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Do you feel a certain amount of dread when someone says “We’ll just share it in Google Drive”? Making the switch to Google Drive and its applications like Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms can be intimidating, but learning some simple skills can make it a much more pleasant experience. This workshop recap with cover how to navigate Google Drive, the ins and outs of sharing Google docs, and some tips & tricks on using applications like Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms.
What is Drive? Why Use It?
Google Drive is a file storage system. It is a cloud-based system, which means that the files are stored on a server instead of on your computer. Google Drive is also integrated with a suite of online applications similar to Microsoft Office. These include:
- Docs: a word processing application similar to Microsoft Word
- Sheets: a spreadsheet application similar to Microsoft Excel
- Slides: a presentation software similar to Microsoft PowerPoint
- Forms: a simple survey and form tool
Users like Google Drive because it is available on any computer that has an Internet connection. Unlike storing files on your computer's hard drive, Drive can be accessed anywhere and is backed up automatically. It can also be accessed on mobile devices, and edits can be made using mobile apps. Finally, as an educational institution, our Google Drive storage is unlimited, so we don't need to worry about saving too much and taking up a lot of space on our computers.
Sharing and collaboration is another reason that people like to use Google Drive. The user can easily share files at the file or folder level, and different permission levels can be granted so that others have the right level of access. Additionally, multiple users can work on a file at the same time so that the current version is always the most up-to-date version.
Accessing Google Drive
There are two main ways the people access Google Drive from a web browser:
- Go to https://drive.google.com and sign in with your AU email address and password.
- While in your email, click the menu icon and select Drive.
You can also download the Google Drive app for your mobile devices to access your files. Additionally, you can install Drive File Stream on your computer to quickly access and save files. More information about these options is available on the Download Google Drive page.
Understanding the Interface
The first step in getting comfortable with Google Drive is understanding the layout of the interface.
- New Button: The + New button allows you to upload or create new files and folders.
- Drive Navigation: The navigation menu allows you to organize and explore your files:
- Priority: Allows you to create workspaces where you can group files that they are currently working on or use frequently.
- My Drive: Your personal drive to organize their files as you would like.
- Shared Drives: Drives that can be shared with a group of users. No single user owns the files in a shared drive, so files are maintained even after a user leaves the university.
- Shared with Me: These are files that someone has shared with you. You are also able to add the files to your My Drive.
- Recent: This is a chronological list of all the files that you have opened from the most recent and then back.
- Starred: These are files that you have starred to mark them as important so that you can easily access them.
- Trash: These are files that you've deleted. Files in the trash stay there until you permanently delete them.
- Storage: This is a count of how much space your files are using. As an educational institution, our storage is unlimited.
- Search and Settings: One of the fastest ways to find an old file is to search for it in the search bar. Additionally, help, settings, and the Google menu are all at the top of the screen.
- Files: Files are on the main part of the screen. You can tell where you are because My Drive is highlighted in blue.
- File Menu: With a file selected, the file menu will appear allowing you to copy the file link, share, preview and delete the file. Additional options are available by clicking the menu icon.
- Drive View and Information: By clicking the first icon in this group, you can change the view of the files from boxes to a list view and back again. The second icon will give you information about the file or folder that is currently highlighted.
- Side Panel: The side panel allows quick access to three other Google products Calendar, Keep, and Tasks.
Sharing and Collaborating
As we mentioned above, sharing and collaborating are two of the main reasons that people like to use Google Drive. You can share files or folders of files with other users. Although sharing and collaborating is very similar in Drive and the individual Google Apps, we wanted to provide you with precise information on each type directly from Google:
For More Information
As part of the G Suite Learning Center, Google has a training course to help you learn more about Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms. These training courses not only include step-by-step instructions, but also recommendations, tips, and tricks for using the products to their fullest.