Microsoft boosts SkyDrive's sharing, file management features

Microsoft has upgraded the file-sharing and file management features in its cloud-based SkyDrive file storage service, citing feedback from many users.

 

Skydrive.com group program manager Omar Shahine said the upgrades also include better support for the new HTML5 technology.

 

“We have a long list of improvements that we set out to make to SkyDrive. While not all of the feedback we’ve received is addressed, we feel that this release is a big step forward—especially for the growing number of customers using SkyDrive to share and access Office documents,” Shahine said in a blog post.

 

One of the upgrades involves simple app-centric sharing, particularly for Office documents, where fewer steps are needed to share or manage files.

 

This would be a change from the past scenario where sharing on SkyDrive works best only when one shared files with people in the Windows Live network.

 

“As a result, we rebuilt fundamental pieces of SkyDrive to simplify sharing and make it more app-centric, particularly for Office. For example, let’s say you’re working in Word Web App on a document in one of your private folders. Now you can Share from within the app and complete your task, without having to think about the structure of folders or subfolders. This is possible since SkyDrive now lets you share or permission individual files within a folder. This works for Office documents, photos, or any other type of file,” Shahine said.

 

Shahine said they also redesigned the sharing process to make it much easier to share with people across email services and networks.

 

Click Share in the SkyDrive info pane or from the File menu now allows sharing via email, including contacts from LinkedIn, Facebook and Gmail.

 

“Since SkyDrive now uses your email address to send a sharing invitation, it reaches your friend’s inbox, not their spam folder. And when you select ‘Recipients can edit,’ you can now collaborate with anyone, even if you don’t know their Live ID in advance,” Shahine said.

 

Also, SkyDrive connects to many different networks, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, so one can upload photos and documents once and share with friends across networks.

 

Another new feature is powerful file management, which allows one to:

 

 

Meanwhile, SkyDrive also bolstered support for HTML5 uploads and CSS3 transitions in Internet Explorer 10.

 

“In this release, we’re introducing drag and drop as a way to upload files and photos for browsers that support HTML5 File API like Internet Explorer 10, Google Chrome, Firefox and Safari. And while your files are uploading, you can continue to browse and use SkyDrive. You no longer have to sit and wait for uploads to complete,” Shahine said.

 

Shahine also said they have worked to make sure that SkyDrive works well on Internet Explorer 10.

 

As for photos, Shahine said SkyDrive rebuilt and re-introduced photo slideshows in this release.

 

“We’ve also added support for touch APIs on Internet Explorer 10 and Mobile Safari so that you can use your fingers to swipe and navigate photos,” Shahine said.

 

Shahine also said SkyDrive supports more file types like PDF and RAW.

 

Other upgrades include inline functions such as upload, delete, copy, move, rename, share, and create; preloading more resources when to make it faster to view and edit Office docs; and a 50-percent faster signing in to SkyDrive. — TJD, GMA News