Group email sharing of Google Drive file ???

[TenOC]

I use Thunderbird for email. In Thunderbird I have a number (5 to 10) groups each with 5 to 10 members.

I have recently (one week ago) started to use Google Drive to store files on the cloud. So far I like it. But I have a question (I did search the web without any luck). So I have came to my RV friends.

I know how to share a file with one (or a few) person using their individual email address. I can not find a way to share with all in one of my groups without entering each of the persons email address.

Is there a way to create a group of email address for sharing in Google Drive?

Since I am so new to Google Drive, would Microsoft's Sky Drive or OneDrive (or some other cloud storage) work better for me? I choose Google Drive because of the 15Gb free storage and the ability to "Google" search inside the drive, but I am open to change my cloud storage.

[TenOC]

Gdetrailer wrote:


Then open your email client, choose your email "group" you have set up in your Email client.

PASTE the URL from the Google drive.

Then send.
The Google drive "people" box does not seem to have any means of "mass mailing" or "group mailing" unless that option is in the advanced menu (I didn't look there).

Thanks, this is what I did, I was looking for a shortcut that does not exist.

[Sam_Spade]

TenOC wrote:
Apparent GD is looking in the T-Bird address list and looking for a xxxx@yyy.com name.

And I am trying to tell you that GD and T-bird likely do NOT communicate with each other....AT ALL.

t-BIRD is old software; probably hasn't been updated for 10 years or more. GD operates through a broswer window and stores it's stuff on "the cloud". It does NOT look on your own hard drive for any information, not email messages and not addresses. It keeps it's own storage in the cloud.
GD uses ONLY the cloud.
T-bird uses ONLY your local hard drive.
The two do not talk to each other.

So you have two choices it would seem:
Continue to sent your "invitations" with T-bird and reference the location of the document with a URL as others have suggested.
OR
Re-build your address lists in Google so that GD can find them.

[Gdetrailer]

OK.. Thought about this a bit..

You need to create a folder on Google drive.

Then set the SHARE on that folder to SHARE ALL.

Place your files that you want to share into that folder.

Then you choose "Share with others".

This will bring up the following dialog box..



Instead of putting email addresses into the "People box" you click "Get Sharable Link" that I have circled in red.

Copy the URL from that next box.

Then open your email client, choose your email "group" you have set up in your Email client.

PASTE the URL from the Google drive.

Then send.

The Google drive "people" box does not seem to have any means of "mass mailing" or "group mailing" unless that option is in the advanced menu (I didn't look there).

Be sure to check that "Editing" permissions is enabled on those files (it might not be enabled by default).

As far as I know "read only" does not require passwords (that is how I have my shared docs set), never tried sharing editable docs so you may need to check the permissions and disable the password requirement if enabled if you don't want the other folks to deal with passwords.

[Gdetrailer]

TenOC wrote:

tatest wrote:

TenOC wrote:

tatest wrote:
There is something wrong with your approach. You should be able to access the cloud stored file from your mailing program, and let the mail program bring it back to your computer, send it to each addressee.

1. It is a large file. I can copy from the cloud and then email it out as an attachment to the group.

2. I wanted everyone to see the edit changes made by each person. That is why I wanted it stored in the cloud and not on my desktop.

3. I think MicroSoft OneDrive may be best for the editing since everyone can use Word to do the editing and not need to learn Google Doc to edit. I still have the problem with OneDrive in trying to create a Group of email address.

So you are not talking about email sharing at all, you are sharing on the cloud server. If a document is to be kept "private" on anyone's cloud server, each person to have access must be specifically identified. I don't know of any cloud server today with "group" identity as found on Unix/NFS and early Netware or Windows network services. They've pretty much moved on to using access control lists, with every user of a file specifically identified, and email is not an access method because identities are too easy to spoof in mail systems. A given cloud server might use an email address as a login ID (backed up by an encrypted password), but not email as a file access method.

Even where groups were defined on network servers, each user had to log in to the network with individual ID and password to become identified as a member of the group.

Excuse me since I am new to cloud storage. I only want to be able to send the invitation to edit or Cloud collaboration (?) on the content of the file without typing each persons (5 or 10)email address.

You do not need to send an "invitation".

All you need to do is COPY the URL file location link on Google drive and PASTE it into your Email.

Then all you do is choose your email "group" and send..

Each person that gets that link can simply access the document by pasting the link into their favorite browser..

It is the same principle you use to share any doc on Google drive.

I am sure there is some "advanced" method but to me that is the most straight forward way.

[TenOC]

tatest wrote:

TenOC wrote:

tatest wrote:
There is something wrong with your approach. You should be able to access the cloud stored file from your mailing program, and let the mail program bring it back to your computer, send it to each addressee.

1. It is a large file. I can copy from the cloud and then email it out as an attachment to the group.

2. I wanted everyone to see the edit changes made by each person. That is why I wanted it stored in the cloud and not on my desktop.

3. I think MicroSoft OneDrive may be best for the editing since everyone can use Word to do the editing and not need to learn Google Doc to edit. I still have the problem with OneDrive in trying to create a Group of email address.

