Firefox Add-on Can Replace a Lost USB Drive: Learn how to use Gmail to Upload those Important Documents

With over seven GB of storage space and counting, Google’s free Gmail service provides adequate space for storing a large amount of emails. In the event that a USB drive is lost, Google will come to the rescue. All that is needed is the Firefox web browser, a small add-on, and of course, a Gmail account.

Getting Started

Firstly, once Firefox is open select the Tools menu, click add-ons, and search for an application called Gspace and install it. Installation should take no more than five seconds. This small add-on is compatible with Firefox 1.5 to 3.0 on Windows, Mac, and Linux OS. After Firefox has been restarted, Gspace is ready to use.

To upload a file that can be accessed from another computer, click on Tools in Firefox again and select Gspace. A new tab should open in Firefox displaying the computer's files. Before uploading a file, be sure to login at the top of the page with the appropriate Gmail username and password.

The "My Computer" window on the left hand side displays the computer's files and the "My Gspace" window on the right hand side displays the files that have been transferred to the Gmail account. The bottom of the screen monitors the progress of all the transfers.

Transferring a file is easy. Simply browse through a computer's files in the left hand windows and select the file to be transferred. Then click the upload button in the middle of the screen and it is automatically uploaded to My Gspace. Multiple files can be uploaded simultaneously. Once a file is in My Gspace, it is accessible through the inbox. Always check the inbox to verify that the file has been uploaded correctly.

Access personal files from work, school, or wherever

Now that the files have been uploaded to Gspace, they can be opened on any computer that can access Gmail. Open the inbox, select the email which contains "GSPACE" in the subject and download the file as if it was an attachment. The time it takes to open the file will evidently depend on how large the file is.

Gspace works best for transferring documents, presentations, photos, and other small files. Larger files can be uploaded using this add-on and there is no file size limit, however, Gspace recommends not uploading large amounts of data in one day to avoid complications with your Gmail account. Gmail users will find this tool to be a very handy (and free) alternative or temporary replacement to using a USB drive.