Best way to share files between desktop and laptop

CTrap33

Honorable
Apr 16, 2013
122
0
10,680
I use a laptop on the go and a desktop at home. What I want to be able to do is for example, use my laptop to create an excel spreadsheet, then save it, then open it on my desktop when I'm at home as it is a much faster machine. So I want this sort of back and forth compatibility where files will save and update so that I always have the newest version regardless of which machine I open the file from.

I know cloud storage with the google drive does this, but 5GB of space is not enough. And thumb drives, to me, are annoying and do not always work properly.

I have a cross-over cable to connect the two PCs physically but I would rather share wirelessly, is it just a matter of saving files in a shared location?

By the way, both machines have windows 7. Thanks in advance
 
Solution
I think what you want to do is download and install the Google Drive application to both your PC and laptop. Doing so will establish a Google Drive folder in both of those computers. Once you go inside that folder, you can create and save any other folders and documents that you want. Anything in your local Google Drive folder also will get automatically updated to Google Drive on the web. This should do what you want, and once you have it set up, you can access your documents through either the local Google Drive folder, or on Google Drive on the web. Either way, everything gets automatically updated on all of your computers and the web whenever you modify a document.

ktriebol

Distinguished
Feb 22, 2013
264
14
18,865
I am doing what you described by setting up a HomeGroup in my wireless network. Honestly, though, for me the HomeGroup did not work well when both computers were on Windows 7. Microsoft must have made some improvements to HomeGroup for Windows 8, which I have on both computers now, because now it works flawlessly.
 

CTrap33

Honorable
Apr 16, 2013
122
0
10,680
The homegroup option works pretty well now that I've actually been able to set the thing up (turns out my laptop and desktop had the same name and thus were unable to be linked until I changed one).

My next question involves taking this a step further. I've discovered google drive offers 15GB of free space which is enough for me to work with. My question is, would it be possible to save documents I want to share between PCs into a dedicated cloud folder, and then automatically have those files in said folder uploaded to my google drive whenever a new version is saved? As far as I know, the only way to add files to a google cloud drive is to browse individually or drag and drop. I'm looking for a more seamless approach. Thanks.
 

ktriebol

Distinguished
Feb 22, 2013
264
14
18,865
I think what you want to do is download and install the Google Drive application to both your PC and laptop. Doing so will establish a Google Drive folder in both of those computers. Once you go inside that folder, you can create and save any other folders and documents that you want. Anything in your local Google Drive folder also will get automatically updated to Google Drive on the web. This should do what you want, and once you have it set up, you can access your documents through either the local Google Drive folder, or on Google Drive on the web. Either way, everything gets automatically updated on all of your computers and the web whenever you modify a document.
 
Solution

CTrap33

Honorable
Apr 16, 2013
122
0
10,680


This seems like exactly what I am looking for. I'll have to try it out. Thanks for the help