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The Only Google

Drive Guide Youll
Ever Need to Read
Written by Dan Price
Published December 2015.
Read the original article here: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/google-drive-guide-youll-ever-needread/
This ebook is the intellectual property of MakeUseOf. It must only be published in its original form.
Using parts or republishing altered parts of this ebook is prohibited without permission from
MakeUseOf.com.

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Table of contents

Introduction to Google Drive

Supported File Types

Accessing Google Drive

Storage Space

Working with Google Drive

Getting Started

Using Google Drive on Windows or Mac

Uploading Files and Folders

Downloading Files and Folders

File Size Restrictions

Creating a New Document

Sharing Files and Folders

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Collaborating

13

Accessing Files Offline

14

Organizing Your Drive

14

Tweaking Your Layout

15

Must-Have Third-Party Apps

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1.ZIP Extractor

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2.PDF Mergy

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3.Office Online

18

Google Drive Troubleshooting

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1. Accidentally Deleted File

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2. Google Drive Folder on DesktopKeeps Crashing

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3. Buy More Storage

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4. Unrecognized Users in a Shared File

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5. Unable to Share a Document with a Specific Domain

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Official Help Channels

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Drawbacks of Google Drive

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What Have We Missed?

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Google Drive is a fantastic resource for those who need free (or cheap) online storage space. It
synchronizes beautifully with Googles own suite of products, as well as several third-party services
such as desktop email client Mailbird, productivity and organization software Evernote, and online
communication tool Slack.
Here we take a complete look at how to use of the service, as well as offering some hints and tips
along the way.

Introduction to Google Drive

Formerly known as Google Docs, the service was launched to the public in April 2012and has since
gainedan estimated 300 million active monthly users.
Watch: Go Google: Google Drive
The premise behind the service is to allow its users to store files in the cloud, thus enabling them to
access them from any Internet-connected computer or mobile device in the world. Since late 2012 it
has also encompassed Googles free office productivity suite Google Docs (word processing),
Google Sheets (spreadsheets), and Google Slides (presentations).
Two of its most important and standout features are the ability to share documents with non-Google
Drive users, and the ability to collaborate on documents in real-time. Shared files can be either shared
publicly (to anyone with the link), or privately (to specific email addresses and/or users), though its
important to note that files can only be shared privately with Google account holders. Collaborated
documents are updated live thus enabling the other users to see what changes are being made as
they work.

Supported File Types

A wide range of file types are supported, and they can all be viewed via the Google Drive viewer in the
web client or the mobile apps. These include the full range of Microsoft Office file extensions, PDFs,
most typical image files (JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, and WEBP), video files (MPEG4, 3GPP, MOV,
AVI, MPEGPS, WMV, FLV, OGG, and WebM), audio files (MP3, MPEG, WAV), Adobe Photoshop files,
Apple Pages, Autodesk AutoCAD extensions, PostScript, and fonts.
Unsupported file types can still be uploaded to the service, but they cannot be viewed from within the
web client. There is a 5 TB limit on upload size.

Accessing Google Drive

The service has a web-based client, a Chrome app, downloadable synchronization folders for
Windows and Apples OS X, and smartphone/tablet apps for Android and iOS. Linux andWindows
Phoneusers have to resort tothird-party replacements because no official versions are available.
The service supports a number of third-party applications that add extra features or benefits to the
existing offering. These have been available via the Chrome Web Store since the 2012 launch, but
since early 2013 they have also been available through the web client itself.

Storage Space
Currently, the first 15 GB of storage is free, with various paid options available thereafter. The
cheapest paid plan is $1.99 per month for 100 GB of storage, while the most expensive plan will set
you back $299.99 per month for 30 TB of space. Google will often run various promotions that allow
users to pick up extra storage for free, and people who buy a new Chromebook currently get a
mammoth 1 TB free for two years.
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Working with Google Drive

Lets take a look at some of Google Drives main features and how to use them.

Getting Started
Most users will access Google Drive through the web client or by using a folder on their Windows PC
or Mac.
The web client can be accessed by heading to https://drive.google.com/drive/ and following the
onscreen login instructions. If you already have an always-logged-in Google account, the link should
take you directly to your Google Drives main page. If you dont already have a Google account, you
will be prompted to make one.

Using Google Drive on Windows or Mac

If you prefer to use a desktop folder to sync your files with your account, youll need to download the
relevant software from within Google Drive.

