Further, than simply a cloud storage solution that frees your laptop or computer from storing hundreds of GB’s, Google Drive is a platform that integrates all the G Suite applications. It’s where you can utilize everything you need for work: Docs, Sheets, and Slides – and also save them. This Google Drive guide will teach you more about the benefits of utilizing this Google storage program, how you can use it in the best manner possible, and methods to make your life a lot simpler.
How to Use Google Drive A Complete Guide
If you’ve never used Google Drive or are overwhelmed by all the various capabilities, this article will explain how it works and some of the numerous ways you may utilize this collection of tools.
What Is Google Drive?
Google Drive is a free program that allows you to create and share documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. It also enables you to keep your files in the cloud so you can view them from anywhere with an internet connection. For anybody who wants to keep organized, this is an excellent method to accomplish it. Google Drive provides you a location for all your files and makes it easier to collaborate on projects with various individuals at the same time.
It’s accessible on both Android and iOS smartphones, as well as on desktop.
Google Drive is part of Google Apps, and it’s accountable for synchronizing your data across multiple devices and the internet in its storage space inside Google. All that is possible using your Google account.
With Google Drive, you may upload existing files, create new ones within folders, and even download from the app to your PC. It’s an excellent integration that at the same time frees you from having a lot of stuff on your HD yet enables you to have your items online to be viewed anywhere at any time.
If you’re keeping images and movies, you may want to explore a more robust storage option such as Dropbox or one of the services in the Google Drive family. Save in mind that Google doesn’t keep your data forever, and after removing a file, it goes to the trash for 30 days, and these files are erased permanently after 30 days.
How Does Google Drive Work?
The primary function of Google Drive is to store files and sync them with your PC. When you install a desktop client, you may utilize disc folders on your computer to keep crucial data in sync with the cloud.
The Drive works with the whole Google app ecosystem, including G Suite Office programs. It is also one of the top cloud sharing services because to highly customized sharing features. You can let others work on Google Docs files with you so that you can collaborate with up to 100 people on any G Suite project.
Google Drive allows you to upload and store various file kinds – documents, photographs, music, and videos — to Google servers or the “cloud.” Drive may act as a backup option or as a means to clear up space on your smartphone.
To understand why Google Drive is so famous, it’s crucial to realize that it’s engineered to integrate smoothly with Google. And one of Drive’s most delicate features is its connection with Google’s office suite of cloud-native applications, which will appear familiar if you have familiarity with Microsoft Office.
Most users will gravitate to these products, including Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and more. Not only do they enable you to write and modify papers, but they’re also packed with specific features that allow for real-time collaboration.
Why Use Google Drive?
There are numerous advantages to utilizing Google Drive today, not just for personal reasons but also for business. When you transfer to a cloud storage system, you become free to take your data with you without the need for lugging your computer along with you.
It is only the tip of the iceberg of how fantastic Google Drive can be. Let’s explore all the reasons why you should start utilizing this Google app as soon as feasible.
Mobility
The most important advantage of having everything you need on the cloud is to access your files wherever you need to. The only thing you need is to log in to Google Drive using your Google account on the appropriate device. You may work wherever you need to, without worrying about remembering to share your data to a pen drive or external HD.
Sometimes when you need to speak at a conference, this element might be pretty handy. But be cautious to always log out of the gadget, whether it is public or doesn’t belong to you.
Synchronization
It is connected to the mobility Google Drive permits you to have mostly because it can maintain your papers synced on numerous devices with the aid of the internet.
With the automated sync, you may also upload the files from your computer, mobile, and others to Google Drive.
Collaboration
The G Suite applications were developed with this fantastic feature: collaboration. With ordinary computer software, you need to complete numerous steps to share a file with someone, such as uploading an email attachment. Google thought about this specific discomfort and created our life a lot simpler when utilizing its products.
With Google Drive, you may cooperate in numerous ways, since sharing a complete folder or particular files. It may be a fantastic method to save your corporate data and let your staff interact, saving time and money you would spend with an internal system.
Intuitive Interface
Google’s UI is typically straightforward and intuitive, and with Drive, it couldn’t be any different. It’s pretty simple to learn how to utilize it. Besides that, when you are not sure what a button performs, you can merely hover over it. Then its name will show, usually, a name that specifies what the action will be initiated when you click on it.
Google Drive Features
Google drive is loaded with all the essential features and works well in increasing the productivity of your workflow. Let’s understand these features in detail.
1. Storing Files And File Uploading Limits
By default, Google provides you 15 GB of free storage space across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. If you ever reach that limit, you can always pay for extra space by subscribing to a Google One account. And if you need more capacity, you may also upgrade for additional G Suite plans that range from $6 per user per month on the Basic plan to $25 per month on the Enterprise plan.
2. Sharing Files
Files are secret unless you share them. But at any moment, you may invite others to view, modify, or download files and documents.
3. Accessing Files From Anywhere
Files may be accessed from any smartphone, tablet, or computer. Offline access is also accessible.
4. Comprehensive Search
Drive can detect photos and even text in scanned documents, making searching for files much more uncomplicated.
5. Secure Storage
Drive files are safeguarded by AES256 or AES128 encryption, the same security standard used on other Google services.
