Let’s face it – there are lots of places online where you can share files. But when it comes to sharing large files, really large files, files over 2GB in size the number of places you can go gets much smaller quickly.
File storage companies have different limitations on file sizes, with some capping file sizes at as little as 100 MB. Some companies offer single file size limits of 1 GB and most of those who go larger stop at 2GB.
At My Docs Online we have no file size limitations. The only limit is the size of your account, as long as you are using the Desktop App. Using the desktop app is what allows us to exceed the browser based upload limitations of 2GB in file size. The My Docs Online desktop app runs on both both Windows and Macs so if you need to transfer really big digital files give us a try.
Now – what are the practical realities of transferring a file of that size? A pretty good cable modem upload speed is between 2 – 5 Gbps so uploading a 2 GB file should take between 1 – 2 hours at those speeds. Download speeds are normally quite a bit faster so downloading the file may only take 25% of the time it takes to upload it. If you’re curious as to what your internet connection speed is you can test it at http://www.speedtest.net.
Sometimes, you really do need to get the file there today and when that’s the case you need something that will do the job for you. If you’re in that position I hope you’ll give My Docs Online a try by signing up for a free trial, running the desktop app and uploading your file.
One of the most requested new features to the desktop app has been the addition of file sharing. We’ve listened and file sharing is now available in the current version of the desktop app. There is nothing you’ll need to do to have access to the file sharing it will just be there the next time you run the desktop app.
The most obvious change you’ll see is the the big “Share” button on the right side of the menu bar which will allow you to select files for sharing via what used to be called our “give” feature. Just select the files, click share and you’ll be presented with two different options.
File Sharing with the Desktop App
The first option is to send the file (or files) yourself by generating a link that you can email directly to your recipient. The second option is to have us send the files for you. This second option most closely resembles the website “give” that you may be used to.
If you select the first option – you’ll be sent to a new window that contains the link that you can email directly to the recipient of your files. This allows you to customize the message and the email will come directly from you, making it more likely to be received and opened.
If you select the second option we’ll send the email for you but the link your recipient receives will be exactly the same.
We’ve also added public folder functionality to the Desktop App. Any file stored in your Public folder can be right clicked and you’ll see a menu item called “Show Public URL”. Selecting that option will get you a link to that specific file that can be posted in an email message, or a website, or one of your social media sites. That public folder link will continue to work until you remove or rename the file the link points to.
Thanks for requesting these new features. We hope you’ll find them useful.
If you’re in business for yourself you know that in small companies you get to wear a number of different hats. One of the hats that I wear for My Docs Online is a QuickBooks hat, meaning that I do the majority of the accounting work.
During the course of a given week I may need to access the QuickBooks file from my home, from the office, or when traveling. There may also be others who need access to QuickBooks so I can’t just keep the file on my computer and hope I have the computer with me all the time.
My solution? Well, it’s My Docs Online of course, right?
(Best viewed Full Screen)
I store the QB data file on My Docs Online and I can access it from wherever I happen to be. The problem with that has always been that if I’ve downloaded the file myself how do I let others know not to use it until I’m through? In the past we’d cobbled together a “check-in” and “check-out” method for accessing the file but it was not a great solution. What we really needed was file locking for QuickBooks so that anyone trying to access the file would know when it was in use.
Well, since we needed functionality we figured you might need it as well so we build it into the new My Docs Online desktop app.
Now when I’m ready to access the QuickBooks file I just launch the desktop app, highlight the QuickBooks file and click the “Lock and Open” button which locks the file and launches QuickBooks so that I can work.
Then when I’m done I reverse the process. I just close QuickBooks, then click the “Unlock and Save” button, which uploads the new file into our account and removes the lock so that someone else can use it. It also moves the file to the top of the date ordered list so that anyone can see that it’s been recently updated.
Being able to apply file locking to QuickBooks has been a real benefit to me while I’ve been testing the My Docs Online Desktop App. If you have the same need for file locking please check it out.
The My Docs Online website is a great way for you and I to store files in the cloud. Using the website is easy – it’s accessible from anywhere and using it is simple. However, there are a few things that we’d like to do that we just can’t do through the website.
The My Docs development team has heard our requests and they’re in the beta test phase of introducing a new desktop based application. This application will do a number of things that, because of the nature of web browsers, can’t be done through Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or other browsers.
I’ve been working with a number of you who are beta testing this new product and you’re telling me both what you like about it and the features that you’d like to see added.
Here are the top five things you say will help you with the new app:
File compression on all uploads and downloads – This is mentioned often as a big time saver, especially for users who upload and download lots of files and folders each day.
The “Open Last Folder” at login option – Those of you using this option (it’s in the preferences section) really like the way the app takes you directly to the last folder used as soon as you log in.
Drag-and-drop or file select for file uploads – I’ve always been a big fan of using file select for uploads but many of you report a preference for drag-and-drop file uploading. This new app allows us to upload files either way.
Easily login into and out of multiple accounts – Some of you maintain multiple My Docs Online accounts and mentioned this as a much easier way of accessing them.
Being able to lock the files you’re working on – (It was the power users among you that mentioned file locking.) The desktop app allows you to apply file locks to any file type. This means that you can “Lock and Open” any file in your account without fear of any of your other team members trying to update the file while you have it open. When you’re done with your changes you simply “Save and Unlock” the file and it’s available for use by any other team member.
Not surprisingly there were also features that are not yet in the beta version of the Desktop App that you’ve requested as well. The most requested feature available through the website that is not yet available in the Desktop App is the “give” feature that you use to share files with people who may not be My Docs Online users.
The Dev team hopes that you see the Desktop App as a useful addition to the My Docs Online website. If you’d like more information on the beta test program, or if you’re interested in helping us test the new product (we’d love to hear your feedback) please send me an email using the [email protected] email address.
If you’re in business for yourself you know that in small companies you get to wear a number of different hats. One of the hats that I wear for My Docs Online is a QuickBooks hat, meaning that I do the majority of the accounting work.