"
To do so, log-in via the web client using the instructions above. Once youre presented with your
Drives homepage, locate the button titled Get Drive for PCin the lower left-hand corner.
Alternatively, head to https://www.google.com/drive/download/ and select Mac and PCfrom the
dropdown menu.
You will be prompted to accept the various terms and conditions, and the file will download. When its
completed, run the download and a folder will be added to your user file and your taskbar (Windows)
or your Applications folder (Mac).
Enter the downloaded programs settings to tweak which folders should sync, whether the service
should launch at start-up, and more.Once the download has been installed, simply drag any files you
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want to upload to your newly-created Google Drive folder, and they will automatically sync to the
service.

Uploading Files and Folders

If youre using the web client, you can upload documents in two different ways.
Firstly, you can simply drag the file or folder you want over the top of the Google Drive window. You
will be prompted to drop the file to begin the upload.

"
The alternative method is to use the menus within Drive. Click on New in the top left-hand corner, and
then select either File Upload or Folder Upload, depending on your desired action.

"
The progress of the upload can be monitored via the status bar in the bottom right-hand corner. This
is also where you can cancel an upload once it has started.

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Downloading Files and Folders

In the same way that you can upload individual files or entire folders, you can also download files and
folders.
Simply select the item you wish to download and either right click on it and choose Download, or
click on the three vertical dots for More Actionsand choose Download. If you want to download
more than one file/folder at once, hold either Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) and click all the items you
require.

"
If the selected files are above a certain size, Google Drive will automatically put them into a ZIP format
before downloading. Make sure you have a tool to unzip them installed on your computer.

File Size Restrictions

As previously mentioned, the file sizes for uploading are restricted.
For example, Google Drive cannot support any file that is larger than 5 TB. At the same time, files that
have been converted to a Google format are further limited in size:
Google Docs: 50 MB and 1,024,000 characters
Google Sheets: 2,000,000 cells (Overly complex calculations may also cause a conversion to fail)
Google Slides: 100 MB
Google Drawing: No limit

Creating a New Document

Creating a new Google document from within Google Drive is a straight-forward process.
Simply click on New in the top right-hand corner and select the type of document you wish to create.
A blankfile will immediately be launched, and you are ready to start working.
You can rename the document by clicking on Untitled Document and entering the file name of
your choice.

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Any changes will be immediately saved, and the document will automatically synchronized to your
Google Drive account.
You can also create non-Google documents by clicking Moreand launching a third-party app that
you have installed. As with Google documents, any changes you make to the third-party program will
be automatically saved and reflected within your account.

"
You can add third-party apps through the Google Web Store or by following New > More > Connect
more apps from within Google Drive. To remove third-party apps from your account, enter the
Settings menu in the top right-hand corner, then choose the Managing Apps tab. Scroll down to
the app you want to remove, click Options, and select Disconnect from Drive from the dropdown
menu.

"
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Sharing Files and Folders

Google Drive makes it incredibly easy to share files and folders in your account with other users.
Sharing a file will let othersread, edit, and comment on it, depending on which privileges you grant.
Watch: Share with others in Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides
To begin sharing a file or folder, highlight the item in your file list within Drive and either click on the
sharing icon, or right click on it, and select Share.
You will then be presented with a pop-up window that allows you to customize your sharing settings.
You can either get a sharable link by clicking Get sharable link in the top right-hand corner, or you
can select individual people by entering their email addresses in the box below.

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Set the necessary privileges by using the relevant dropdown menus.
If you chose to get a link, you will need to share it with anyone you wantto access the file/folder. If you
entered email addresses, the person will receive a notification in their inbox that will give them access.
Anyone with editing rightswill have complete control over the file. The only things they will not be able
to do is delete the item or transfer its ownership. You can change the ownership of the document to
someone who you are already sharing the file with by clicking the dropdown menu next to their name
and selecting Is owner.

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"
Clicking on Advanced in the bottom right-hand corner of the pop-up window will offer you some
additional Owner Settings. These include the ability to prevent users who only have view and
comment privileges from downloading, printing, and copying the file, and the ability to prevent editors
from changing other peoples privileges and adding new people to the share list.
To stop sharing a file either click on the X by the persons name that you want to remove (if you
shared with individuals), or select OFF only specific people can access from the dropdown
menu (if you set up a shareable link).

"
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Finally, if someone has shared a file with you, you will find it under Shared with me in the main menu
on the left-hand side of the screen.