Ways Of Utilizing Google Drive
There are two methods of accessing Google Drive. The first one is synchronizing with your computer (Windows or Mac) by installing the program. The second one is using a web client, merely browsing the webpage.
Notice that both of the alternatives need a Google account.
1. Accessing Using The App
Some people may not know this yet, but installing Google Drive’s program on your PC is feasible. It’s named Back up and Sync since these are the primary goals of the software.
To download the app, simply login to your account, then in the main menu on the right, click on “Settings” (represented by the gear symbol).
Or you may browse google.com/drive/download/ and download it straight. On this website, you can also get links to download it for Android or iOS.
2. Back-Up And Sync Google
Next to the clock, there will be a new cloud symbol with an up-arrow on your notification bar. Click on it to view the synced files. You can also utilize shortcuts to access Drive on the online browser, open your Google Drive folder on the computer, or view Google Photos on your PC.
Besides that, you may click on the three dots to control your Backup and Sync from Google. You may stop a synchronization, update the settings, add a new account, or leave the program.
You may also alter the available space on your Drive, proxy settings, and upload and download bandwidth settings in your preferences.
3. Accessing Via The Web
If you wish to access Google Drive on your browser, you only need to input the URL https://drive.google.com/. Here is a list of the browsers that operate well with Drive:
- Chrome
- Firefox
- Microsoft Edge / Internet Explorer
- Safari
Be warned that different browsers might bring limits and issues. Also, the offline editing option is only accessible on Google Chrome.
How Do I Change Permissions On Google Drive?
While sharing files through google drive, you can control who can access the file; here are the steps to do so:
- Choose the file you’d want to share.
- On the upper right, click Share.
- Select Get Link from the drop-down menu.
- Select Anyone with the link as the recipient of the file.
- Select Viewer, Commenter, or Editor to control what others may do with your file once you share it.
What Are Shared Files And Google Drives And How To Access Them?
A shared drive is a Google Drive organizational structure that exists alongside My Drive. Shared drives store files that belong to an organization rather than a single person. A single file may be organized in either a shared drive or My Drive, but not both at the same time.
Access Control
Shared drives use the same authorization paradigm as regular Drive content. Unlike files in My Drive, content on a shared drive is owned by a group of users. Refer to Share files, folders, and drives for additional information on permissions.
Permission Propagation
Permissions on parent objects, like those on My Drive, are passed down to their children. Permissions on a shared disc, on the other hand, are strictly broad. A user with the job of a commenter on a shared drive, for example, cannot have their access level decreased at a later stage in the folder hierarchy. Their access to a specific collection of files, however, may be enhanced.
Files on a shared disc must have precisely one parent. It indicates that shared drive files belong to a single shared drive and are stored in that shared Drive’s single location. Permission requirements for shared drive files are simplified by having a single location.
Here is your complete guide on sharing files in Google Drive
How to Delete And Restore Files In Google Drive
Move your Google Drive files to the trash to remove them. After 30 days, files in the trash will be automatically erased. Before the 30-day time limit, you may recover files from your trash. You may also remove them permanently to clear your garbage. It may take some time for you to see changes if you remove, restore, or permanently delete multiple files or directories at once.
How To Upload And Share Files With Google Drive?
The primary purpose of google drive is uploading and sharing; let’s understand how to use Google Drive for that purpose:
Uploading:
- Go to Google Drive and click the New option, then choose File upload.
- Navigate to the file(s) you wish to upload and select them, then click Open.
- The file(s) will be uploaded to your Google Drive account.
Sharing:
If you need to share a single picture, PDF, or another item, the best way to do it is to open the file. Then:
- Right-click on the selected file you want to share, a menu will open.
- Select the term Share.
- Input the email addresses of the persons you wish to share the file with.
- Click the pencil symbol beneath the email address to select the access level you want to grant (“Can edit,” “Can comment,” or only “Can see”). To share, specify the email addresses.
- Press done to share.
If need be, before entering the names, press the term Advanced at the lower right of the Share with others pop-up box, then establish the private access. It will also offer you a few additional possibilities.
How To Install The Google Drive App?
Google Drive app offers additional functionality over the Google Drive Web client. The app is also comparatively easier to use; let’s look at how to install the Google Drive app:
- Go to drive.google.com and after selecting between Personal and Business applications, download the application.
- Then a setup window will emerge, and the first step is to log in to your Google account. You may opt to log in straight to the app or your browser.
- The second step consists of selecting the folders you want Drive constantly to back up. If there are photographs and movies on these folders, you may determine their size following the upload: High grade or Original quality. Furthermore, you may also select to upload photographs and videos to Google Photos.
- The third and final step consists of establishing the Drive folder on your computer. It’s also possible to modify the folder location.
- Moreover, you may pick the option to sync everything on your computer or simply select folders. The final choice is suitable when you don’t want to mix work with personal data.
Conclusion
I hope this complete guide helps on how you can use Google Drive. This free program makes it easy to get your assignments done effortlessly, save your work in the cloud, and rapidly share them with others.
Whether you use it to produce presentations for class, stay organized, or save images and videos, this program is the most flexible and feature-rich; it enables you to do it all.
