access to the Internet.
Immediately it is worth noting, whichever version you use, you will definitely need a Google account. For example, if you have used the Play Market at least once, then you probably already have a mailbox on the Gmail service, which you can use as an account, because the company specifically makes its own services for each mailbox and can be used for any product.
If you do not want to install additional applications on your computer, you can follow this link, click on "Go to Google Drive" and go through the authorization procedure to open the cloud.
But it is much more convenient to use the application, because it is a created folder into which you can copy important files and open them while away from your own computer. For this:
- open the page with this service by the link;
- at the top of the page there will be several items, including the item "Download", click on it;
- then you will be asked to select the version of the program for a mobile device or for a computer, but as we are trying to install the application on a computer, we click on the button "Download version for PC";
- accept the terms of the license agreement and the download process will start;
- after the installation file has been downloaded, just click on it, and the installation will take place in automatic mode, and after installation you will be prompted to start working;
- in the next window, you must enter the gmail address and password for the profile;
- then windows with explanations will appear, the user can familiarize himself with the information, and then press the "Forward" button (three times in total);
- after that, you need to specify where the directory should be located: click on "Synchronization options" and specify the path. Also here, in the advanced tab, you can configure the data exchange rate, etc.
Note: a drawback of this service is the fact that after that it is impossible to change the location of the files, which is why it is very important to specify the location of the files. Also, if you have a low data transfer rate, the best option would be to set limits on the speed of synchronization of incoming and outgoing traffic.
Google Drive can run together in the OS. It should be said right away that the service consumes the minimum amount of resources. If you often use the cloud to exchange information, you can safely leave it in startup, otherwise, you should still remove it. This can be done through the tray icon by clicking RMB and unchecking the corresponding line.
Setting up and using Google Drive
Now, using the Google Drive folder, you can safely copy all the necessary files there, and they will be copied to the cloud. How quickly they appear there depends only on the speed of the Internet connection, but after the download is complete, they will instantly be displayed.
As an example, let's try to put the archive in the cloud. This is done by normal copying, as when working with files and directories on the local computer. After the archive has been transferred, an inscription will be displayed in the explorer that the file is being downloaded.
After a while, the download will complete and a message will appear on the screen that the file has been placed in the cloud and synchronization has been completed successfully.
Everything is quite simple and does not require special skills or training. After reopening the Google Drive folder, the user will see that the copied archive is actually located in it. If you decide to delete the file, at the same time it will be deleted in the cloud.
In this service, everything is done very simply, while it works like a clock, without failures. The only drawback is the fact that the disk space in the cloud is limited to 15 gigabytes, although this volume is quite enough to put all the important information here. If you do not have enough of this volume, for a separate fee you can increase the disk space as much as you need it.
Removing Google Drive
As a rule, few people can be found who removed such a useful service from their computer. But if the user needs it, it can be done quite easily, because Google Drive practically leaves no traces and this can be done with a standard tool:
- open the "Control Panel" ("Start" - "All Programs" - "System Tools" - "Control Panel");
click on the link "Uninstall the program";
- in the list of programs that appears, find Google Drive, select it and click on the "Delete" button;
- confirm the action by clicking on the "Yes" button in the dialog box;
- then you just have to wait for the end of the progress, while remember that all files and folders that were previously in the cloud will remain.
In contact with
In this article, I will share my experience of using the Google Drive app for Windows.
It turned out that most people only use the web version of this service. However, I decided not to waste the opportunity and test the Google Drive desktop app. If you would like to download a personal computer application, please follow this official link and select the version of the Google Drive desktop application that suits you. So, I downloaded the Windows app.
Following the link, you will receive an online installer file, approximately 1 MB in size. Double clicking on the installer will start the application download process. The total size of the installation package is not specified, but the Drive application itself can be over 30 MB. However, setting up all the required configurations will take you no more than a few minutes.
After installation, the program opens a login window. Next, you need to provide your Gmail username and password.
Google Drive syncs your online files with the desktop app. In the Google Drive folder, you will see online folders and files. In total, the app will create 4 desktop shortcuts. One for yourself and the rest for Google Docs, Google Slides and Google Sheets. The Google Drive home folder is automatically included in the 'Favorites' section to the left of the Computer folder interface.
When you click on the Google Drive shortcut, a folder will open in front of you. The other three shortcuts will direct you to the web page of Google's online document creation service. For example, a Google Docs shortcut opens the online word document creation tool. The Google Slides shortcut redirects you to the Create Presentations page, and Google Sheets directs you to the Create Google Sheets page.
The same thing happens inside the Google Drive folder. Here you will see a list of documents and files. Double clicking on any of these documents will take you online where you can edit the documents. You can exchange any data from the Google Drive folder.
It turned out that documents created with Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides that appear inside the Google Drive folder (displayed as shortcuts) cannot be opened with Micorsoft Word, PowerPoint or Excel applications. The files are stored here as shortcuts, and if you want to access them you need to go online.
However, if you have downloaded the MS Word file to Drive, you can edit and view it offline from your PC. Right-clicking on such a file will also allow you to view such a file on a web page, as I mentioned earlier.
As soon as you place the file inside the Google Drive folder, it will start syncing with the server and will be available on your other connected devices. When a file is in progress, a sync icon is visible on the file thumbnail. This feature is also displayed on the Google Drive taskbar icon, including animation and mouse notification. After synchronization is complete, a check mark appears on the thumbnail and the Drive taskbar icon stabilizes.
The Google Drive desktop app contains several options to personalize the user experience. When an application is running, its icon appears on the Windows taskbar. Right-clicking on the icon will open its menu. You can also pause the synchronization processes on Google Drive by clicking on "Pause" from the menu list.
This menu also provides options for opening the online storage, expanding space, viewing shared files, documents, and more.
In the ‘Settings…’ section you can see ‘Synchronization settings’, ‘Account’ settings and ‘Advanced’ settings. In the first case, you will be able to select the folders you want to sync. Account settings allow you to disconnect your Google account or increase your cloud space.
Finally, advanced settings allow you to choose how the Google Drive app starts automatically when Windows starts up, send crash reports, show sync icons, and more.
To be honest, I have ambivalent feelings about using the Google Drive Windows app. Now let's look at the pros and cons of this program.
PER
- The application works stably. It provided me with a flawless user experience.
- Fast sync process. I liked the ‘Pause’ and then ‘Resume’ options.
- Easy and fast file sharing with the Google Drive app.
- Create documents instantly with shortcuts.
Against
- It would be nice if Google offered an offline installer for their Drive app on the download page.
- The online installer simply did not respond a few times and freezes during the installation.
- No offline editing mode for Google Docs, spreadsheets and presentations using a desktop app. This would give users more mobility.
- The application provides a file sharing option, but the section window made several attempts before starting to work.
- The Drive app is missing the version history of the files in the folder.
Finally
The Google Drive desktop app does have some limitations. However, the application still provides a number of features that you would expect from this kind of service. Hopefully Google will add even more features in the near future.
In the following articles, I will try to talk about the competitors of Google Drive. I hope all of my articles will be useful to you. Thank you for attention.
