Download Directly to Google Drive

[gakio12]

I would like to download a file directly to Google Drive without having to download it locally then upload it again (I have slow upload speed). I have found one app for Chrome desktop that is suppose to do that (it doesn't, just upload the text of the download link), Cloud Save, but not a single Android app that does that. It would save bandwidth a lot to just download directly to Google Drive.

Is this just not possible, or does no one really care for such a feature? I wish I had the time to learn to program, as I'd just do it myself XD

Thanks!

 

[MojaveHigh]

I don't quite understand what you are looking for. Could you explain a little bit more?

 

[gakio12]

I don't quite understand what you are looking for. Could you explain a little bit more?

Sure. Okay, when you click a link to download... say... a ROM zip file. That is at least 100 MB right there. Typically when you click that link, it starts to download to your downloads folder on your desktop or phone. What I would like to do is when clicking (or right clicking) the download link, get an option to "Save to Google Drive" or something like that, so instead of the zip file downloading to my downloads folder, it downloads straight on to Google Drive, without it even going to my computer or phone.

The reason is because it takes much longer for me to download that zip file, then upload to Google Drive, and it uses a lot of bandwidth to do that. If I wanted the file locally, then I wouldn't bother downloading straight to Drive. However, when I come across a zip on the internet that I am interested in saving for later (bookmarking doesn't always help because the download link may disappear), I'd like to download it directly to Google Drive for archiving for later.

 

[Wreckus]

Sounds like an addon possibility for firefox or chrome if that exists yet.

 

[DenverRalphy]

Not in front of my computer at the moment, but I seem to recall that when you right click on a link there is a "Save Link As" (or something similar) option.

Penned via Tapatalk.

 

[gakio12]

Sounds like an addon possibility for firefox or chrome if that exists yet.

There is one for Chrome called "Cloud Save", but it doesn't seem to work, just downloads the actual link, and not what the link links to. So I end up with a file named "this-is-an-Example-file.zip", and that is only a 7 kB file of nothing. It works with a whole bunch of cloud storage places like Dropbox, but the same thing happens. I'm not even sure it is still maintained. Google Drive is still Google Docs on it too.

 

[gakio12]

Not in front of my computer at the moment, but I seem to recall that when you right click on a link there is a "Save Link As" (or something similar) option.

Penned via Tapatalk.

I tried that, but it still downloads the file locally, and then uploads it when the download is done if I download it to the Google Drive folder.

I'm kinda surprised this hasn't been discussed a lot more, seems like it would be a very helpful feature.

 

[moosc]

I'm lost by your example. U say dl a rom to your cloud storage instead of phone. Wouldn't u want dl to phone first to flash?

 

[gakio12]

I'm lost by your example. U say dl a rom to your cloud storage instead of phone. Wouldn't u want dl to phone first to flash?

I was just using the ROM as an example. There are many files I would like to download directly to Google Drive like photos, documents, .apk's, etc. I have a very slow upload speed, and uploading anything makes my internet extremely slow. Most of the files I want to store on Google Drive are files that I want to access on any and multiple devices.

It is easier to go to Google Drive and click download, then it is to open the browser, find the website, then download the file. Also, many of the downloads I find are deleted or no longer linked to when I would like to get them.

 

[Insp_Gadget]

I would like to download a file directly to Google Drive without having to download it locally then upload it again (I have slow upload speed). I have found one app for Chrome desktop that is suppose to do that (it doesn't, just upload the text of the download link), Cloud Save, but not a single Android app that does that. It would save bandwidth a lot to just download directly to Google Drive.

Is this just not possible, or does no one really care for such a feature? I wish I had the time to learn to program, as I'd just do it myself XD

Thanks!

I don't think what you're asking for is possible. You're asking Google to essentially connect directly to the source document on some website and download the link directly to their drive space on your behalf. I don't know of any cloud service that is set up to work that way. They're all designed to upload from your computer (or phone), not from some random website that a user picks.

What you would need is a third-party download helper that would essentially use your credentials to download the file to their own storage and then upload it to Google Drive on your behalf. I shutter to think of the security ramifications of that scenario.

 

[psufan32]

I don't think what you're asking for is possible. You're asking Google to essentially connect directly to the source document on some website and download the link directly to their drive space on your behalf. I don't know of any cloud service that is set up to work that way. They're all designed to upload from your computer (or phone), not from some random website that a user picks.

What you would need is a third-party download helper that would essentially use your credentials to download the file to their own storage and then upload it to Google Drive on your behalf. I shutter to think of the security ramifications of that scenario.

I don't think what he is asking is all that out of place, especially if using Chrome and signed into your Google account. He can already choose where on his C drive he wants to save the document, or he can also save it to an external HD or a flash drive. The next step, especially if Cloud Drives are the future, is to allow the user to save a download directly to Google Drive.

