Google Drive now 15GB & Getting the most out of Google Drive

Google’s cloud storage space for consumers have just tripled, from a initial size of 5gb to 15GB shared across Google+, Drive, and Gmail. I have been using Gmail for almost 10 years now but have only used up around 2gb of space till date. This generous offering is a nice present just before the Google I/O Developers Conference where we are anticipating even more releases from Google on upcoming tech changes, with cloud sync likely to be one of them.

The space increase announcement was made just before Google I/O developers conference begins this week. The changes will “roll out over the next couple of weeks,” Google said in a blog post. Similarly, though not tripled, businesses using Google Apps will see their storage go up across Google Drive, Google+, and Gmail from 25GB to 30GB.

This puts Google ahead of the cloud storage game. Perhaps doing so, just because they are the big G and space is unlikely to be an issue for them. A quick look at competitors shows that Dropbox currently starts free subscribers at 2GB, Microsoft SkyDrive users get 7GB, and Apple iCloud, Amazon Cloud Storage, and SugarSync offer 5GB for free.

I have started using more of Google Drive ever since its launch, and here are the Top 5 Tips & Tricks on getting the most out of Google Drive.

Top 5 Tips & Tricks For Google Drive

1. Directly editing files. Google Drive let’s you work directly from the Cloud, with the ability to edit them. It’s great for collaboration work as well, as multiple parties can edit the same file concurrently, with changes made highlighted to other collaborators
2. Using forms to collect data. Google Drive allows the use of web forms which store the responses in a spreadsheet, for you to easily conduct survey or get multiple responses to a spreadsheet quickly.
   
3. Save to Google Drive extension. If you are using Google Chrome, the save to Google Drive extension is a great addition to allow you to quickly save any web document, image etc directly to your Google Drive. Works great if you synchronise your Chrome app across all your devices.
4. Attach directly from GMail. You can select attachments not just from your local computer, but also from Google Drive as well from within GMail. It integrates nicely with your cloud storage.
5. Google Drive allows the linking of one file in multiple folders. Right click on the file and select “Move To”. Hold Ctrl and click on the other folders and Google will link the file there. It is an objective or symbolic link and not a basic copy. Any edits will be mirrored across the same file in the different folders.
   
6. Not really a Google Drive tip, but Google allows for unlimited photos upload in the Google+ Albums. This is provided the photos do not exceed a certain resolution of 2048 x 2048 (it is enough for my archival needs.