Collaborating
Giving someone editing privileges over your file will automatically allow you to collaborate on the
document in real-time.
You can keep track of the changes being made through the Google Drive interface. To see a complete
history of all changes made to all files in your drive, click on the Information icon next to the settings
gear. To just see the changes for a single file, make sure the file is highlighted before you click on
information.
The activity history will show you changes surrounding moving, renaming, uploading, sharing and unsharing, and most significantly, editing and commenting.

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It is important to note that only 50 people can edit a document at the same time, and you can only
share a document with a maximum of 200 people. To allow more people to look or work ata file, you
must choose to give access toAnyone with the link or make it Public on the web. You can find
these link sharing options under Share > Advanced > Change

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Accessing Files Offline

Google Drive enables you to view and edit your documents when offline perfect for when you need
to work while travelling or in a caf without an Internet connection.
Offline access is individually controlled for each device. To turn on offline access for the computer you
are currently on, you need to access the settings menu by clicking on the gear icon in the top righthand corner and then selecting Settings.
Once there, make sure the checkbox next to Sync Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drawings files to
this computer so that you can edit offlineis ticked.

"
As per the warning under the option, you should not enable this feature on public or shared
computers.
After the feature is enabled, you need to either use a Chrome browser or a Chromebook to access
your Google Drive as you normally would. It will not work if you try to use a non-Google browser. The
page and its associated documents will be displayed in the same way as they would be if you were
online, and usage guidelines remain identical.
Any changes or edits you make will be uploaded and synchronized automatically as soon as an
Internet connection becomes available again.
Only Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Google Drawings can be accessed offline.
Google Sites, Google Forms, Fusion Tables, uploaded images, folders, Microsoft Office file
extensions, and PDFs will be unavailable.

Organizing Your Drive

You can organize your Google Drive in much the same way as you can organize file and folders on
your regular desktop.
Make a new folder by either clicking on New > Folder, or by right-clicking anywhere in the main panel
and selecting New Folder. Once youve made the folder, simply drag and drop any desired files into
it.
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You can alsostar items that are particularly important. Either right click on the item you want to star,
or highlight it and choose Add star off the More actions menu.
Any starred items will be listed under Starred in the menu on the left-hand side of the screen.

Tweaking Your Layout

You can choose fromtwo visual layouts either a grid format or a list format. You can change
between the two by clicking the relevant button near the top of the screen.

"
You can also alter the sort option by clicking the AZ button. The options are Name, Last
modified, Last modified by me, and Last opened by me.
Drive also includes a Gmail-esque option to allow you to alter how densely packed the on-screen
information is. Navigate to Gear > Settings, then scroll down to Density and select your preferred
option.

"

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Must-Have Third-Party Apps

Third-party apps canadd a significant capability boost to your Google Drive account.We recommend
the following.

1.ZIP Extractor
ZIP Extractor lets you extract ZIP files from within your Google Drive. This is particularly useful if
you need to upload a large file. Zip it up on your PC, upload it in a shorter time, and unzip it again
once its safely in the cloud.

"
Itll even let you choose which files within the ZIP file to unpack.

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2.PDF Mergy
Fed up of receiving documents from people who dont know how to add multiple pages to a scanned
PDF?

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PDF Mergy lets you combine multiple PDF pages into one neat file using a simple drag and drop
interface.

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3.Office Online
No matter how much we might love Google and their online range of services, realistically its still
going to be a long time until we can all wean ourselves off the ubiquitous Microsoft Office forever.

"
Office Online will force email attachments with an Office extension to open in Microsofts online suite,
rather than opening an often poor rendering in Google Docs.

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Google Drive Troubleshooting

Murphys Laweverything that can go wrong, will go wrong applies anything, even Google. Here
we take a look at fivecommon issues that people come across when using Google Drive.

1. Accidentally Deleted File

Weve all done it accidentally deleting an important file or folder is incredibly frustrating, especially if
you dont realize until long after the event and youve already emptied your Recycle Bin several times
over (if this happens to you, try using a special recovery tool).
Thankfully, Google Drive offers its own version of the Recycle Bin; its simply called Bin or Trash,
depending on your region. The feature is accessible via the main menu in the left-hand panel (its the
last itemon the list).
Click on it, and you will see a complete list of all the files that youve ever deleted.

