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Google Docs’ “Upload Any File” Has Limitations

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In January, Google announced that users can upload files of any time and save them in Google Docs.  With 1GB of space per user, the feature provides limited ability to begin using Google Docs as a file server.

The API implementation — the interface used by programmers — has limitations beyond those in the end user web interface.

  • Only Google Apps Premier Edition allows uploading files of any type, without conversion, to Google Docs.  Somewhat surprisingly, this feature is not available for the Education Edition users.
  • File sizes are limited to 250 MB

What this means is that programs built for the commercial sector will not work for educational institutions and non-profits using Google Apps Education Edition.

W e suspect there are many factors in this decision.  One such issue may be that the Education Edition is free and Google has not yet announced if/how Education Edition users will be able to purchase more space.   Time will tell if this limitation is temporary or part of a larger plan.

OffiSync 2.0 Preview

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OffiSync 2.0 offers greatly expanded collaboration features for MS Office users connected to Google Apps.

Join us for a discussion of the OffiSync Reseller Program and a demonstration of many of the new features.

Support for native MS Office files in Google Docs:

  • Open native MS Office files in Google Docs
  • Save MS Office files in native formats to Google Docs (Google Apps Premier and Education Edition Only)

Expanded Collaboration Features:

  • Auto-discovery of Google Sites in use
  • Create new Google Sites and folders from within MS Office applications
  • Dashboard showing other documents related to the context of your work

Co-Authoring Beta For Word and Excel files stored in Google Docs and Sites:

  • Multiple users can edit files simultaneously
  • Updated view of each others’ work with each save or auto save

MS Office Compatibility

  • Full Compatibility with Office 2003 and 2007 Editions
  • Beta support for MS Office 2010 Beta
  • Full support for Office 2010 will be available after Microsoft officially releases Office 2010

Space is Limited; Click here for webinar times and registration!

In The Clouds While On The Ground

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I have been stuck in airports before, so I know the drill:  You can get more information online about weather delays and other problems than you can from the gate agent,  so relax and enjoy the drill.

Here at Orlando Sanford International, they have WiFi setup with a subscription service, but no way to create a new subscription.   It is a work in progress.  Good news, though, as Google and other Google services — including Google Apps — are allowed through the firewall for free.  No need to pay; No need to figure out how to pay.

No muss; no fuss, I am able to work.  Clean out the inbox, setup my tasks, and otherwise organize my thoughts as I travel home from vacation.  The flight delay, while disappointing, becomes an opportunity to reduce my “back to work” stress.

Opportunities abound with the right tools.

Updates to Google Apps Directory Sync

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Recent updates to Google Apps Directory Sync include:

  • Compatibility with the new Groups (user-managed) service that will automatically detect groups that users create, and will not delete or overwrite them.
  • Delete limits: Delete limits now apply to users, groups and shared contacts. These limits stop any synchronization that deletes more than the specified percentage (or number) of users, groups or shared contacts.

These improvements make managing Google Apps accounts from your existing directory service just a bit easier.

Google Apps and Mobile Device Management

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To help enterprises better manage mobile devices like iPhones, Google recently added enterprise admin policies for iPhone, Nokia E Series, and Windows Mobile devices.  The capability lets you:

  • Remotely wipe all data from lost or stolen mobile devices
  • Lock idle devices after a period of inactivity
  • Require a device password on each phone
  • Set minimum lengths for more secure passwords
  • Require passwords to include letters, numbers and punctuation

Similar features are expected for Nexus One and Droid phones soon.

Click here to learn more.

Updated Google Directory Sync

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This week, Google released an update to the Directory Sync Tool.

The release includes synchronization of passwords for new and existing users.  With this update, organizations can avoid the added expense of single sign-on solutions.

This update is available only for Premier, Education, and Partner Editions.  Click here to learn more.

Google Groups: A Major Addition to Google Apps

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Google Apps Premier and Education Editions now include Google Groups.

With the addition of Google Groups, you can ..

