What Is Google Drive And How To Use It

In the first quarter of 2020, Google Workspace (formerly known as G Suite) striking a staggering 2 billion users. While over i.5 billion users mainly employ the service for gratuitous electronic mail account access through Gmail, many users appreciate the wide selection of integrated apps.

However, it's easy to focus on the apps for editing — such as Docs, Sheets, and Slides — and forget the powerhouse backside them: Google Drive.

What Is Google Drive?

Google Bulldoze is a storage service that functions as a cloud-based external harddrive. You can easily store, manage, and share content such as documents, images, and audio files.

Upload and download files as y'all need them, organize them in intuitive binder structures, and share them with the right people.

Google Drive's intuitive interface and integration with other Google apps have made information technology convenient for private apply as well equally modest- and medium-sized businesses and startups.

Using Google Drive for Knowledge Management

Not having a proper knowledge management strategy can waste employees' time every bit well as creates additional work and jeopardizes crucial company information. Google Drive can be the first pace in the right direction of ensuring that organizational cognition is properly stored and shared. Gathering content in one place helps improve the issue with information silos, where important documents and content become stuck on hard drives or in someone's email inbox.

So, how can a business use Google Drive? Common means of using information technology include:

Storing reports and policy documents
Sharing media assets, such every bit photos, logos, and press releases
Gathering images and other media files to keep handy in the workflow

Google Drive Features

Google Drive comes with a long listing of impressive features, including:

15 GB of free storage.
Ability to store various file types and file extensions, such as documents, photos, audio and video files, and more.
Intuitive binder structures for organizing content.
Attachment-saving straight to Bulldoze from Gmail.
Well-functioning integration with other Google Workspace tools.
User access direction with folders or links.
Secure login, including the option of two-factor authentication.
Integration with apps exterior the M Suite for increased functionality.
Compatibility with Microsoft Office-files.
Options for offline admission.

Google Drive Benefits

The Google Bulldoze benefits will depend on how and why you use it, but a few pop advantages include:

Free to use, and starting at $6 per user per calendar month for the paid Google Workspace-versions.
Go started in minutes — Drive doesn't require a lot of technical skills or any installations.
Piece of work with a clean, intuitive interface that is easy to navigate.
Access files anywhere and from any device.
Edit and manage user admission to files and folders.
Potential Drawbacks of Google Drive
While in that location are plenty of Google Drive benefits, we likewise meet some potential downsides, such as:
Customization and functionality are limited compared to other alternatives.
Content editing requires irresolute to using Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.
Folder structures can get challenging to overview.
External integration options are express.

How to Use Google Drive [Step-By-Step Tutorial]

If you are interested in using this tool, allow this Google Bulldoze tutorial guide you through all-time practice for setting information technology upward:

i. Set Up a Google Account

Do you have a Gmail-address, use Google Mail service, or piece of work with any of Google'southward other products? So you've already got Google Drive admission. If non, beginning by signing up.

For the gratis version, sign upward for Gmail. Many businesses will opt for accessing Google Drive through the paid, more avant-garde Google Workspace.

2. Discover My Drive

The default homepage of Google Drive is My Drive. Y'all can also navigate to information technology through the left-hand sidebar.

My Drive is where yous'll find all your Google files, consummate with quick access to recent files and an overview of your folders. So, even if you lot've never used Bulldoze before, you'll observe it full of files if you're already a user of Google Docs, Sheets, or other Google apps.

3. Get Familiar With the New-Push

1 of the about crucial buttons for using Google Drive is the button with the plus icon, named New. Click this button to create new folders, upload files or folders, or create a new file in other Google apps such as Docs and Sheets.

You can as well connect even more of Google's apps through Google Workspace's market.

4. Prepare Your Folder Structure

Although Drive has a search role, we highly recommend setting up a folder structure. Folders allow yous to quickly group and navigate to the right files. Grouping files into folders besides makes it easier to share several files with other people.

Create a new folder by clicking the New button in the sidebar, and then add together and name as many folders as you demand. Drag and drop folders in each other to create a nested folder structure.

When creating folders, it's a adept idea to consider how y'all use your files. For instance, exercise you oft share marketing reports with your team? Then information technology could make sense to place all of them together in a binder and share the entire folder instead of sharing the files one past one.

v. Access Files From Others

Past clicking Shared with me in the left sidebar, yous'll get an overview of files and folders that others have shared with you. The quick view shows you the latest documents from each person who has shared the files with you.

vi. Manage Your Google Drive Files

When you correct-click a file, you'll be presented with a list of options. For instance, you can run across the file's location, download it, or share it.

