Google Chat - multiple files handling

[starkoh]

I have a big issue with Google Chat.

It doesn't have a feature to upload / download multiple files at a time.

It doesn't even allow drag and drop on the chat directly.

Uploading 10 files include

1) click upload

2) select one file

3) click send

* 10 = 30 clicks.
Which can be done by one drag and drop from Teams or Slack.

Downloading the 10 files are the same.

There is no way our company can use this service.

I hope to hear this feature will be updated in the VERY near future.

Otherwise, all other features and updates are useless.

[StephenHind]

@starkoh you can upload all the files in one go to a Google Drive folder and then add the folder to the chat: I'm guessing this is why Chat doesn't have multiple fill uploads as it doesn't need it. Google provides Drive to share files so there's no need to provide a second way to do it.

[starkoh]

@StephenHind 

I understand your point.

But there is a huge difference between

something is just possible VS something is intuitive & easy to use.

1. upload

files to google drive => get a link => paste the drive link

VS

drag and drop files

2. download

goes to the google drive (chrome browser)

=> ,select the files among other unrelated files

=> download as zip

=> go to the downloaded folder

=> unzip

VS

select All and download

I bet it takes at least x 10  more time.

I hope you get my point.

[StephenHind]

@starkoh yes I understand your point but it's not how Google Workspace works or how Google intends you to use Google Workspace.  You appear to be trying to make Google Workspace fit your old working practices when you should be changing your working practices to fit Google Workspace. 

Why would you want to upload/download files in the first place when you'll be working on them in Google Drive anyway? Or, to word it another way, why are these files not living in Google Drive and only existing there?  If they are on Google Drive to start with, and that's where they should only be, why are you needing to upload and download files?

Maybe once you've explained why these files need to be somewhere other than Google Drive then Google may see the benefit  in adding the feature.  Google's not going to add a feature to Google Chat just for the sake of making it the same as other apps, or to make it more convenient to move files, when Google already expects your files to be in Google Drive and working on them there.  The core of Google Workspace is Google Drive and if you're not using Google Drive as your only or first storage solution then the rest of the Google Workspace experience will be poor for you, as they are designed on the expectation you're using Google Workspace to the full, Google Drive especially. The experience is not designed to be like other apps, e.g. Slack, that doesn't offer a comprehensive file hosting system like Drive, because the functionality you want is provided in a different way.

If you're already working with Google Drive and storing your files there then all you would do is, from Google Chat, add the folder link to the chat and then carry on working from there - no need to upload or download the files. I'm guessing your files are not already in Google Drive, so I don't know why that's the case.

[starkoh]

Thank you for the kind explanation.
Maybe you are right at some, or many points.

I have to give it a deep thought.

But I still beleive the feature is needed for now.
If not attaching the actual files,
at least the links of the many files(already in the google drive) at a time

in order to refer to the files and explain something or to comment something.

And I would like it to be the opposite way.

1) link a space & google drive folder
2) drag and drop multiple files to the space => files automatically uploaded to the google drive folder

3) multiple file select & download feature.

[edibudimilic]

I run a company of 30 people and we are united in the opinion that this limitation is a big disappointment. Why force users to use Drive for something and most of the times just temporary. I'll give you a common use case:

Our designer creates a few screenshots of what she made for the product, she wants to share it over a Space quickly for a quick feedback. Why would she have to do all the steps to have those temp files on Drive so she could select them on chat, much slower and gives extra work of maintaining those files later on.

Slack and other products provide quick and simple multiple methods for attaching multiple files, Google Chat requires a ton of clicks and multiple windows/tabs to achieve the same thing even if you accept currently best practices. To be clear, my team want this feature and we love Google Workspace, it's just that Google Chat as a product has a really slow release flow and we can see it's not an important product for Google, at least not important enough. This is already a 3rd instance (gChat, Hangouts, Chat) and it already looks like Google doesn't care for feedback and real-sector needs. I'd be happy to provide more feedback in the name of my IT team for Google if there's a Google employee reading this. Feel free to reach out to me.

[starkoh]

Everything is acceptable except for its way of handling file uploading & downloading.
Now I have no other option but to use slack instead of Google Chat. 😞

So disappointing.

[IfNotWhyNot]

Ever since Google broke up the Google+ architecture, what was to be a well rounded intuitive experience, was ripped apart.  There is little continuity from app to app, from desktop to phone, from phone to desktop.  I'm struggling to drop six simple photos from Google Photos into Google Chat from the desktop and it looks like maybe it's impossible to do.  Like most things Google these days searching for solutions is mandatory.  This one looks like a dead end, I'm not storing photos in drive, they're stored in GOOGLE PHOTOS. 😞

[starkoh]

Glad to see this thread is still alive.
My company has moved to office 365. (love all in one package & teams)

Only a few accounts are remaining in workspace to use google sheets, drive & apps script.
(so powerful)

Always ready to come back to workspace if this chat policy is improved.

