Google Drive: Differences Between The Web And Desktop App

By Katie Thornton

Google Drive is a cloud storage serve that offers users 5GB of outer space for rid. It ’ s a fantastic tool for document management, sharing and accompaniment, but what is the best way to make the most of this service ? We compare the browser-based web app and the locally installed background app to see the veridical differences .

Google Drive: How do I sign up?

Users with an existing Google Account can go here to start using Drive immediately. Don ’ t have a Google Account however ? Go hera to create one .
Drive is a cloud storage service offered by Google. ‘ Cloud ’ is equitable another word for the Internet and ‘ Cloud storehouse ’ means Internet storage ; once uploaded to Google Drive, your files are stored on Google ’ second servers in datacenters throughout the worldly concern. This means you are no longer dependent on your calculator to get access to your data. Google Drive offers 5GB for absolve and users can purchase more for a reasonable price :

• 25GB: $2.49/month
• 100GB: $4.99/month

up to 16TB is available depending on your needs. That ’ s a bunch of space !
We ’ ll kick off this analysis by taking a search at each Google Drive app in-depth .

The Google Drive Web App

The most common manner to access Google Drive is through a world wide web browser. One of the things I like best about the interface is that it ’ s uncluttered. There ’ randomness a helpful charge type indicator next to each of the files and folders. It ’ south easily to create folders and drag files into them. Right-click a file and all sorts of options become available :
receptive With allows you to open the text file with a certain type of app. Google Drive international relations and security network ’ thymine just a file repository, but besides a backend repositing subsystem for apps. A full list of apps available for Google Drive can be found in the Google Chrome Web Store. Google Apps integrates directly with Google Drive angstrom well as many third-party applications including video recording and photograph editors and spreadsheet makers .
The Share… choice makes it easy to share files and besides encourages collaboration via apps, particularly document edit .
One of the most interesting options is wield Revisions. Revisions allow you to look at all the previously-stored versions of the document ; if you edit a file in Google Apps and save it, the original international relations and security network ’ thyroxine overwrite ; it ’ mho saved as a translation. Google Drive will store up to 100 revisions for 30 days ; you can mark them to never be deleted by checking the Do not Auto Delete box. This could be a lifeguard if you by chance overwrite a part of your Master ’ mho thesis !
Most of the other options are self-explanatory – you can, of course, download a Google Drive text file to any local personal computer. If you have shared the document in Google parlance, you ’ re the Owner – you can prevent others from downloading it a well .
The Google Drive web app has some other bang-up features such as the ability to change to a tile view. This gives you a small preview of the file without having to open or download it – it ’ sulfur is specially useful if you upload pictures or PDF documents. public speaking of upload files – it ’ s accomplished by clicking the upload button or haul and dropping files into the world wide web browser itself .
need to search through your files ? That ’ s what the search legal profession is for at the clear. note that Google Drive ’ second search is more than healthy ; Google Drive will scan files you upload for keywords, even if they don ’ t have editable textbook ( PDF documents and scanned images ) ; it can even do trope recognition. Upload a mental picture of the Statue of Liberty – there ’ s a good chance that image recognition will tag it as such .
The last item we ’ ll take a expression at regarding the Google Drive network app is the ability to create documents and other files ( depending on which Google Drive apps you ’ ve installed, you ’ ll see more options under the More drop-down option ). In conclusion, the Google Drive world wide web app is slick and intuitive. The whole mind is to provide agile access to upload documents anywhere. now let ’ s take a count at the Google Drive desktop app and see what it can do .

The Google Drive Desktop App

Google says that the fully office of Google Drive international relations and security network ’ t experienced until you install the desktop app ; let ’ s take a look. The Google Drive desktop initiation process is straightforward .
Google Drive integrates directly into Windows Explorer ( we ’ ll be using Microsoft Windows for these screenshots, but the background app is available for Mac OS X a well as mobile devices ) which makes it appear as just another location on your computer ; there will be a Google Drive folder under your exploiter account in Windows Explorer. You ’ ll see a list of files in your Google Drive inside.

Files you ’ re presently storing on-line in Google Drive will mechanically be downloaded and made available locally ( we ’ ll talk about some exceptions regarding Google documents in a moment ). additionally, any folders and files you save here will be synced online. It ’ s a two-way synchronize .
Notice that most of my files in the screenshot above are the type *.gdoc ; this file propagation signifies that this document is a Google document located on the web merely ( e.g., created in Google Apps – these include text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations ) ; therefore these are just links ; double-clicking any *.gdoc file opens it through the Google Drive world wide web app in a web browser. If you want to be able to open the Google Documents files on the local calculator for offline manipulation, you can do sol by enabling offline view. This is done by changing Google Drive ’ sulfur preferences .
This Google Support link explains how to setup offline Google Drive access ; it could be a bit more aboveboard but the end leave is that you can edit your Google Documents offline ( it ’ randomness limited to spreadsheets and text documents, unfortunately ) using the Google Chrome network browser only .
That said, having a booklet on your local computer that automatically syncs with Google Drive on-line is an highly powerful creature. Why ? For one, there ’ s the aforesaid revision have ; if you have a Microsoft Word document in your Google Drive folder and you edit and save it multiple times, all of those unlike revisions are mechanically stored and saved in the cloud ( the limitations of this feature of speech will be discussed in the adjacent section ). additionally, it ’ s nice not to have to worry about remembering to upload a file to have it available in a place other than base or exercise. For example, can create a PowerPoint display on your calculator and save it to your Google Drive booklet ; it ’ s automatically upload to Google Drive in the cloud. From there you can share it with your team members. Any changes they make will not only be saved as revisions, but the latest version of that document will be synced back to your calculator in the Google Drive booklet. The utility is undeniable .

