Google is leveraging its Drive online storage tool to make email attachments easier — starting yesterday, Gmail users will have the option to attach files up to 10GB in size that are stored in their Google Drive when sending messages. That's obviously a lot bigger than most standard email attachments, but there are a few handy tools that Drive in Gmail brings in addition to large file sizes.
Gmail is smart enough to prompt users when they're sending files from Google Drive that might not be shared with all of the intended recipients, so no one you email will get locked out of downloading or accessing a file. Attachments through Drive will also be kept in sync, so if you're collaborating or editing a document, the most recent version will always be available in your email. Just like the normal file-sharing options in Drive, Gmail will let you set permissions — so if you don't want someone making wholesale changes to the document you're sharing, you can mark certain recipients as read-only.
While it's not a revolutionary addition to Gmail — Sparrow for Mac has long supported Dropbox attachments, for example — it's a nice piece of integration for Gmail users who also may rely heavily on Drive for storing their files. As with nearly all of Google's features, this new integration will roll out gradually over the next few days, but you'll need to be using the recently redesigned compose window. There's no word on when this feature will be available in the Gmail mobile apps, but we'd expect to see it sooner than later.
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