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Backup and Sync your Google Docs with Gladinet

Trevor Dobrygoski — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:00:28 +0000

Backing up anything in case of a disaster is never a bad practice. The problem with using a cloud based office suite is, you really don’t have many options to back things up. Sure you can download everything to a USB drive or keep them in an email, but it kind of defeats the purpose.

To solve this dilemma, a company called Gladinet came up with a way to back up and sync your Google Docs. If you want to compare it to other services, think of it like Dropbox or Mozy for your Google Docs.

Set up

Setting up Gladinet is pretty easy. Go to http://www.gladinet.com/p/download_starter_direct.htm and download the installer for your Windows computer. You can choose between 32 and 64 bit.

Gladinet is compatible with XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 2003.

1. When you have the setup file downloaded, double click on it and the follow the steps.

2. Once the basic install is done, you have a few more steps. The first is to register with Gladinet. By registering, you get free tech support and updates.

3. Next comes a little configuring. All you will need to do for this part is select what you would like to back up. In this case, we are going to use standard Google Docs. As you can see, there are many other options to choose from. If you use any of the other services now or plan to in the future, you can always add them in later.

4. Once you you have selected the web service and clicked next, you are brought to a screen with some settings. If you would like to change the proxy settings, drive label letter (default is Z) or the name of the drive, do that now. Simply click [edit] or [change] next to the item you want to modify. Click Finish.

5. You will see something like this for the next page. Click on the top icon that says [Click to mount].

6. You should be whisked away to a log in screen. Put in your Google account email and password here. Click next.

7. During the sign in authentication process, a pop up will ask for the okay to download a Google Docs plug-in; Click ok and continue the setup.

8. When it is finished setting up, you will be presented with the option to back up other folders on your computer. If you want to go forward with this, do so now. If not, you can always go back to it later.

Congratulations, you have just set everything up and now you have a virtual back up of all of your Google Docs.

How to Access

Accessing your documents can be done in a few ways. If you installed a desktop or Start menu shortcut, you can click there to open a window. If you did not choose to install these shortcuts, you can access the drive in {My Computer] under the [Network Drives].

Another way to access the folder containing your virtual docs is to click on the icon in the task bar (assuming Gladinet is running).

Virtual Drive

The window you see when you click on the virtual drive icon looks similar to the one from earlier. However, this time you can click on the [Google Docs] folder.

When you do, you will see all of your folders and docs here. If you have an app like Word you will be able to view and edit the docs just like they were on your computer.

Backing Up

Making a back up is super easy. When you sign into your Google Docs account, you will notice a couple of new folders. These are your back up folders. To keep your documents backed up, drag them into the [Backup From] folder

To sync the virtual drive and Google Docs, right click on the icon in the task bar. Select [Backup My Files Online] then [Create Google Docs Backup Task]. Any files you have dragged into your back up folder in your Google Docs page will be backed up automatically.

Uploading

By dragging and dropping a document into the window, you will automatically upload it to your Google Docs account. What you will see is a FTP style window showing the progress of the upload.

To see if it worked, log into your Google Docs account and see the newest edition.

Overall this is a pretty great way to add an extra measure of security and convenience for those of us who use cloud based office suites and document storage.

How do you backup your cloud based documents?

Backup and Sync your Google Docs with Gladinet originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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Things to prepare before upgrading your Mac to Snow Leopard

Jeffry Thurana — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:07:32 +0000

Don’t judge the book by the cover. That statement might be the perfect analogy of what I feel after upgrading to the latest OS from Apple – Snow Leopard. At first glance, everything looks the same as the previous Leopard – as beautiful, but nothing new. (And honestly, I was expecting a little bit drama here). But the more I use it, the more “wow moments” I get – starting from the bumping number of my remaining hard drive space to the tidy-organized look of Exposé effect. (I am on the treasure hunting mode now trying to find tiny gems scattered all over the place.)

Being the techie-geek that I am, I jumped out at the first chance of upgrading my Mac system from Leopard (10.5) to Snow Leopard (10.6), but everyday Mac users might not be as eager as me. So, if you are still considering on whether you should add the snow to the leopard, here are few things to help you make the decision.

To upgrade or not to upgrade

This is a simple question to answer: upgrade! All of the improvements should be good enough reasons to do so, but Apple has made the decision making even easier by pricing the new operating system at a ridiculously US$29.

But there are some caveats here: Snow Leopard is designed for Mac Intel only, so if your system is still PowerPC based, you are out of luck. (Maybe now it’s the perfect time to go Intel?) Apple also made it clear that the US$ 29 upgrade is only for Leopard, while Tiger (10.4) users should go with the US$ 169 Mac Box Set (iLife ’09 and iWork ’09 included).

While the higher price of Mac Box Set is justified by iLife and iWork, please note that Tiger users has other option because many Mac users has confirmed that the US$29 Snow Leopard will upgrade any Intel Mac.

Preparing Your System

If you’ve decided to take the chance, there are few things to do prior upgrading to Snow Leopard.

1. Check for incompatible applications

As with any OS upgrade, there are always issues of incompatibilies. To give you a headstart of what might happen to your softwares after Snow Leopard upgrade, Apple has released a list of incompatible software which will be moved to a folder called – well – Incompatible Software.

You might also want to check other Snow Leopard compatibility list on this Wikidot page.

2. Do some spring cleaning

It’s also a good idea to clean up your system a little bit before doing the upgrade. You can do this by uninstalling unused applications – using uninstaller like AppTrap, and by doing some system maintenance – using something like Onyx. Both apps are free and ironically, both haven’t had Snow Leopard-compatible version – yet.

3. Back up your data

There are just too many examples about how important backing up your data is that I don’t have to do restate it again here. Beside Apple’s Time Machine, another free alternative to back up utilities is CarbonCopyCloner.

4. Make a bootable back up system

If you have an unused extra external hard drive and if you are really paranoid, you could copy a bootable system of your current Mac before installing Snow Leopard. You can use the free trial of SuperDuper for this purpose.

The Upgrading Process

And finally, the upgrade. You may say this is like an anticlimax to the whole story, but the upgrade process itself is a snap. You just:

insert the Snow Leopard Install DVD,
reboot the system,
hold down the Alt/Option key during rebooting to make the booting option appears. (Or not. I need to hold the Alt/Option during my upgrade, but some users report that they don’t have to).
Choose the install DVD to boot,
Follow the instruction on the screen (and for those who want to do clean install: choose Disk Utility from Utility menu at the welcome screen, and do some formatting and repartitioning the disk. Warning: not for the faint hearted!)
Go get something to drink while waiting.

With the system upgraded to Snow Leopard, it’d be perfect to look at all of the improvements the new OS brings. So, please save that thought for our next discussion.

Have you upgraded your system to Snow Leopard? Or will you? Share your thoughts, opinions, upgrading tips and tricks, using the comment below.

Things to prepare before upgrading your Mac to Snow Leopard originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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