Driving the Google Drive

Google Drive has usually been considered a cloud file system. And actually it is a very clever document / data hub, enhanced with a number of built-in viewers and import options. And it keeps evolving rapidly. Just recently a new "Scan" option has been added to a mobile version of Drive: it takes a snap with a camera and converts it to an indexed PDF document. It is an extremely powerful feature that has just arrived "overnight" and probably many have not noticed (yet).

A typical flow involving the scan function is:

1. On a phone, launch the Drive and "+" to add a new item, choose "Scan", the camera will be activated.
2. Take a snap of a hotel bill (or any paper document). A PDF version lands in the Drive instantly, optimized for contrast and clipped to your preferences.
3. Go to a computer and search for "Hilton". The PDF will be located and brought up in a preview built-in the web app (no need to launch a PDF viewer or download the document)

Try it for yourself. It is a kind of magic.

Another scenario is adding an ad-hoc drawing to an email message. I'm using Gmail in a browser on a PC. And there is an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil lying on a desk by my side. So try this:

1. On a computer: start writing an email in the browser
2. On an iPad: launch the Apple Notes iOS app. It has a nice support for the Pencil. Draw.
3. On the iPad: Share the note to the Google Drive using the iOS sharing button. It will save a PNG in the Drive.  
4. On the computer, in the opened email, click the "insert from Drive" button and select the fresh PNG drawing.

No AirDrop. Cross-platform magic again. No extra apps needed. Very simple steps. It really starts becoming central to everyday tasks.