 

[Insp_Gadget]

I don't think what he is asking is all that out of place, especially if using Chrome and signed into your Google account. He can already choose where on his C drive he wants to save the document, or he can also save it to an external HD or a flash drive. The next step, especially if Cloud Drives are the future, is to allow the user to save a download directly to Google Drive.

If all we're talking about is being able to pick a location when saving a file on Android, then I agree. The Android app should have a tie-in to the file system that allows the browser or any file manager to see a Google Drive folder. But that's not what we're talking about here.

Saving to a cloud drive is not the same thing as saving to a local hard drive or removable drive. When you save something to Google Drive or Dropbox or any other cloud storage, what is actually happening is the file is downloaded from the website that you pulled it from and then uploaded to the cloud drive.

If you're on your desktop or laptop computer and have installed the Google Drive application, you're presented with a folder in Windows Explorer so that the process appears seamless. But you're STILL downloading and uploading. It's just that the uploading is done for you in the background. On Android, the Google Drive app does all the work, but doesn't give you a folder in the Android file system like the Windows app does. I wish it did. Then apps like ES File Explorer would be able to copy and move files between your phone and Google Drive, and you'd be able to pick the Google Drive folder to save things with any app that uses a file manager. Regardless, it's still a download then upload process... whether you initiate the upload or it's done for you in the background.

In any case, the OP is asking for the upload process to be eliminated and to have the file go from whatever website he's pulling the file from directly to the Google Drive (site to site).

Picture this scenario:

You're browsing somewebsite.com on your computer, and find a file you want to store on your Google Drive. In Chrome, you right-click the file and tell Windows to start downloading. Windows asks you where you want to save the file. You choose your Google Drive folder.

Here is what actually happens:

1. The file downloads to Chrome's cache on your computer's local hard drive.

2. The Google Drive application then takes over and uploads the file to Google's servers where it is then stored in your Google Drive repository. (This part happens in the background.)

3. The Google Drive application then updates the Windows Explorer view so that it appears that the file has been saved in your Google Drive. (That's the synchronization process you see.)

Here is what the OP wants to take place:

1. Browse to website.

2. Choose file to download.

3. Pick Google Drive as location to store file.

4. Google's server reaches out to somewebsite.com and does a file transfer request.

5. Somewebsite.com transfers file directly to Google's servers and stores file on your Google Drive. File never downloads to your machine, thus never needing to be uploaded from it.

In order for that to happen, Google's server would need to have permission and credentials to download files on your behalf. Suppose you're downloading music from Amazon. Do you want Google to have your Amazon credentials so that their servers can do a file transfer with Amazon's servers on your behalf? I wouldn't.

 

[gakio12]

I wasn't thinking of downloads that require a log in to complete.

It could still work, without the need for Google to send a request to the website. Whatever device you are on will act as a middle man, BUT the information goes to Google Drive. I guess there aren't any protocols out there that support that (I may be mistaken), then it would require a whole new file transfer protocol. So that Google Drive appears as a local drive, but in reality, downloading a file to it will just put it directly in the cloud. That is of course, for downloads that require a log in.

I was only thinking of open downloads on the internet. But now that you mention downloads that require logins...

 

[Insp_Gadget]

I wasn't thinking of downloads that require a log in to complete.

It could still work, without the need for Google to send a request to the website. Whatever device you are on will act as a middle man, BUT the information goes to Google Drive. I guess there aren't any protocols out there that support that (I may be mistaken), and it requires a whole new file transfer protocol. So that Google Drive appears as a local drive, but in reality, downloading a file to it will just put it directly in the cloud. That is of course, for downloads that require a log in.

I was only thinking of open downloads on the internet. But now that you mention downloads that require logins...

Unfortunately, that's the nature of cloud storage. What you're asking for is essentially to make your machine (or phone) a relay between two file servers, but without actually transferring the file through your machine. Whether the website requires credentials or not, the problem is that file servers are not designed to serve files requested by proxy.

As it stands right now, your machine pulls the file down to your hard drive and then uses your GMail credentials to upload the file to your Google Drive. If you take your machine out of the loop, you would need to either give your GMail credentials to the website that is going to transmit the file over to your Google Drive or provide Google with the credentials (if required) to access the website and pull the file over.

Either way, you're asking one party or the other to "BE YOU" in order to grab the file. Is it technically possible? Sure. Would you want to do it, from a security standpoint? Hell no!

I can appreciate wanting to avoid the slow upload. But realistically, it's unavoidable unless you want to compromise file transfer security.

 

[MojaveHigh]

Saving to a cloud drive is not the same thing as saving to a local hard drive or removable drive. When you save something to Google Drive or Dropbox or any other cloud storage, what is actually happening is the file is downloaded from the website that you pulled it from and then uploaded to the cloud drive.

