Hi all! Google Drive– this is free cloud storage, plus a package of office applications. How can you benefit from access to these features and how to use Google Drive?

Among many similar products, Google Drive cloud storage has a significant advantage, namely its close integration with Google services.

What does this mean? operating room Android system owned by Google and more than 80% of all mobile devices run on this platform. Browser Google Chrome today has achieved undisputed leadership among the best Internet browsers. Google Corporation is a de facto global monopolist of Internet search, possessing colossal resources for advanced development - Google's innovative developments appear earlier than those of competing organizations.

To make it easier and more convenient to understand Google Drive, how to use it , It makes sense to start at the beginning and go through all the basic steps.

Getting started with Google Drive

If you don't have it installed on your computer yet Google browser Chrome, then you need to make up for the omission, since it is with the help of this browser that it is most convenient to master the Google Drive cloud storage and get the most direct access to all the endless possibilities Google services.

At the next stage, you will be asked to download and install Google Drive on your computer.

A little warning is needed here. If you don't have much powerful computer, it is better to use Google Drive using the web interface in the browser, since the application Google Drive consumes quite a lot of hardware resources and the system will slow down during the synchronization process.

Because Google Drive cloud storage allows you to use all files stored on the server from any device - then at the same time do not forget to install Google Drive on all your smartphones, tablets, laptops and all-in-one PCs.

Don't worry, Google Drive apps are designed for all platforms, both mobile and desktop.

Features of using Google Drive

• Work on text documents, tables and presentations, slide shows from any computer.
• Collaborate on documents remotely. To do this, you need to find Access in Settings and specify who and to what extent is allowed to read, edit or comment on documents.
• You can publish any file on the Internet for free access to all users. This can be useful, for example, when you don't want to waste internet traffic sending large video files to other users. Google Disk allows you to simply email a link to download a file - and let the recipient pay for the Internet.

It should be mentioned that after the modernization, the two services Google Drive and Google Docs were merged and now it makes no difference which application you run - the capabilities will be the same. You can instantly switch from any application to any other.

Features of Google Drive synchronization

After connecting and installing Google Drive on your desktop computer, some changes will occur in the system.

• IN Windows Explorer The Drive folder will appear. Any files you place there will automatically sync with your cloud storage. Using the context menu, you can send any file from other folders on your hard drive to the cloud.
• New shortcuts to office applications included in the package will appear on the Desktop Google Docs and the Application Launcher shortcut. Using these shortcuts you can launch directly from the Desktop text editor or other programs and start working immediately.

A Google Drive icon will appear in the system tray; clicking on it will give you access to the Settings Menu. In particular, from there you can configure the synchronization order. Specify which files should be synchronized and which should not be synchronized. Set the number of simultaneously downloaded files and upload speed.

In general, there is absolutely no need to worry about how to sync Google Drive with your computer. , after all, all these processes are automated and come by default. As an option, if you have a slow computer, so as not to wait a long time for synchronizing files from the Disk folder, you can upload documents, videos, and photos through a browser.

If you are going to use Google Drive as network drive on a smartphone or tablet, you need to install mobile app and sign in using your Google account. If you want to work with texts, then you need to download and install the Google Docs mobile application. The difference with desktops here is that each application for working with texts, tables, and presentations on tablets must be installed separately. This is done to save local memory, which is limited on mobile devices.

You can connect Google Drive in the mobile File Manager and to upload to the cloud, you just need to copy the selected files to the Google Drive folder.

Another question is how to access Google Drive from someone else’s computer? To do this, enter the address in your browser drive.google.com and log in using your address Gmail mail and password. On a mobile device, you won’t be able to access Drive online; you will be redirected to the application download page every time. You will have to install mobile Google Drive or one of the office applications.

That's all for me. See you soon!

Best regards, Evgeniy Kuzmenko.

Today, cloud storage has become almost the most reliable and in a safe way file storage and important information. If earlier few people knew, and those who knew were afraid to use cloud storage as a place to store personal important information, then in modern times each of us knows that this method of storing data is one of the best.

Google has created an excellent solution, its own cloud storage called Google Drive. And this particular storage can be called one of the best, since in addition to the usual file storage, we also have access to a number of other very useful functions.

What is Google Drive? This is not only a cloud where you can upload your files. Using it, we get the opportunity to open files of any format in the browser, for example, for quick editing Word files, Excel or Power Point, you don’t have to download them to your computer and upload them back to the cloud after making changes. Everything can be done directly in the cloud using the built-in tools of Google Sheets, Documents, Presentations.

Google Drive also provides access to your files at any time and anywhere in the world, since you have at your disposal not only the web version. Google has developed a large number of applications that will help you manage your files in the cloud from any smartphone, tablet and on any operating system. All applications are completely free and available in all popular application stores.

Using this particular cloud, you get the opportunity to create shared access to files and folders so that other users can view, edit and download your files. To do this, you just need to send an invitation.

There should be enough space on the cloud for you, since Google Drive provides 15 GB of free space for storing photos, drawings, text documents, tables, video files, audio files and much more. But if this is still not enough for you, you can purchase a subscription and use as much space as you need.

How to use Google cloud (web version)?

