Google Docs is a portable cloud based document hosting, creating and editing application. Google recently added an option to add storage to Google Docs, and other Google services, which could make the service attractive to users who did not use it until now because of the storage limitations. A standard Google Docs account is good for 1 Gigabyte of data. The available storage plans begin at $5 per year for 20 Gigabytes and end at $4096 per year for 16 TB of space.
The storage space can be used by the Google products Google Docs, Picasa, Blooger, Google Buzz and Gmail. It is assigned on a first come first serve basis which means that it is possible to use the additional storage space exclusively for one product if it is the only Google product used.
We all know that it is possible to upload multiple files to Google Docs via the web client. Documents can be dragged and dropped to the interface or selected via a built-in file browser. This works well for a couple files, but is not that practicable for dozens, hundreds or even thousands of documents, especially if they are stored in different folders on the computer.
The alternative? CyberDuck, a free data transfer client for Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows PCs. The program supports several protocols,like ftp, sftp or webdav, and offers built-in support for cloud based solutions that includes Amazon S3, Rackspace Cloud Files and Google Docs.
The Google Docs integration is one of the easiest to configure. It begins with the selection of the Open Connection button in the program interface. This opens a smaller window where a new connection can be configured.
Only the Google account email and password are needed to establish a connection to Google Docs. The program tries to connect to Google right after the credentials have been entered. All existing folders and files are displayed in the program window if the log in was successful.
Documents can now be uploaded via the Upload button in the header, or a right-click in the file listing and the selection of Upload. The major advantage over the web interface upload is that it is possible to select files or folders for upload. Imagine a folder with dozens of subfolders. It requires quite some browsing and selecting to upload all the available documents to Google Docs via the web interface.
If you use Cyberduck instead, you just have to select the root folder and the program takes care of the rest. This way it is possible to upload hundreds of documents at once with minimal effort.
Another interesting option is the ability to sync a folder with the online storage at Google Docs. This is also configured in a few steps. The action button displays a list of available options, and synchronize is one of them. Cyberduck displays all files of the folder in a listing to give the user an option to block select files from the process. All remaining files can then be synchronized with the Google Docs server.
Documents can also be transferred from Google Docs to the local system if the need should arise.
Cyberduck is an excellent program that serves many different purposes besides the ones mentioned in the article. It is an excellent program to upload multiple documents to Google Docs, and may save lots of time even if it is a one time process.
Interested users can download the application from the developer homepage at Cyberduck.ch. (via)
