Google Drive Essentials

1. Accessing Google Drive

Logging in on the Web
From a web browser:

Go to drive.google.com and log in with your OnePass

or

From Google Calendar or Google Mail:

Use Google Apps Menu

The Google Drive Interface is easy to navigate and has features similar to those
found on other Google Apps.

Google
Search apps
menu
Create
new files

Settings
options

Files owned
by and shared
with me

My Drive

1
2. File Types
Working with Google Files
Files created in Google can be opened and edited. The following are some Google
file types:

• Google Docs
• Google Sheets
• Google Slides
• Google Forms

To open a Google file, follow these steps:

1. Double-click on the file name,

2. Click on the Open with drop-down menu,
3. Select the method to open the file.

2
When the file is opened in the desired format, you can now make edits.

Working with Non-Google Files

Non-Google files like PDFs, Word, and Excel files can be previewed in Google
Drive or you can download the files to your computer. Other Non-Google files,
like audio files, video files, images, etc. can sometimes be previewed in
Google Drive (although not always,) but you can still download those files to
your computer.

To Preview, follow these steps:

1. Double-click on the file name,
2. View, print, or download the file.

3
To Print or Download, follow these steps:

1. Double-click on the file name,

2. Print or download the file using the Print and Download icons at the top
right of the view window.

4
3. Organizing Your Files
Creating Folders

1. Click on the New button at the top left of your Google

Drive.

2. Select Folder from the drop-down menu.

3. Enter a name for your folder. You can name it

after your course, in order to upload your files there.

4. Click Create and the folder will be created in My

Drive.

5
 Feel free to drag any files or folders from your computer directly to the
folder you just created.

Feel free to create and organize subfolders within your course folder as you
would with your conventional hard drive.

Moving a Folder
To move one folder into another folder, follow these
steps:

1. Right-click on the title and select Move to…

6
 2. Select the folder that you’d like to place the folder
into.
3. Click Move.

Adding Files Already in Google Drive to Folders

To add a file to a folder, follow these steps:

1. Click on the My Drive folder in the sidebar,

2. Scroll through the list of files to locate the file,
3. Click and drag the file into the desired folder. If the folder does not exist,
create the folder first and then click and drag the file into it.
or

4. Right-click on the file and select Move to…

5. Choose a folder in which to move your file.

Starred Folders
You can place a star icon next to a file to add significance to
that particular file. All starred files and folders are accessible in
the Starred folder in My Drive.

To star a file or folder, follow these steps:

1. Find the file or folder in your list,

2. Right-click on the file or folder and select Add Star.

You will now find this file or folder in your Starred folder located in the left
navigation menu.

7
4. Uploading Files or Folders to
Google Drive
You can upload docs, spreadsheets, PDFs, video files, audio files, images,
etc. from your desktop to Google Drive on the web.

Setting Upload Preferences

Before you get started, you’ll want to set your preferences for uploading files.

1. Click on the Gear icon to the right of your window.

2. Select Settings from the menu,
3. Choose the General option from the side bar.

4. Next to Convert uploads, check the box if you want all uploaded files to
convert to the Google Docs format. If you not want your files to automatically
convert, do not check this box.

Uploading a File
Option 1- File Upload

1. Click on the New button. and select File Upload.

8
 2. Select the file you wish to upload from
your Home Directory and click Open.

You will see an upload window showing the progress of the upload.

After the file has uploaded, you will see it in your Drive folder.

Remember, if you convert to the Google Docs format, you will be able to edit the
doc in Google Drive. If you do not, you can only preview the doc.

Option 2 - Click and Drag

You can always click and drag your documents

from your home directory directly into Google
Drive.

9
5..Converting Files to Google Docs
1. Right-click on the file and chose Open With...

2. Select the Google format to

open the file.

A new file will be created in your Google Drive folder.

You can now open, make edits to, and share this file in Google Drive.

10
6. Downloading Google Docs to the
Desktop
You can download individual files or folders.

1. Right-click on the file and select Download.

2. Find your downloaded file in the Downloads folder of your Home Directory.

Please Note: Google Docs and Sheets will be be converted to Word docs and
Excel spreadsheets when downloaded.

11
7. Searching for Files
Search Drive Field
The Search Drive field allows you to search by files type, file name, owner, date,
or who the file is shared with.

To search for a file, follow these steps:

1. Enter the file name or file owner you are searching for in the Search Drive
field and press Return or,
2. Click on the disclosure arrow in the field to reveal addition search options.

Search by file name or owner

Additional search options

12
8. File Sharing and Access
You can share any file or folder in Google Drive with both Google users and
non-Google users.

Sharing File or Folder Links in Discussion/

Assignment Activities
To share file or folder links to Discussion/Assignments, follow these steps:

• Right-click on any file or folder in your Google Drive and select Share
from the drop-down menu:

13
 • This will open up a Share with others window. Choose the Advanced
option in the bottom right corner.

• You'll see the Sharing settings window. When you create/upload a file/
folder, it will appear here as Private - Only you can access. Click on the
Change... option to the right.

• In the Link sharing window, select On - Anyone with the link, and
depending on whether you are sharing an individual file or folder, choose
the following:

14
 • For file access, choose Can comment.

• For folder access, choose Can view only.

15
 • Click Save in that window, and copy the provided link from the
Sharing settings window.

Feel free to paste it in your Required Discussion or Assignment activity.

16
9. Shared With Me Files
The Share with me folder is where files or folders shared with you by others will
reside. You cannot organize the Shared with me folder, you can only copy files or
folders from Shared with me to My Drive.

To copy files or folders from Shared with me to My Drive, follow these steps:

1. Follow the steps for moving a file and move the file/folder into a My Drive
folder,
2. Click and drag the file/folder into a My Drive folder.

When you copy a file from Shared with me to My Drive, all ownership and
sharing rights set by the owner remain the same.

Click here for more information on how to use Google Drive.

17