Microsoft details SkyDrive in Windows 8.1: Placeholder files, offline access, and file picker integration
Microsoft today outlined more details regarding the improvements to SkyDrive in Windows 8.1: placeholder files, offline access, and file picker integration. In the first week after Build 2013, where the preview of the latest Windows update was released, the company says it saw over 3TB of data uploaded to SkyDrive per day from Windows 8.1 Preview.
Microsoft also explained why it is pushing so hard in the cloud-storage space by citing industry trends: while devices have larger storage capacities (growing at about 25 percent per year), people’s data and files are growing significantly faster (around 50 percent per year). We’ve heard of some of these improvements already when Windows 8.1 first showed up, but now the company is offering a bit more information on what to expect.
The first improvement in Windows 8.1 is placeholder files, Microsoft’s attempt to provide users access to all their SkyDrive files without actually downloading them, in an effort to minimize local disk space and Internet bandwidth (especially on mobile devices). These placeholders look and feel like normal folders and files: you can tap or click a folder and see all the folders and files inside it, tap or click a file to open it and edit the contents, as well as move, delete, copy, or rename them.
The difference is in the backend: Microsoft only downloads the full file when you access it. The placeholder meanwhile contains just a thumbnail image along with some basic properties and file contents. This lets the placeholder file be significantly smaller in size that the file in SkyDrive.
For example, a Pictures folder in SkyDrive that is 5.6GB in size only takes up 185MB on the local disk:
Speaking of photos, Microsoft downloads and pre-fetches large thumbnail images instead of the actual files when you’re just viewing pictures. Only when you want to edit a photo does SkyDrive actually download the full file to the local disk.
The early results are impressive. Since Windows 8.1 Preview was released, this new architecture means SkyDrive files are taking up less than 5 percent of the local disk space that they would have taken in the old system.
On the opposite end to placeholder files is offline access. Whether you want the documents you’re working on to be there when you lose Internet connectivity or you want all your edits to make their way back up to SkyDrive when connect again, Windows 8.1 should take care of everything without any need for manual configuration and setup.
The SkyDrive app lets you mark folders or files you want for offline access (make your selection and hit the “Make offline” button): edits will be synchronized so that you’re always working with the latest file. When you’re offline, Microsoft will gray-out files which are not available for offline access:
Yet the SkyDrive improvements are far from over. “We’ve also gotten feedback on what else you’d like to see in the product, and we’re working hard to address that feedback in the upcoming milestones,” Mona Akmal, Group Program Manager for SkyDrive apps, said in a statement. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
More to follow.