[mertlemeister]

Hangouts was much better. I loathe Chat. 

[Noungning]

I cannot believe how utterly useless Google chat is. I delayed upgrading from hangouts until they wouldn't let me use it anymore. Now that I'm on it, it's horrible.

My family and I aren't using chat for work. We need a simple chat platform that was Hangouts. I guess they're just forcing us to move to other platforms. Just like how msn messenger forced me to use hangouts after it went to crappy Skype. 

[erinm1234]

Same here.  I was just using Google Hangouts for family chats, not for work related things.  The fact that I can't select multiple pictures on my phone and share them via Google Chat is completely ridiculous.  I have to individually select each photo and send it in a message by itself in order to have the Google Chat even come up as an option.  Looks like we'll be switching platforms.  This is COMPLETELY useless.

[Mrblue]

Totally agree. My daughter has an iPad and I have a pixel 4. I love sharing photos and i find simply ridicolous i can't upload and share many at a time like in WhatsApp or telegram!

[Samuel4]

I too came here for this issue, which USED to not be an issue in Hangouts. I find it rather obnoxious that this problem was identified as "solved" by an explanation that fits comfortably within the boundary of mansplaining. This issue isn't solved, we've just all been forced either to flex to the whim of a system far larger than any of us or leave altogether. Wtf Google. For those of us who used your prior platform for connecting to those we don't see as often as we'd like (thanks, life/'rona!), Hangouts was a great system that allowed to do just that (and send multiple files however I damn well choose). Chats? Oh, no you can't do that. You'll have to ensure your entire family uses Drive-even your senile grandmother who WAS able to use Hangouts.

[icrew]

@Samuel4 Just FYI, whether or not something is marked as "solved" is up to the person who started the thread. It's not something that Google sets. And ALL of the people who have responded to this thread--me included--are just community members. None of us work for Google.

[Samuel4]

I'm aware! I thought that starkoh was being generous in marking the conversation as solved.

[StephenHind]

@Samuel4 

I find it rather obnoxious that this problem was identified as "solved" by an explanation that fits comfortably within the boundary of mansplaining.

You made a spelling error: you spell explaining with an EX not MAN at the front.  Glad I could help.

If you're having trouble remembering that then just look at the response to the explanation:

Thank you for the kind explanation.

I hope this helps you.

Oh and BTW if you find the explanation obnoxious I think most people find ad hominem attacks obnoxious, but horses for courses.

[Samuel4]

Yes, starkoh was being professional in their response to you. In keeping it professional, my apologies for calling you out as opposed to calling you in. In your initial response, your phrasing came off as patronizing, brusk, and lacking empathy (hence why I used the term "mansplaining"), which I thought was a shame because the initial issue by OP was frustration and displeasure that a change on Google's end impacted OP's workflow. Seeing your profile it's evident that you have extensive knowledge of the inner-workings of Google's platforms as you've solved many issues: I'm new here and seeking solutions. If I had to guess, one of the many intentions of this "Google Cloud Community" is for people who are less experienced-like me-can come to the table with issues, seeking solutions, to connect with folks-like you-with more experience and greater knowledge, can assist and provide answers. Your response didn't really help to foster that environment of mutual support, which I thought, as I mentioned, was a shame. You're right, my obnoxious 0-60mph was not OK and I certainly take responsibility for that! You won't see such a response on another post.

Now let's get back to trying to find a solution for what was the original question, but it seems like that's not going to happen!

---

[edibudimilic]

Google announced that this feature is being built and will come out in coming months. 🥳 Although just for images, not any files which is ok.

[StephenHind]

@Samuel4 apology accepted: unfortunately it's hard to receive bad news, but there's normally good news with it, and Google appears to be lacking sometimes but often it's because there's a perfectly adequate (if not better) way of do it, e.g. if you want to share multiple times and a Google user then surely those files will be on Drive do just share from there.

@Mrblue had just raised a similar scenario which is far better served in sharing from Google Photos (so nothing is actually downloaded to re-upload to another cloud service wasting all that bandwidth).

The only actual way to get a solution for this issue is if Google makes one and that's very unlikely when Google already provides Google Drive and Google Photos for sharing multiple files: it looks like Google's moving away from the past, like have multiple messaging platforms and concentrating on one so there's no duplication, and not duplicating features that already exist, e.g. file sharing.

@edibudimilic has taken the step of mentioning a planned feature update that was shared under NDA, which is why I didn't make any mention of it, as not everyone in this forum is under that NDA.

I'm not into all the wokery people are getting dragged into at the moment but I do love the inrony of all the contradictions: mansplaining is supposedly a man patronisingly explaining something to a women; but gender is supposedly fluid and may not even exist; and the woke can't define what a woman is; if all that's true then how is mansplaining a thing?

[Noungning]

Is this a technological support forum or some elementary drama class. Please stop it, I came here to get updates about the technology not some grade school bickering.