(ExpanDrive promises big FTP improvements ahead with a free 5.1 update.)ĮxpanDrive’s settings control whether or not the application starts at login, displays the content of a drive when first connected, and allows users to be included in early beta releases.Įarlier versions relied on the trouble-prone MacFUSE to do the heavy lifting, but ExpanDrive 5 now works independently, with full 64-bit support. There are exceptions: The Finder hangs for short periods while copying files to a Dreamhost SFTP server when the window is open.
Rebuilt for speedĮxpanDrive’s multi-threaded connection engine makes nearly everything responsive while maintaining optimal system performance. Naturally, how fast this happens depends upon your internet speed, but ExpanDrive proved exceptionally peppy on my 50 Mbps down connection. Once mounted, ExpanDrive volumes act pretty much the way you’d expect: Files can be dragged and dropped or previewed using QuickLook, and you can create new folders or rename existing ones. A slightly different, inconsistent color scheme is used in Drive Manager, but each service can be assigned custom nicknames to avoid confusion. This updated version has the fewest number of bugs since many have been removed from the last version.ExpanDrive lives in the menu bar, where the Drive Manager window controls which services are connected or disconnected.Ĭloud storage drives appear on the desktop with a traditional silver drive icon, while others are color-coded by type-blue (FTP), red (SFTP) or orange (WebDAV), for example.
#Expandrive review software#
In this sense, the software can make your cloud-based storage services nearly identical in utility to your local drives. You can use the settings of the software to have the software start as soon as your system is activated, which will help save time since you won't have to mount each drive manually. Of course, the developer has already said that the software will see excellent improvements to the FTP protocols in the next update. If the window is open while trying to copying a file to a Dreamhost SFTP server, the Finder will usually hang for a bit. The software does have some issues, however. The connection engine uses multi-thread technology for the fastest response times, and the system performs at a phenomenal rate. The software has been optimized for speed in the most recent iteration. The response time for the software is based on your internet connection speed, but most standard connections will provide speed that is indiscernible from an actual local drive. You can create folders inside the drives, rename existing folders, and preview things with QuickLook. The Drive Manager itself has a different way of color coding the drives, but each drive can be coded with a customized name for easier organization.Īfter a service has been mounted as a drive, you can use it exactly as you would any other local drive. For instance, the WebDAV systems are given orange icons, while the FTP systems are given blue icons. Certain types of connections are color coded for easier organization.
When drives are made to appear on the desktop, they are given standard silver icons that appear as drives. You can use the Drive Manager to alter various settings, like the mounting time of each service and whether or not it mounts when the system starts up. This will show you all the services that you have added to your machine as local drives. Using the main menu bar for the software, you can access the Drive Manager. You can also use it to access and write to Amazon Cloud Drive, which is one of the most useful cloud-based storage services since it offers unlimited storage for only $60 annually. Overall Opinion: You can use ExpanDrive with a wide range of cloud-based services, including Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Amazon S3, Google Drive, WebDAV, and FTP/SFTP.
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