  • Create an email distribution list to which users can subscribe, with several notification options to members
  • Facilitate threaded discussions
  • Provide a “public” mailbox for saving project-related emails

For more information, to discuss how this feature can help you migrate off MS Exchange, or a demo, please contact us.

Google Docs: Better Sharing, Export, and Search

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It is now easier to find, export, and share documents from Google Docs.  Here is how.

Export All as a zip file:

Select one or more files and then click on “Export” from the “More Actions” menu. Next, pick the format (e.g. PDF etc) you want for your exported files. Here you now also have the option to “Export all your files” up to 2GB into a single zip file. It can sometimes take a few minutes to download so you also have an “email when ready” option to notify you when the zip file is ready. If your files are larger than 2GB then Docs will present a list of those that weren’t exported and you can export them to a zip file as normal.

Email as an attachment:

In the Docs list, select an item, click “Share” and select “Email as attachment…”. Then pick which format you want to use to send the item, compose your email, and click send.

Improved search:

Search for a document from the Docs list as normal. In the displayed results, click on the new button “Relevance” which lets you decide whether you’d like to sort your Docs list by “Relevance,” “Starred” or “Last Modified”.

Premier vs Standard Edition

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One of the advantages of upgrading to Google Apps Premier Edition is the ability to integrate your existing Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES).  In November, Google upgraded the connector in several ways:

  • Increased Capacity: Administrators can now run up to 500 users per Blackberry Enterprise Server
  • 64-bit Support: The Google Apps Connector now supports 64-bit Windows systems
  • Support for Blackberry Professional Software
  • Hosted Support: The Google Apps Connector now includes support for multiple companies on a single server
  • Enhanced Logging

For small and mid-size businesses, this means easier connectivity and emerging options to use 3rd party BES hosting services.  You can now get the full BES, native Blackberry, user experience for email, calendar, and contacts without the capital investment of running the BES server in-house.

Memeo Connect is Not Ready for Prime Time, Yet.

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With the recent updates to Google Docs, users of Google Apps Premier and Education Editions can now save files of any time.  Added with the ability to affordably increase storage space, Google Apps is becoming a viable hosted file service.

To integrate Google Docs with end users’ local systems, several companies are building solutions, including Memeo.

After testing MemeoConnect and working through several support calls, we cannot recommend this as a solution … yet.  The software is lacking features we consider critical for usability.  Here is what we learned:

  • After starting MemeoConnect and entering our Google Apps credentials, the connection does not always happen.  Once in the software, there is now way to see why the state is disconnected and there is now way to attempt to reconnect.  You must exit and start over.  Also, when the connection does work, it often disconnects after some period of time without notice.  Our ability for MemeoConnect to initiate and stay connected to Google Apps was only about 40%.
  • When you pick a desktop or network folder to synchronize with  Google Docs, MemeoConnect automatically pulls in all subfolders.  You cannot granularly select just a folder.  As such, we ended up with drafts and previous versions of documents we did not want in Google Docs.
  • When moving documents up to Google Docs, everything ends up in the Root folder.  MemeoConnect does not create folders to mimic those on your desktop or server, and we could not figure out any way to tell MemeoConnect where to place the folders.
  • Once you add a folder to the sync process, there is no means to remove it.  Per a response from MemeoConnect, the only way to remove a folder from the sync list is to uninstall MemeoConnect and reinstall.   Not the most friendly or usable solution.
  • There is no means to see which local or network folders are setup to sync with Google Docs.

Surely, we expect Memeo will address these shortcomings in upcoming releases, at which time we will retest and review again.

One longer term concern, though, is the model.  MemeoConnect becomes another tool users must use to manage files.    Working locally and saving files to Google Docs using MemeoConnect still requires users to save locally, then run a program to ensure the file is copied up to Google Docs.  And, if the tool is not running, the synchronization does not happen.

Our preference is for tools that let you save to Google Docs and Sites from within your applications and for tools that you can setup to manage synchronization without additional user activities.