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Google Drive can stop others from grabbing your files
Google Drive is built around collaboration. And that's great! However, you probably don't want to give collaborators unfettered access to everything -- what if someone makes off with a sensitive report? Thankfully, you can put your foot down as of today. Google has added rights management to Drive that, if you like, prevents others from copying, downloading or printing specific files. You only need to mark a checkbox to prevent coworkers and friends from sharing your work with others. The feature is gradually rolling out now on the web. There's no word on whether or not it'll reach phones, so don't count on locking down your files while you're on the road.
Google parks its map-making tool inside Drive for easy access
To make things easily accessible, Google is nesting its My Maps feature in Drive. This means that in addition to creating custom maps for whatever need may arise, you can also nestle them alongside documents or forms created with the productivity suite's other apps. Drive's cloud storage abilities also make it simple to store and share those custom maps in a place that you'll know exactly where to find them. Even if you can't remember, Drive's search box can lend a hand. My Maps has been around for a bit, but it hasn't nearly as easy to find. Now, it's accessible from the red New button in Drive, situated in the extend menu under the core apps. As Google notes, it's incredibly useful for building a guide for multiple colleagues attending the same conference or keeping a few different hiking trails organized. And perhaps best of all, it'll pull data from a Sheet, Document or Form to save you from all of that extra typing.
Google Drive for Android shares files as soon as they're ready
Can't wait to share a photo as soon as it hits the internet? Google has your back. The company has updated Drive for Android so that you can start sharing files from the notification that your upload is done -- you don't even have to launch the app to get things going. The update also adds support for 23 more languages, including local Chinese and French dialects. Just be ready to wait a while for this no-waiting feature, as Google says the update will be rolling out over the next week.
Google Drive offers access to your Google+ photos
Google isn't wasting much time acting on its promise to divvy up Google+ into individual services. As hinted earlier, an updated version Google Drive on Android, iOS and the web now offers access to your Google+ photos. The unified cloud storage approach not only saves you the trouble of switching apps, but gives you more control -- you can move pictures from a big speech into the same folder as the speech itself. On iOS, Drive can also take over as your automatic camera backup. Only new photos will show up in the app right away, but your whole Google+ collection should be available within the next few weeks.
Google Drive will soon back up your phone's photos
Now that Google+ is splitting up into individual services, where will you go to back up your phone's picture library? To Google Drive, apparently. Android Police has discovered that the latest version of the cloud storage app on Android has preliminary code for an eventual photo backup feature that would behave much like Google+ or the standard Photos app. You'll have an easier time sharing your files on the big screen, too -- there are hidden mentions of Chromecast streaming support. These features may not go live in the next release (Google sometimes leaves pre-release code hanging around for a while), but they're likely coming sooner rather than later.
Google Calendar for Android lets you link files to events
Want to make sure everyone at your next shindig has a copy of the itinerary? You'll probably want to snag the updated version of Google Calendar for Android, then. The refreshed app lets you associate Google Drive files with events -- you don't have to send that big presentation in a separate message to make sure everyone gets it. There are a few other welcome (and arguably overdue) upgrades in store, such as a 7-day week view, pinch-to-zoom navigation and the option of importing the .ICS calendar files that you frequently get through email. The Calendar upgrade might take a few days to hit your device, but it should be worthwhile if you're determined to organize your life.
Earn 2GB of Google Drive space for checking your security settings
To properly celebrate Safer Internet Day, Google is offering a a nice perk for users who complete a quick security checkup. If you're willing to make sure your account recovery info is up to date, review recent log-in activity and confirm the list of apps that access your account details, the folks in Mountain View will add 2GB to your total Drive space. You have to complete the quick process before February 17th, and the extra gigabytes will appear around the end of the month. The offer is only open to personal accounts, though, and while Google Apps for Work and Google Apps for Education users can't boost their space, it's probably not a bad idea to double-check those settings anyway.
Google makes a few changes to its Drive apps on iOS and Android
You know that thing where you try and get as much work done as you can before the end of the year? Tie up loose ends so that you can start the new year with a clean slate? That seems to be the mindset over at Google: After adding Office-file conversion in Gmail, the company has issued a handful of miscellaneous updates to its Drive apps for both iOS and Android. Basically, the sort of stuff they had probably been meaning to get around to for a while, but didn't until now. In any case, here's what's on tap. If you're an Android user, you'll find that you can now search for files from within the Google search app, even by using the "OK Google" voice command. Essentially, then, you can get to your files without actually having to open the Drive app first.
Google Drive now converts Office files inside Gmail
Google sprinkled in the ability to edit Microsoft Office files in Drive a while back, but the folks in Mountain View are always looking to help improve that workflow. When a colleague sends a non-Google file as an attachment, you're now able to convert those to Drive-friendly files right inside Gmail. Need to send back the proper .docx? No worries. Installing a Chrome extension enables you to edit the file without making the switch. What's more, over a dozen more Office formats have been added to the productivity feature.
Chromecast works better with Chromebooks, looks better with NASA
After a few months of testing, the feature that allows Chrome OS users to stream videos from Google Drive storage -- like the free 1TB allotted to new owners -- to a Chromecast is now available to (almost) everyone. An update on the stable channel this week pushed it to most people, with the exception of a few devices: the Dell Chromebook 11, HP Chromebook 14, Acer C720 and the Toshiba Chromebook. One thing everyone with the Chromecast dongle can appreciate are additional backgrounds, this time provided by NASA. To access them, pop open the Chromecast app on your mobile device, select "Backdrop", go to settings and choose NASA.