"
To restore an item, highlight it and click on Restore in the top right-hand corner. Similarly, if you want
to permanently delete an item, select that option instead.
To empty the entire bin, activate the dropdown menu under Bin and click on Empty bin.
If you dont find the available file, consider that it might have been a shared file and the owner either
deleted it or stopped sharing it with you. In those cases, you need to contact the owner and ask them
to re-grant you access.
If you cannot find the file in the bin, and you are certain you created it, Google claim they may be able
to help you recover it for a limited time. You can contact them via their special web-form.

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2. Google Drive Folder on DesktopKeeps Crashing

Windows and Mac users who use the Google Drive folder on their systems may occasionally get the
following message: An unknown issue occurred and Google Drive needs to quit.
To resolve the problem, make sure that all background processes associated to Google Drive have
been terminated and attempt to restart the program. If you get the message repeatedly, you might
need to disconnect your computer from Google Drive, then reauthorize it.

"
To do so, head to https://security.google.com and sign in with the same account that you use for
Google Drive. Scroll down the list of apps until you find the Google Drive entry, then click on Remove.
Once removed, sign back into Drive on your computer to re-establish authorization.
The problem could also be caused by an out-of-date Google Drive folder. Refer to the previous
instructions for downloading Google Drive on a Windows or Mac, but ensure that you click Yes when
youre asked if you want to replace your current version.

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3. Buy More Storage

You may be presented with a message that reads More Google storage is needed, while youre
performing an upload.
To purchase more storage, log in to your Drive account and click on Upgrade storage in the bottom
left.

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You will be presented with a number of options. Select the one most appropriate for your needs and
follow the on-screen instructions. Prices vary from $1.99 per month to $299.99 per month.
Alternatively, you can try to free up storage, for example by deleting emails with large attachments in
Gmail.

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4. Unrecognized Users in a Shared File

When looking at the list of people that a file is shared with, you might encounter unrecognized or
anonymous users. This may have various reasons.
Maybe you shared the file with someone who doesnt have a Google account, and in turn they
might have shared the email invitation with someone else.
Someone who has editing and sharing permissions mayhave shared the document with their
own contacts, or someone may have even changed the name associated with their Google
Account.
The issue may occur if the file was originally shared via a link, and then changed to individual
people. In those cases, it may take some time for the existing sessions to time-out and for the
shared list to be updated. Ultimately, however, the problem should rectify itself.

5. Unable to Share a Document with a Specific Domain

The issue of not being able to share a document with a specific domainonly arises when youre using
Google Drive through a Google Apps account.The problem occurs because your domain
administrator has restricted documents from being sent or shared from outside a specific list of
external domains normally for security reasons. You will need to speak to your administrator or share
the file by using Google Drive alternatives.

Official Help Channels

Googles official Google Drive help channels are surprisingly robust, in-depth, and responsive.
Your first port of call should be their online help guide. It covers all aspects of the Google Drive web
client, the downloadable folders for Windows and Mac, and the accompanying smartphone/tablet
applications.
If you cannot find the information you need, your next option is the help forum. Its packed with
Google Drive employees, non-Google product experts, and other users who may have experienced
similar issues.

"
If you still cant find a solution, try reporting the issue that youre experiencing via the user feedback
form. You can access it by clicking on the gear, then following Help > Send feedback.

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Lastly, if all else fails, you can contact Google directly. They offer both telephone and live chat support
(English only).

Drawbacks of Google Drive

Google Drive is not for everyone despite its obvious advantages, some concerns could put potential
users off.
Perhaps the biggest disadvantage is the necessity for users to sign up for a fully-fledged Google
account; it is impossible to create an account solely for using with the Drive service. That means
youre going to automatically get a Gmail email address, potentially start recording your search history
without realizing, and have a whole new raft of security settings that you need to set up and manage.
Watch: How To Clear Google Search History
If youre a person who is concerned about Googles privacy commitments, the NSAs back-door entry
schemes, or you are heavily invested in another providers suite of products (such as Apple or
Microsoft), all that is going to set alarm bells ringing.

What Have We Missed?

Despite the length of this guide, we know its barely scratched the surface in terms of Google Drives
power and capabilities. The beauty is, once you get started, you will automatically discover the finer
details. With this guide, you should be well on your way to Google Drive mastery.
What are the most important features that you think we missed out? Perhaps youve
discovered some little-known secret or trick that will make your fellow readers lives
easier?Maybe you dont even use Google Drive; if not, why not? What do you use instead?
As always, wed love to hear from you. You can leave us your thoughts, feedback, and suggestions in
the comments.

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