Limitations: Can’t Have One Without the Other

now that we ’ ve seen what both apps can do, there are fundamental reasons why it ’ randomness necessary to use both the Google Drive web app and the background app to get the most out of the service. Simply put, they ’ ra unlike tools and the limitations of each must be understood to be used efficaciously. There is small in the way of overlapping functionality. In this section, we ’ ll go over reasons you need both .

Reason #1: You Can’t Edit All of Your Files in the Cloud

While there are lots of apps available for Google Drive, would you rather edit a Photoshop document in a circumscribed web interface or the full-blown Adobe program on your calculator ? I think the latter. It ’ s not reasonable to expect any web app in these early stages of the Internet to provide the lapp functionality as a standalone locally installed program .

Reason #2: Using the Internet Isn’t Always the Solution

The following thing to consider is that an Internet connection international relations and security network ’ metric ton constantly fast or reliable. In order to be an effective proletarian, you need both. even a firm Internet connection might not be adequate to handle editing 1080p television on-line – the bandwidth needs are just besides great, even for the fastest cable connections. furthermore, there ’ s the dependability emergence. Your home Internet joining might work and be fast 99.9 % of the time but that ’ s about never the case in populace spaces ( this coming from person who travels 50 weeks a class ). Editing a document might be a choppy experience and downloading it could take a hanker time or even get interrupt halfway. Consider these limitations before you start blindly using Google Drive .

Reason #3: File Revisions Aren’t Available in the Desktop App

The file sitting in your local Google Drive folder is the latest interpretation of that file ; the revisions ( and remember, Google stores up to 100 ) are only saved in the obscure. In order to use revisions, you have to use the Google Drive web app .

Reason #4: Deleted Files Are Still Available Online

A file is gone off of your calculator if it gets deleted out of your local Google Drive booklet ( intentionally or unintentionally ; the latter is what to be concerned about ). however, it will however be available in your Trash folder in the Google Drive vane app for the next 30 days. ( After 30 days, the pan folder will permanently erase the delete documents and, unless you had a third-party backup, those deleted docs are gone constantly. The same is true if you empty the on-line Google Drive pan folder. ) The lesson here is this : store important documents in your Google Drive folder on your calculator ; that ’ s the alone position where documents are synced .

Reason #5: Google Documents Aren’t Editable Offline

The files in your local anesthetic Google Drive folder with a *.gdoc extension are Google Documents but they aren ’ thymine actually files you can edit on your local calculator ; they ’ re equitable links ; double-clicking them will cause them to open in your nonpayment web browser via Google Apps. The Google Chrome web browser can be setup to edit a Google document offline ( we explained the apparatus process above ), but that ’ s it. bottom course : if you create a document using Google Apps, you ’ ll have to edit it online. big conduct if you don ’ metric ton create any Google documents, right ? not always ; consider the scenario where person shares a Google document with you – there ’ s no going around using the Google Drive vane app to see it. Google Chrome offline access for documents is limited to text documents and spreadsheets lone, indeed if person shares a presentation with you, you ’ re hidebound to use Google Chrome and/or an Internet connection to edit it .

Reason #6: You Can’t Share Documents Through the Desktop App

Sharing is available through the Google Drive world wide web app only ; to collaborate on something, practice of the network app is essential .

Reason #7: Searching Files is Much More Effective Online

Searching the Google Drive folder on your calculator doesn ’ t make habit of Google ’ s research engine engineering ; the web app does. Windows ’ built-in search is no meet ; Google search can look through the contents of files and even has experimental trope recognition. It ’ s a far more effective means of searching files. Another bonus is speed ; if you have thousands of files, Google will be able to search through them a lot faster than your calculator can.

Conclusion

The chief difference between the Google Drive world wide web app and the desktop app is that they serve separate functions and together make Google Drive more than precisely memory ; combining the features of these two apps makes it a productiveness platform .
The functionality provided by the desktop app is primarily file synchronism and backup ; files placed in your local Google Drive booklet will be synced to the web. It works the early way around excessively ; files uploaded on-line and shared with you by others will besides be synced to the Google Drive booklet on your computer for local access ( read : offline ). The web app provides all the other functions including the ability to access deleted files and file revisions, parcel files with others, edit Google Documents and other files ( check out all the apps available for Google Drive ), search your files using Google ’ s excellent search locomotive and of course access to your files from anywhere .
Notice I didn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate mention limitations while describing what each app provides because, when used together, there actually aren ’ metric ton any. It ’ s not possible to in full utilize the features of Google Drive without using both the Google Drive web and background apps. How much you use each app will depend on your preferences and intentions ; once you understand the limitations of each app, you ’ ll be able to ensure Google Drive will always work for you – on-line, offline, or both .