21-03-2011, 09:42 AM
Presented by:
JAJATI BEHERA
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Introduction
Windows Shell Namespace Extension
The Windows Shell namespace is the system of organization that Windows Explorer uses to present the file system and other objects to the user.
Objects inside the Shell namespace can be real file system files and folders, as well as virtual objects like My Network Places and the Recycle Bin.
Working On GMail Drive
The computer must be connected to the Internet and the user must have a GMail account.
GMail Drive uses the inbox of the GMail account to store files and creates a virtual filesystem on top of the GMail account.
The user is enabled to save & retrieve files stored on the GMail account directly from inside the Windows Explorer.
GMail Drive concepts
GMail Drive adds a new virtual drive to the computer under the My Computer folder but its not mapped to any drive letter.
When the user creates a new file using GMail Drive, it generates an e-mail and posts it to the GMail account's inbox. The e-mail appears in the normal Inbox folder when using the normal GMail interface and the file is attached as an e-mail attachment.
GMail Drive periodically checks the mail account (using the GMail search function) to see if new files have arrived and to rebuild the virtual drive's directory structures. Multiple computers can connect to one GMail account thus allowing GMail Drive to act as a multi-user file server.
listings On GMail Drive
When the Shell Extension needs to display a directory listing of your GMail account. It searches for all e-mails starting with the word "GMAILFS". From the returned search result, it builds a directory structure, which is displayed in Window Explorer. Because all GMail Drive files appear as regular e-mails in your Google Mail account, you may want to set up a GMail filter that automatically moves all e-mails containing "GMAILFS" to the archived folder. This way, GMail Drive files won't clutter up our GMail account.
A typical GMail File looks like this inside our GMail account:
GMAILFS: /folder/filename.txt [123;n;1]
Using GMail Drive
Navigating Files and Folders
Copying Files
Deleting Files
Changing Users
Launching Files
Uninstalling
Navigating Files & Folders
You navigate between files and folders as you would normally do in the Windows Explorer. Depending on how you launched the Windows Explorer you will either get a folder tree and a file list, or just a file list. To control which mode you start in, choose either Open or Explore in the Explorer's right-click menu.
Copying Files
You copy files using the normal Windows Explorer tricks. To copy files: select the files in the list. Then choose Copy from the right-click menu. To paste the files, navigate to the destination folder and choose the Paste menu-item.
You can also just drag the files and drop them on the destination folder.
By default GMail Drive copies files during drag 'n' drop operations, but you can control the effect by using the SHIFT and CTRL keys when dragging.
You can drag files to any Windows Explorer folder - even some 3rd party programs accept files being dragged onto their window.
Deleting Files
You delete files as you do with regular files in the Windows Explorer. You can delete a file by selecting the Delete menu-item in the File menu or pressing the Delete key. You can delete multiple files by high-lighting multiple entries in the Explorer view.
You may also delete files by dragging them to the Windows Recycle Bin. The files will however not be put inside the Recycle Bin, so you cannot undo the delete action.
GMail Drive does not support Rename of files.
Changing Users
To change the GMail login credentials, you can use the Login As... menu item under the File menu. Place a checkmark in the Auto Login entry to automatically login when the folder is activated. Your username and password are securely stored in the System Registry with encryption.
If you are behind a proxy, the tool will use the Proxy Settings of your Microsoft Internet Explorer browser. If proxy authentication (username and password) is needed, you can add this information to the Login dialog under the More button panel.
Only one user can be logged in at any time. This allows GMail Drive to optimize the folder cache it holds during file activity.
Launching Files
You can launch files by double-clicking on them in the file list. All files are stored on your GMail account so the file must be transferred to your computer before it can be launched.
When you double-click on a file, a local file is created and then launched on your computer. You can only launch one file at the time. While transferring a file to your local computer for launch, you will not be able to launch a second file simultaneously or initiate another copy' n' paste session.
If you modify the file and save it, the changes are only transferred back to your GMail storage.
Uninstalling
The uninstall option is located under the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Windows Control Panel.
On Windows XP computers you can open the My Computer folder and choose the Add or Remove Programs item directly from the menu on the left (the System Task panel).
On Windows Vista you'll need to go to the Control Panel, and there find the option to Remove Programs.
Problems with connecting
If you have problems when connecting to the GMail service you should check the following:
Make sure you entered the correct username and password. Try to use the same login credentials on the GMail web interface and see if you can login there.
Make sure that the correct proxy settings are configured in the MS Internet Explorer settings. If you are behind a proxy that requires you to enter user authentication (username and password) you can add this information under the More button in the Login dialog in GMail Drive.
Make sure that your local firewall (Windows built-in) does not block explorer.exe (Windows Explorer) from accessing the internet.
If you see an "Unspecified potential security flaw" warning, it's because Microsoft Windows Update rolled out patch KB921398. Apparently you can avoid this error by adding the GMail.com and google.com domains to the Trusted Site list in Internet Explorer.
Make sure that you set your cookie level inside Internet Explorer to a reasonable low level, or at least allow GMail.com and google.com domains to set cookies in Internet Explorer.
Make sure that you do not have any 3rd party applications enabled that block or interfere with the internet connection. It has been seen that some ad-stripping tools will remove cookies from the connection.
Advantages
It creates a virtual drive in the Windows Explorer, allowing you to use your Google Mail account as a storage medium
Navigate between files and folders using the familiar Explorer folder view.
User while remain in the desktop can load files in to his/her account directly like copy and paste option.
GMail account holder can load files/folder upto 8000 MB of space through desktop using GMail Drive.
Acts as a Multi User File Server System.
Limitations
The file size is limited to 20 Mb because this is the attachment size limit Google imposes on all mails.
Since the filename must be available on the message subject line, the full filename length is limited to about 65 characters.
GMail Drive is still under experimentation, so is not reliable and does not guarantee that you can again access the data which you have put on the drive.
As this is a third party software, so the facility can be blocked anytime restricting access to our files stored on Gmail Drive.
They can’t be accessed using DOS applications.
Installation
Step 1:
Install the setup called “GMailfs”. Once installed a virtual drive named as GMail drive will be created in My Computer folder
Connecting to gmail drive
Step 2:
Once installed now user can open GMail drive either by direct clicking to the drive name or by exploring it. When user opens it, it will ask for user GMail id and password and some more option are given for user benefits.
Exploring Gmail Drive
Step 3:
After user has entered his/her GMail id and password and other options, GMail Drive starts connecting to Google server and log into user GMail account. Once verify , a explorer view of new folder will be opened into user My Computer.
Features!! Isn’t this windows
Step 4:
Now user can copy folder from his/her computer and can paste in to GMail drive folder. User can create, delete and even can see properties.
Conclusion
GMail Drive an absolute revolution in computing.
Behave as a Multi User File System
Secured: HTTPS , username & password.
Can address consistency requirements as well as help check data redundancy.
Predictions: Virtual HDD’s can pretty easily replace the H/W we carry. Internet Space can be bought which will simplify our ventures. With application installation feature, it can completely change the world of softwares.
