GMail Drive is a free shell namespace extension ("add-on") for Microsoft Windows Explorer. It allows a user to create a new network share on the workstation. In order to use this add-on, a user needs a 2 GB Gmail account. The add-on enables a user to use the normal Windows desktop file copy and paste commands to transfer files to and from the Gmail account just as if it was physically located on the local network.

Function

The Inbox of a Gmail account is used to store the files. Consequently, GMail Drive cannot accept files sized greater than 10 MB, Google's limit on e-mail attachment sizes. Moreover, GMail Drive can connect to one account on multiple computers. A multi-user file server can be emulated by creating a Gmail account with a distributed login and password, though this method is not particularly secure. The computer must be connected to Internet and must have access to Gmail. A broadband connection is a practical, though not formal, necessity. GMail Drive periodically checks the mail account (using the Gmail search function) to see if new files have arrived and to rebuild the directory structures.

Warning

GMail Drive is an experimental package which can be compromised if Google changes Gmail API, though Gmail Drive would likely update to reflect such a change.

Use of GMail Drive may violate the Gmail terms of service.

See also

• Gmail
• Virtual drive
• GmailFS
• RoamDrive

External links

• GMail Drive Site
• Gmail
• PGD
• - PhpGmailDrive by Rahat Ayub
• gDisk - Equivalent of GMail Drive for Mac OS X
• GmailFS - Equivalent of GMail Drive for GNU/Linux systems
• RoamDrive - Equivalent of GMail Drive which makes it possible to transfer from the files without the 10 MB limit. It also supports Hotmail accounts.