Updated: You might be interested in SkyDrive Explorer for multiple file uploading.
This past week I saw quite a few tech and blog articles getting giddy about the new Windows Live SkyDrive changes –especially about the 5GB of free storage included. Sounds great doesn’t it?
A free 5GB to store stuff is pretty compelling and, as you might expect, SkyDrive also offers sharing and notifications and all sorts of cool socially stuff.
However… have you seen the upload experience? From a non-IE browser, it’s not so swell. I like to use services like this to upload a directory of files for backup or sharing. Here’s what I see when I’m ready to upload from Firefox:
Yikes. That’s a hard way to upload a lot of files! Individually select five at a time?
Side Note: Be aware of that 50 MB per file limit…
I had a look at the SkyDrive uploader page with Internet Explorer 7 and see a glimmer of hope:
Ah ha, an uploader tool that’s IE only (I highlighted the link above). As you might guess, it is an ActiveX control.
I’ve installed the ActiveX control, only to run into the next (minor) “gotcha”. While I now have a spiffy drag’n'drop area on the upload page, I can’t drag a folder onto it:
*sigh* As you can imagine, this makes uploading a set of files with sub-folders a bit problematic. OK, so maybe “problematic” is a polite way of saying pain in the rear.
Fortunately, that’s easily worked-around by compressing the files into a single archive beforehand.For instance, I used 7zip and some light & fast compression to make a quick archive and uploaded that instead.
That same work-around also mitigates the need for the ActiveX control altogether. After all, now I’m only uploading one file… I’ve gone full circle and now I can use a non IE browser again.
Cheesy, but effective. And hey, depending on the compression level, it can help with that 50MB single file caps too.
Anyone else using SkyDrive and have some thoughts to share?
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February 24th, 2008 
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Can’t wait for Gdrive from Google
Dave, I’m beginning to wonder if it’ll ever happen… boy, it’s been a long time a-comin’…
Can you then unzip the files once you get them to the skydrive? Is ther a way to FTP the files onto the skydrive?
Sort of. Its not ftp or webdav, but it behaves in the same way. It’s called Gladinet, and it pretty straightforward. http://www.gladinet.com/
What I’m hoping is to be able to use SkyDrive to host a web site, that would be great! I tested it by uploading an HTML file and an image file, and it worked. The 2 problems I have now are:
1. I can’t upload folders and their respective sub-folders (as you already found)
2. the web address it spits it’s so not human-friendly
I could probably do with num 2 (maybe by sending only links instead of the actual address), but num 1 is definetely a big problem.
It would be great to learn of a solution to this.
Good luck,
Geesh, what a cheapskate! Get a domain and some web space and do it properly!
‘Cheapskate’ sorry, didn’t mean to offend on that remark. Just that a domain and web spce these days is cheap and ‘designed for the job’ which would probably suit you better. Cheers.
Give people an inch and they want to take a mile. SO you get a free storage area. Instead of saying thanks, you whinge about it not being a full web hosting service or it doesn’t do this or that. Unbelievable. If you don’t like it, don’t use it and free up the bandwidth for people that find it useful!
Hi Marvin – you’re a little ray of sunshine, aren’t you?
My only whinge (I wrote the original article you commented on, not the comments below it) was about the multiple file uploading experience. Seems to take what could be a great service and hamstring it down to mediocrity.
Don’t fear — I’m not using the service nor hoarding your bandwidth.
Marvin, you’re clearly another Microsoft fanboi with nothing of value to say. So here comes MS with a supposed killer online app, except it’s inconvenient to use, and has been done many times before by many other companies. Online storage is nothing new! We would at least expect that they’d make it easier to upload content, and a 50meg size limit on a file is retarded. It’s a free service, but we’re really getting our money’s worth. It’s a lame implementation of a stale idea. Everything that’s free is not necessarily good. No thanks, I’ll pass on it and wait for Gmail to come with something better. Once more, MS drops the ball. They’ve been on the retreat for years, losing every single fight to Google. In five years they’ll be relegated to little league.
Marvin, free storage is available anywhere on the web. If in the year of 2008 Microsoft launches a new file storage service and it doesn’t offer multiple file uploading or any type of standard protocol (FTP, ), well I would say that is pretty poor and that it doesn’t meet any of the minimal expectations. If such comments are regarded by you as negative it at the same times means you are blocking improvement and evolution.
For thoswe who seem to think the addition of an FTP/FTPS service to a file storage makes it a web hosting solution, thats not quite right. FTP and web hosting are two seperate things. It would be possible for Sykdrive to have a secure file transfer protocol added to the Skydrive, without making it a website/hosting service.
Check out http://www.gladinet.com/p/download.htm – it might help.
It’s no surprise really. Gmail has trounced Hotmail in every way, it’s no wonder MS would impose limitations on a file hosting site. Where Gmail has had free POP and IMAP and a myriad of useful features, hotmail has charged or taken far too long to get up to speed with the status quo.
You could always install the ietab add-on for Firefox. At least you wouldn’t have to use ie then.
Thanks for the tip about IE uploading, but it’s still too much of a pain with the 50MB/file limit, it’s nearly useless as a backup method.
Gspace is an addon for Firefox. it allows you to use gmail accoutns as storage. Only downside is the 500mb daily limit on free accounts, but take word from me.. it worth paying for premium accounts.
can upload folders and 1000’s little files in one easy click. plus 7.5GiG storage.
but, hey, microsoft… grat one anyway. i still appreciate the skydrive.
Shut up and be happy its not some spam drive free storage site. Dont like it, wait for google. Im not a fanboy but I like free services and skydrive is great. stop trying to take advntagre of it and use it for what it is. free storage. or shutup and wait for something better.
at least skydrive is a gr8 product….
As it has been said a couple of times above. Use the following link: http://www.gladinet.com/p/download.htm I find it useful to uploading folders and files greater than the google 1mb limit.
I’m using Gladinet to sync files, pics and folders to SkyDrive but it is slow going indeed. Hopefully once its all setup and synced then it will not take much time except when adding new content. I find it is easier to upload pictures this way than by using Live Photo Gallery which takes even more time.
[...] instance, uploading multiple files is a real pain. You can’t upload a directory. There’s a 50 MB maximum file size. I’m sure not many folks [...]
Am using Gladinet as well to upload & set up Windows Sky Drive. It is painfully slow, it was uploading 700MB for over 30min.. Not sure what causes it to be so slow, hoping as well that once all set up adding content would be easier.