Lately I’ve been getting into Google Apps more and more. The apps, particularly Docs, are lightweight, but as far as my experience has taken me, they are also well-integrated and a generally slick experience. Yes, there are hiccups, but they are the exception, not the rule. If you are looking for a way to better coexist with Microsoft Office users, this is one tool in the toolbox. I digress, however.
Despite Google’s support of Linux in most of its products, an integrated sync client has yet to appear from the Mountain View search giant for its Drive service. Three products are available to take up the vacuum left by Google: grive, google-drive-ocamlfuse, and InSync.
Of the three, my take is with InSync. grive is strictly a command-line tool. google-drive-ocamlfuse seems promising, but it also hasn’t had a ton of testing and only provides read-only access to Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets documents. InSync, while not free in either sense of the word, is very much a worthwhile choice: a solid, reliable, cross-platform sync client with an interface and feature set which reflects careful thought.
According to the website, “Insync caters to power and business users who have different needs from the average consumer — needs that are not being fulfilled by Google Drive. Insync is here to fulfill those needs.” Well put, in my opinion. The website has a comparison table of features it offers which are not found in the client made by Google. Here is a short list of the notable differences:
- Multiple account support
- Convert Google Docs to Office
- Sharing without a browser
- More flexible selective sync
- Installation does not require administrator privileges
- Linux support
For a point of reference, at home I have full-blown Active Directory network -- a computer setup much more complicated than Joe Average which consists of 2 dual-boot laptops, an Android tablet, a dual-boot desktop, an older Lenovo ThinkCentre which just runs Linux, and a desktop-turned-server. The server runs Server 2008 R2 and the others have a combination of Windows 7 Pro, Windows 8 Pro, Linux Mint 13, and the education-oriented Uberstudent. Yes, it is overengineered and I like it that way. Another post for another day.
Linux support from Insync beats anything Dropbox ever had. As of this writing, the list on the Insync website shows support for major distributions and every major desktop environment in addition to some more minor ones. Distributions listed are: Arch (an unofficial port), Debian, Fedora, Linux Mint, MEPIS, PCLinuxOS, and Ubuntu. It supports Cinnamon, GNOME Shell, KDE 4, LXDE, MATE, Unity, Xfce, and even Openbox with fbpanel! It supports all major file managers, including Caja, Dolphin, Nautilus, and others. Talk about serious. With a 15-day trial period, I figured, “What the heck. Let’s give this a go.” Onward to the install!
Installation
Installation of the Insync client is a breeze. The Windows installer does not ask an interminable number of questions and is suitable for most non-technical users. Installing from a .deb file was also a cinch: double-click on the file, click Install, get a cup of coffee, authorize access to my Google account, and that was it. For both platforms. Sweet.
My first installation was on an Uberstudent partition. For those not in the know, it is an Ubuntu-derived distribution aimed squarely at education, with the primary user being students. Dubbed “Linux for learners,” it has many customizations and tweaks which make it beginner-friendly. Despite being based on Ubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail), it is quite stable. it ships with the Xfce desktop environment. For not being a supported platform, it only required a small tweak to its repository file to make updates work properly. Not bad.
The next installations were to the Windows side of the Uberstudent machine and to the Linux Mint of my laptop. They were so easy that it was fun to install, forcing me to question how little of a life I really have, but I did notice one little glitch along the way. On my dual-boot computers, I keep a partition just for data to make managing operating systems a little easier. With Dropbox, I could point the Dropbox installer to the same folder hierarchy and conserve a little disk space. This kind of trick isn’t possible with Insync -- a little disappointing, but also not earth-shattering. It’s also not something most people would run into. I am not “most people.”
Exploring
After installing a new program, geeks like myself like to do a little poking around, peeking into dark corners, pondering the inner workings, and trying to see if it is possible to perform any tricks not originally intended by the developers. No such luck this time. However, all of this general nosiness did pay off in unearthing small touches all over the place which reflect an attention to detail and design which many companies fail to apply.
I am not used to actual Linux integration which goes beyond the basics. Thunar, the Xfce default file manager, is supported, albeit without the sync emblems on files. Not bad, if I do say so myself.
Right-clicking on the Insync icon in the system tray reveals a cache of easy-to-access features. The Recent Changes menu features quite a few entries and handily puts the smack-down on Dropbox’s measly 3-item menu. Each Google account managed by Insync has its own menu, folder, and settings. In a feature aimed squarely at Dropbox, the ‘Go to Drive web’ menu item jumps right to the default Google account’s Drive page. A Support submenu provides easy access to support forums and also logs generated by the client. My favorite is a submenu which gives you the choice to sync files shared with your Google account by someone else. It is not an obvious feature, but the extra control merits mention. There isn’t much more to the menu, but, then again, what else would you want in there? I can’t think of anything except perhaps a display of space usage.
It would appear that Insync’s marketing strategies seem to rely on word-of-mouth and grassroots referrals. Bloggers can receive a free copy by writing a review -- a nice incentive for yours truly, but Insync has done such a nice job that I’d still pay for a license. The right-click menu has a ‘Refer a colleague’ item prominently displayed. A single referral extends your trial period by 15 days. 10 referrals get you a free copy of Insync. That seems a bit much at this point, seeing that a license is only $10, but it also seems to be a price which will go up later on.
One feature which inspired more than one “Wow!” moment is its Google Docs-Office integration. Unlike Google Drive, Insync automagically converts all Docs, Slides, and Sheets documents into the corresponding Office documents. That, in and of itself, provides a commendable level of integration and ease-of-use. What surprised me more, however, was that under Linux, it converts them to ODF documents, ready for use with your favorite editor. Google Drive does have offline support through Google Chrome, but not everyone has Chrome installed or, for that matter, wishes to use it. This enables offline support in a much less klunky fashion and even enables a person to not use the browser-based interface at all -- features missing in Google Docs can be found in Word or Writer.
Drawbacks
All of these glowing comments should not imply that Insync’s Google Drive client is perfect. It does have a few small rough spots. Installing under Linux requires the root password, but nothing of its purpose is mentioned in the window asking for the password. Less-savvy users may be a bit confused by this. Pop-up notifications which show up when a file is updated or added can be excessive when working from within Google’s browser-based editors: autosaving changes in a document also brings with it a notification each time the client receives the update of the autosaved changes. It’s more than a little annoying to have a pop-up notification every few minutes while editing a document. Fortunately, the pop-ups can be turned off in the preferences.
Overall, Insync has done an admirable job in writing a sync client for Google’s Drive service which is quite competitive to both Google’s client, to Dropbox, and to other cloud storage providers. It is inexpensive, well-polished, reliable, and stable. Is it perfect? Nah. Is it worth the $10 per Google account licensing? Absolutely.
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