In one case yous've got your folder structure in place, outset organizing files into folders by right-clicking and choosing the right folder. Alternatively, y'all can drag them straight to the preferred folder. You can also move the file to a folder when using the file in another app, such every bit Google Docs or Sheets.

Do you demand to make clean up the Drive? If you correct-click on a file, you can choose to trash information technology — but think that this besides removes the file from the corresponding tool, such every bit Google Docs.

Right-clicking also gives you the option Adding equally starred, which adds the file to the label with the same proper noun in the left sidebar.

7. Explore Priority Navigation

At the acme of the left sidebar, you'll notice Priority. Priority lets yous immediately see your favorite files. Here, Google Bulldoze highlights files based on your recent work. To speed up navigation further, you tin can plow Priority into your Drive homepage.

Priority as well features infinite for Workspaces. A workspace holds up to 25 files (for the basic Google Workspace-version). A workspace is another way to quickly group and access the files you work on the about, for example, crucial files related to one specific projection.

8. Share Files and Folders With the Right People

Finally, we've come to 1 of the almost of import aspects of Google Bulldoze — sharing your files with other people.

The process for sharing files and folders is the same. You correct-click it and then cull if yous want to add emails to grant access to the recipients or if you want to share a link. When creating a sharable link, you can decide if the file or binder only can be accessed by e-mail addresses from the same group (due east.chiliad., your visitor's Google business relationship) or if y'all want anyone with the link to get access.

You can too determine how others can interact with a file. Are they invited as viewers, commenters, or as boyfriend editors?

ix. Search For the Right File

Hopefully, you'll follow the earlier suggestions and ready a prepare of folders for your content. But, sometimes, it tin can still exist hard to detect the right file. The easiest way to solve this is to use the built-in search bar and add suitable keywords.

x. Using Google Bulldoze Offline

You can admission files offline when using Chrome equally a browser. To relieve files for offline apply, cull the cogwheel and then Settings. The settings give you the option to make Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides bachelor fifty-fifty when you practise not have an net connection.

Making files bachelor in offline mode ways storing a local re-create on your device until it is synced with the deject, so do not exercise this on public or shared computers.

x. Explore Other Ways to Admission Google Drive

You can as well access Google Drive on mobile phones through apps from the App Shop and Google Play.

Is Google Drive the Right Choice For Y'all?

In this guide, we've taken a look at what Google Bulldoze is and how to use it. Only, before you follow this Google Drive tutorial to set it upwardly, let'south have a moment to consider whether it is the right selection for you and your business.

Google Bulldoze is useful for quickly setting up a certificate hub and sharing content. While it comes with a free version through Gmail, the paid version through Google Workshop is good value for coin equally you access a host of useful tools.

Using Google Drive is a far better option than storing data on concrete hard drives or emailing new document versions back and forth.

However, using Google Drive for knowledge management comes with a prepare of limitations. It but lacks the advanced features and integrations with other apps that would go far useful for ambitious businesses.

The right knowledge base of operations would serve an ambitious business concern better, as it has more powerful features and avant-garde customization options.

Simply like Google Drive, a knowledge base lets you shop and share information. But, here you can edit the contents, too — without changing to Google Docs or Sheets.

A knowledge base of operations is an all-in-i tool with essential features such as:
Powerful, easy-to-utilize search.
Intuitive content structure and overview.
Editing and commenting options for real-time certificate collaboration.
Analytics that shows how users interact with content.
Advanced access and security functions with more comprehensive customization.
Crucial integrations with products beyond Google'southward options.
Rich customization options.

The Helpjuice cognition base has all of the in a higher place — and so much more than. But, the big difference betwixt our knowledge base and Google Drive is that we're big on customization.

Instead of you having to adapt to the tool, we desire the tool to adapt to yous. That's why our knowledge base of operations comes with unlimited customization options. Our support team will even help you tailor the knowledge base and then it fits your business needs perfectly. Try out Helpjuice for free for 14 days now.

What Is Google Drive And How To Use It,

Source: https://helpjuice.com/blog/google-drive-tutorial

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