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.: GmailFS - The filesystem built on top of the Gmail email service

Well I am sure you've heard of it - the Google Mail FileSystem. It was almost as popular as Gmail itself... yet have you used it? It has been so many years.

I finally got around to installing it. Unfortunately I am currently using it on Vista, but it works on XP and 2000 as well as most Posix based systems.

  1. The first thing to do is go and download the GMailFS driver.
  2. Once it is downloaded, extract the ZIP and run the Setup.exe.
  3. View "My Computer". You should see a drive listed under "Other" - the "GMail Drive".
  4. Right click on the drive. Click on the "Login As" context menu.
  5. Type in your email address as your username. For example, you type user@gmail.com for a Gmail account, or user@googleappsdomain.com for a Google Apps Gmail account.
  6. Enter your password and click "OK". There are 'More' options but I've never had to bother using them.
  7. It should authenticate to Google and display the empty file system. I have tried this in corporate networks with NTLM authentication and antivirus proxies and it has worked flawlessly.
  8. Create a folder, or try copying a file. You cannot address the GMailFS as a drive letter; you must drag & drop or cut & paste from another drive, e.g. C:\, to the GMail Drive.
  9. Give it a few seconds to upload the content and refresh the directory listing.
  10. Now the last issue. Log into your Gmail account, and under Settings create a new filter.
  11. The filter should say:
    * Subject: GmailFS
    * Action: Skip Archive, Apply new filter label GMailFS
    * Apply to conversations below.
    These options will not fill up your Inbox with filesystem information.
    Enjoy!

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