How Google’s supercharged Chromebook Files app will blend offline with online - ambrosinoagagedly

"Files are so 1990," said Google's Sundar Pichai back in 2008. "I don't reckon we need files any longer."

The humans in buck of Google's products has thankfully changed his tune since then. Now Google is demonstrating their newfound commitment to the conception of files away overhauling Chrome OS's file manager, making it overmuch to a greater extent powerful—and merging online with offline.

One app for completely the files in your life-time

Since the birth of the Chromebook, the Files app has only done a few things. It displays local files in your Chromebook's Downloads folder, shows files on international depot devices, and integrates Google Drive cloud storehouse.

Google Drive is no yearner the only game in town. After years of rumors, Google has added the "File System Supplier" API to Chrome 40. This allows third-company cloud storage services to quid into the Files app directly. This could mean Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and anything other you might lack—right in your Files app. Yes, in operation systems like Windows, Linux, Mackintosh OS X, Android, and even iOS 8 more or less offer this support, only it's neat to see Chromium-plate OS catching improving.

There's a lot that can be finished this feature. Ace extension showing it off adds TED Talks to the sidebar in the Files app. You can then range and view TED Talks now from the Files app (pictured above). Sure, information technology's non the Dropbox client you're looking, but it's a good monstrance of all the cool things that can now be exposed through the Files app.

A material redesign

The Files app is as wel going through a redesign so it'll match Google's newfangled "Material Design" expect. Google is uniting all its various applications and services with a coherent aesthetic, from Android 5.0 to its network apps to its Chrome apps. This will land Humanoid and Chrome OS closer together, too.

files app material design draft — Is this Material Design figure doc image a clue about the future of the Chrome OS Files app?

We don't jazz exactly how it will look, but we commode decidedly expect the app to appear more modern. Google's Material Figure documentation shows off an example of what it might look look-alike, but there's no guarantee the final interpretation will look anything corresponding a concept illustration. These changes bequeath come along following month for us to consider, and they should trickle drink down to complete Chromebook users as before long as Chrome 42 becomes stable. Project Athena may one of these days transform the uncastrated Chrome OS user interface to fitter peer Material Design, too.

Cloud import for local files

Google is also adding more full-featured "cloud import" functions to the Chrome OS file manager, allowing you to well import files from external devices to the becloud—specifically, your Google Drive memory board. Just tie a USB flash push on, extraneous hard drive, operating theatre SD card, and use the import button to automatically dumpsite all those files in your Google Drive computer storage.

This is useful if you'd like to get free of that local media and floor everything online for easy multi-device approach—or if you barely need to support those topical files to the cloud.

Chrome OS already has similar features for photos, of course. When you connect an SD add-in with photos from a digital television camera on it, the Google+ Photos app can automatically upload them to your Google+ Photos storage. Other apps could hook into Chrome OS in the same way, uploading your photos to a different service of your choice.

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Linux geeks are happy, too

It's sunshiny that Chromium-plate OS's Files app is getting more knock-down. Even Linux users should still be happy with IT. Back in Oct 2022, the Linux user community was in an hubbub after Google distinct to remove support for ext2, ext3, and ext4 file systems from the Files app. Aft Linux users demonstrated how much they wanted this sport, the Chromium-plate OS developers restored it.

In spite of all the modern changes centred on cloud memory, you can nonetheless connect a drive formatted with the most common Linux file in systems to your Chromebook and get at those files. It may be a trifle 1990, but it's useable.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/431510/how-googles-supercharged-chromebook-files-app-will-blend-offline-with-online.html

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