Google is giving away 1TB of free Drive space with new Chromebooks
Google really, really wants you to pick up a Chromebook this holiday, and it's sweetening the deal to make sure a Chrome OS-powered laptop is on your gift list. The company is now offering 1TB of free Google Drive space to anyone who buys a Chromebook between now and the end of 2014; while it'll only last two years, that gives you about as much value ($240) as a low-end Chromebook model. If you're particularly fond of storing your stuff in the cloud (or know someone who does), this is potentially a huge bargain.
Launch desktop apps from inside Google Drive
When you're viewing a list of files on a Mac or PC, right clicking on an item (or group of items) gives you the "Open with" option. Well friends, that same handy shortcut now resides in Google Drive, too. Thanks to a handy Chrome extension, you can fire up Photoshop from Google's cloud-based repository inside the browser -- no need to head elsewhere to get the work session started. Of course, you'll need to have Chrome installed in order to leverage the add-on. And in case you forgot, you don't even have to launch Microsoft Office to edit Drive-stored documents and spreadsheets either.
Google gives students unlimited cloud storage
Google's invasion of our classrooms (and its war on paper) continues unabated. Back in August in the search giant released an online education tool for teachers who wanted to digitally manage their classes, and now it's launched an improved version of Google Drive that's free for folks toiling away in academia. The company's new Drive for Education is basically the same thing as its enterprise-based Drive for Work, which means you're looking at unlimited storage space (albeit with a 5TB file size limit) and access to Google Vault for message archiving.
Security app automatically encrypts your shared files so you don't have to
In this post-PRISM world, basically everyone is worried about privacy (and rightly so!) -- especially when it comes to cloud-based storage. Offloading your files to the likes of Dropbox doesn't come without a share of caveats regarding security, so that's where Places comes in. What sets the startup's service apart from its peers, according to TechCrunch, is local, automatic, end-to-end encryption for your documents and media. There apparently isn't another step you need to take between uploading the video of your toddler's first steps and it being securely locked away. What's more, Places uses your local machine to host offloaded content, relying on its centralized servers only when your PC is otherwise unavailable. And because your digital life is encrypted on the client side, Places claims it doesn't have the key to unlock anything stored on its end should the government or anyone else come knocking. That, of course, is reserved for the intended recipient and no one else.
Chromebook-to-Chromecast video? Yes, with Google Drive
As if Android apps hitting Google's Chrome OS wasn't enough excitement for Mountain View's operating system for one week. Now, you can play movies stored in Google Drive via the OS' video player app on your Chromecast. According to Googler François Beaufort, doing so is pretty easy too: simply open the Files app, select a video clip from Drive and hit the sparkly new Cast icon. Voila, cloud-stored videos are now viewable on the biggest screen in your house and even more media functionality for your Chromebook. Of course, since this is in the developer channel there might be a few bugs here and there -- if you spot 'em be sure to let the Chromium team know.
Gmail for Android adds a faster way to attach Google Drive files
Attaching Drive files on Gmail is easy enough even on Android phones and tablets, but we doubt anybody would complain if Google wants to make it even easier. The new Gmail refresh for Android comes with an "Insert from Drive" option on the right-hand pull-down menu. That's definitely a lot quicker to access than the traditional Drive icon hidden among the undoubtedly numerous apps in your list, which shows up after clicking "Attach file." Plus, in case the email's recipients can't see the file you've chosen (say, if it's marked private or if it's only shared to a select group of people), you can access its settings from within the app before you send an email. As a bonus, the updated Gmail app's To: and CC/BCC: suggestions are now not only more comprehensive, but also show up much faster than before. Just don't feel hurried to choose recipients because of this change, lest you end up blasting the entire office an embarrassing email.
Revamped Google Drive for Android makes it easier to tinker with your files
Google unveiled a lot of things at the start of its I/O conference, but there was also a pair of stealthy updates that could make a big difference for cloud storage lovers. To begin with, there's a brand new version of Google Drive for Android that makes it much easier to manipulate your files. Instead of sifting through a top menu bar, you just have to tap a button to rename, share or star a document; it's also a little quicker to print a file or scrap it entirely.
Gmail for Android can save attachments directly to Google Drive
Just because you want to save an email attachment on your phone doesn't mean you always want a local copy. What if you're running out of space? That won't be an issue if you're using the latest version of Gmail for Android; the newly updated app lets you save files to Google Drive, making it easy to fetch them later on most any Drive-friendly device. The upgrade also gets you to the navigation menu through a simple swipe gesture, and there's both improved right-to-left language support (think Arabic or Hebrew) as well as explanations for why messages land in the spam folder. It may take a few days for the new app to hit your phone or tablet, but it should be worth your patience if you prefer to fetch important documents from the cloud.
You can now crop and add borders to images in Google Docs
You'll have to download the standalone apps to get to work on mobile devices, but you can now crop, rotate and add borders to images inside Google Docs. The same handy modification tools that have been available in Slides now make their debut in Mountain View's word processor. Gone are the days of firing up a separate app to crop those snapshots down size before properly illustrating your thesis. If you're in need of a step-by-step breakdown, Google provided one right here.
Google releasing standalone mobile apps for editing docs, spreadsheets and presentations
Google's long had a Drive app for both Android and iOS, but who knows, maybe you just can't handle that many features in one program. If for some reason you're the kind of person who only wants to edit documents and never see another spreadsheet again (not that we blame you), Google just released standalone Drive apps for Android and iOS, each with offline support built in. These include Docs and Sheets to start; a Slides app for presentations is coming too, but hasn't been released yet. If all you want is a text editor or spreadsheet repository, though, you'll find the appropriate download links below.