So you are not talking about email sharing at all, you are sharing on the cloud server. If a document is to be kept "private" on anyone's cloud server, each person to have access must be specifically identified. I don't know of any cloud server today with "group" identity as found on Unix/NFS and early Netware or Windows network services. They've pretty much moved on to using access control lists, with every user of a file specifically identified, and email is not an access method because identities are too easy to spoof in mail systems. A given cloud server might use an email address as a login ID (backed up by an encrypted password), but not email as a file access method.

Even where groups were defined on network servers, each user had to log in to the network with individual ID and password to become identified as a member of the group.

Excuse me since I am new to cloud storage. I only want to be able to send the invitation to edit or Cloud collaboration (?) on the content of the file without typing each persons (5 or 10)email address.

[tatest]

TenOC wrote:

tatest wrote:
There is something wrong with your approach. You should be able to access the cloud stored file from your mailing program, and let the mail program bring it back to your computer, send it to each addressee.

1. It is a large file. I can copy from the cloud and then email it out as an attachment to the group.

2. I wanted everyone to see the edit changes made by each person. That is why I wanted it stored in the cloud and not on my desktop.

3. I think MicroSoft OneDrive may be best for the editing since everyone can use Word to do the editing and not need to learn Google Doc to edit. I still have the problem with OneDrive in trying to create a Group of email address.

So you are not talking about email sharing at all, you are sharing on the cloud server. If a document is to be kept "private" on anyone's cloud server, each person to have access must be specifically identified. I don't know of any cloud server today with "group" identity as found on Unix/NFS and early Netware or Windows network services. They've pretty much moved on to using access control lists, with every user of a file specifically identified, and email is not an access method because identities are too easy to spoof in mail systems. A given cloud server might use an email address as a login ID (backed up by an encrypted password), but not email as a file access method.

Even where groups were defined on network servers, each user had to log in to the network with individual ID and password to become identified as a member of the group.

[TenOC]

tatest wrote:
There is something wrong with your approach. You should be able to access the cloud stored file from your mailing program, and let the mail program bring it back to your computer, send it to each addressee.

1. It is a large file. I can copy from the cloud and then email it out as an attachment to the group.

2. I wanted everyone to see the edit changes made by each person. That is why I wanted it stored in the cloud and not on my desktop.

3. I think MicroSoft OneDrive may be best for the editing since everyone can use Word to do the editing and not need to learn Google Doc to edit. I still have the problem with OneDrive in trying to create a Group of email address.

[tatest]

There is something wrong with your approach. You should be able to access the cloud stored file from your mailing program, and let the mail program bring it back to your computer, send it to each addressee. But if it is a large file, your mail provider may require it to be put on a cloud storage server (one of my mail providers uses Dropbox) for addressees to pick up.

But if you are trying to share a file you have stored as private by sending the Google Drive location instead of the file, then Google Drive will require you to identify each entity that is to access the file. All cloud servers do this with files stored in private space, but most also have public storage spaces where read access is uncontrolled.

[Sam_Spade]

TenOC wrote:

In my T-Bird account Yes I have a mailbox and I have the 5 to 10 mail groups such as family, RV friends, Work etc. Each consisting of 5 to 10 people.

Then what IS the problem exactly.
I don't understand.

OK, now I see.

Your mistake is starting the process from Google Drive....without using Gmail and it's contacts list.

IF....you start the process from Thunderbird then you can select a file from Google Drive and specify addresses from T-bird.

Google drive is just another "drive" to store things. You should be able to use it just like it was another device on your computer.

[TenOC]

bcsdguy wrote:
i think what he is saying is he can't just click on a group name and send the file to all of the people in that group. In Outlook, you create groups with individual email addresses in it and if you send to that group name, it sends to all in that group.

The groups work OK when I am sending an email. But in GD when I enter who to share, I must enter each name. I can not enter the group such as "family" or "work" Apparent GD is looking in the T-Bird address list and looking for a xxxx@yyy.com name.

[bcsdguy]

i think what he is saying is he can't just click on a group name and send the file to all of the people in that group. In Outlook, you create groups with individual email addresses in it and if you send to that group name, it sends to all in that group.

[TenOC]

Sam Spade wrote:
The problem is not with your "cloud storage" but with your email client.

Are you telling us that T-bird does NOT have a directory or contacts list where you can just click on names to select them for your TO: field ?

In my T-Bird account Yes I have a mailbox and I have the 5 to 10 mail groups such as family, RV friends, Work etc. Each consisting of 5 to 10 people.

[Sam_Spade]

The problem is not with your "cloud storage" but with your email client.

T-bird is a true client. That is, it retrieves the messages from the email server and stores then on your local computer.

Are you telling us that T-bird does NOT have a directory or contacts list where you can just click on names to select them for your TO: field ?

More modern web based email applications store the messages "in the cloud" and have contacts lists including groups.

Where is your email account ? Most can be accessed with a web based application.....like Yahoo or Gmail.