But there is a big difference between how Dropbox and Google Drive work on PCs versus how they work on phones. On PCs, files are synced. There is a copy in the cloud and a copy on the computer. On phones, there is a copy in the cloud but not necessarily a copy on the phone. You can view "shortcuts" to the files, but only when you explicitly ask for the file does it download a copy to your phone.

Another thing I believe is important to the OPs original idea is that upload speeds are much slower than download speeds. So there would be a benefit to having a file copied first to the cloud, then downloaded to your PC rather than to the PC first then uploaded to the cloud.

The scenario is: on your PC, save a file to the cloud, then it would get synced (downloaded) to your PC; on your phone, save a file to the cloud and it only gets downloaded to your phone when you ask for it. That uses the faster download vs upload speed on your PC and saves a lot of bandwidth on your phone.

I can't speak for the technical feasibility you describe in the rest of your post.

 

[Insp_Gadget]

But there is a big difference between how Dropbox and Google Drive work on PCs versus how they work on phones. On PCs, files are synced. There is a copy copy in the cloud and a on the computer. On phones, there is a copy in the cloud but not necessarily a copy on the phone. You can view "shortcuts" to the files, but only when you explicitly ask for the file does it download a copy to your phone.

Another thing I believe is important to the OPs original idea is that upload speeds are much slower than download speeds. So there would be a benefit to having a file copied first to the cloud, then downloaded to your PC rather than to the PC first then uploaded to the cloud.

The scenario is: on your PC, save a file to the cloud, then it would get synced (downloaded) to your PC; on your phone, save a file to the cloud and it only gets downloaded to your phone when you ask for it. That uses the faster download vs upload speed on your PC and saves a lot of bandwidth on your phone.

I can't speak for the technical feasibility you describe in the rest of your post.

I understand what the OP was asking and I understand why. None of what you said changes why it's not feasible. In your own scenario for the phone, you can't tell a 3rd-party website to establish a connection with your Google Drive and transfer a file directly from their servers to Google's. Doing so would require you to give the 3rd-party website your Google credentials. Conversely, if you want Google to go out and request the file from Amazon or some other site for you, you'll need to give Google the credentials to do so.

In order for your machine (or phone) to not be involved in the file transfer, you would have to provide credentials to another party so that they can act on your machine's behalf.

Remember, you're not really talking about just saving a file to a hard drive. With cloud storage you're talking about file transfers across the Internet. The protocols are different. The procedures are different. The security ramifications are different.

 

[LeChuckThePirate]

There's already a protocol for moving files from site to site without passing by your computer and it's called FXP. It's a variation of FTP where the client connects to both sites and directs the transfer at command level, but the data is sent from a site to another.

I used it a lot in my warez days where you could upload files from one ftp site to another at really BIG speeds without actually downloading them to your computer.

I think all the cloud services will have to get this working before or after, if they want to become the storage media of the future.

For example, Google Fiber has started this week in USA giving 1GB connections for $70 including 1TB of Google Drive.

If someday that reaches my neighborhood (I'm in Spain, so it's gonna be LATE .. haha) I would have NO hard disk at home... why would I need it with that data transfer rate? (it's more than 100 megabytes per second), so, the good solution would be downloading directly to my google drive to be able to read it from any device at home.

Cheers!

 

[gakio12]

Well if I had 1 Gbps, I wouldn't need the FXP protocol XD. That Google fiber is only in one city. I pay $50 a month for 7 Mbps down and .8 Mbps up. Now that Google fiber is out, I feel like I am getting ripped off...

 

[Mircury#AC]

This is already possible with dropbox. You can use urldroplet.com for instance. Google Drive just needs api's that make this possible. It's not really a security concern at all. It's an api flexibility problem. I suspect google will make this possible in the near future if they haven't already. It's the next step in having all your information in the cloud. Why not have it there in the first place.

 

[MBSMD]

This is already possible with dropbox. You can use urldroplet.com for instance. Google Drive just needs api's that make this possible. It's not really a security concern at all. It's an api flexibility problem. I suspect google will make this possible in the near future if they haven't already. It's the next step in having all your information in the cloud. Why not have it there in the first place.

Sorry for the very late reply to this thread, but...

With a service like urldroplet.com, you're still giving your login credentials to a 3rd party website, and many people are not comfortable with that. If urldroplet.com gets hacked, or is run by unscrupulous admins, your Dropbox credentials are out in the open.

What the OP wants would currently require a third party to have your access credentials. There are ways to do it without, but the infrastructure isn't there.

It would be even worse for some people to have their Google account credentials leaked out. All your emails, contacts, location history, search history, Google Voice voicemail messages, all the money you've spent on Android apps registered to that account, etc. I'd be completely screwed if I lost control of my Google account.

I don't give my login credentials to 3rd parties. The OP may want to given his limited bandwidth, but personally I'd either download it locally then transfer at home via USB or wifi, or I'd wait until I got home and do the download then.