In order to access your own cloud storage, you need to have a Google account. Everyone who has registered mail using the Google service has 15 GB of cloud storage at their disposal.

If you don't already have Google account, then you should follow the link and register.

If you already have an account, then you need to go to the Google Drive website and enter your data in order to gain access to your cloud.

Website link: Google Drive.

Here you can create and monitor all your folders and files.

In order to upload information to Google Drive, you can simply drag the file or folder you need into the browser window or click on the “My Drive” item and select the “Upload files” section in the drop-down menu. After this, you will be able to upload files to the cloud.

To download information from the cloud, select the file or folder you need and then click on “Other sections” (3 dots in the upper right corner) and select “Download”. After this, the files will begin downloading to your device.

To edit the color scheme

Working with files in the cloud

To work with Microsoft files Office you won't need to download them. All files of type , xlsx, txt, pdf and others are available for editing directly in the web version of the storage (via a browser). To open such a file, simply click on it 2 times with the left mouse button, or through the context menu.

To save files to the cloud, you just need to select and drag them into the browser window.

To create a file or folder in the cloud, you need to click on the “Create” button, which is located in the upper left corner and select the type of file or folder. Here you can select the “Upload file” item.

It is worth noting the very useful functions of Google Drive:

• Saving the history of changes to files or folders with the ability to restore previous versions that you entered earlier. File history is stored for 30 days. When sharing a file, you can view the editing history and find out who exactly modified the file or folder. To view the history of a file and restore previous versions, you need to open “Properties” and go to the “History” tab.
• File types that Google Cloud supports. The total number of types is impressive and is constantly growing. More than 30 types of files are available as standard, which Google Drive allows you to edit and view directly from the web interface on any device. What's great is that for file types that Google Drive doesn't support, you can install third party applications. For installation additional applications In the “Create” menu, select “More” and then “Connect other applications”. Other applications are installed as browser extensions. Best for Google work Disk use the Google Chrome browser, since all extensions that offer installation are available from the Google extension store.
• The cloud disk space that the service provides for free is 15 GB, which is quite a lot. But it is worth considering that this space is allocated to you not only for storing files, but also for storing mail messages and attachments in Gmail, as well as Google Photos (if you use this feature). Google also offers to expand disk space, for this you need to sign up for a paid subscription.
• Sharing. This feature is useful because you can grant access to view or edit a file to certain people or to everyone who has a link to this file. This way you can start co-editing or viewing specific file. This is useful because you don’t have to send the same file to different people, wait until they edit it, send it back and you will need to compare it all, you will just need to make a link and send it to everyone who needs to give access. You don't need to have a Google account to edit a file.

Installing Google Drive on your computer and working with it

To download and install the program, you can go to home page Google drive and click on the “Download” menu item, or follow the following link: https://www.google.com/drive/download/

After downloading, run the installation, during which you will be asked to log into your Google account so that the application can access your cloud storage and synchronize files and folders on your computer with it in the future.

During installation, you will be asked where to place the Google Drive folder, as well as files and folders that will be synchronized with your computer. By default, the folder location will be determined in the user folder on the system drive.

After installation, you will see the Google Drive icon in the tray (bottom right corner of the screen). In the future, you can make all application settings by clicking right click mouse over this icon and in the drop-down menu selecting required action.

Once the installation is complete, you can launch the application, after which it will begin downloading files from the cloud to your computer. When you first launch the program, you will be given a choice of which folders and files to synchronize with your computer.

In order to save files to the cloud, you just need to copy the necessary files to the Google Drive folder on your computer, after which you can monitor the progress of saving by left-clicking on the application icon.

Granting access rights

To provide access to a folder or file and copy the link to the clipboard, you just need to open the Google Drive folder and right-click on the required object, then select “Google Drive” from the drop-down menu, and then the required action.

This menu item will only be added to context menu conductor, so when using, for example, Total Commander, it will no longer be there.

My device Computer

At this point, you can select folders on your computer to synchronize with the cloud or change the current folders that save files to Google Drive.

You can also configure the deletion settings, namely, allow synchronous deletion of files. When you delete a file from a folder on your computer, the file will also be deleted in the cloud; this option can be used to allow or block the deletion of cloud files.

You can also configure the option to automatically save from USB devices and SD cards, which will automatically upload all files to the cloud when such devices are connected or detected.

Google Drive

At this point, you are given the option to select or change the location of your main Google Drive folder.

You can also select folders that will be synchronized with the cloud; to do this, check the boxes next to the folders you need. All folders that you do not select will not be saved on your computer, but will remain on the cloud and will be available in the web version.

Settings

Here you can configure the display of notifications when deleting objects from shared folders, namely disable or enable them. Also activate the option automatic switching on applications when the system boots and visualization of synchronization status using icons.

In the network settings, you can set speed limits for downloading and uploading information to the cloud.

Google Drive for mobile devices

The cloud provides access for different mobile devices. Google app You can download the disk from the application store.

The application has useful function– This is an automatic saving of photos from the device. This option can be configured so that it automatically saves photos to Google Drive whenever you are connected to the Internet, or only when connected to a hotspot. Wi-Fi access. This feature is very useful, because if your device is lost or broken, all your photos will be saved and available to you on the cloud, from where you can download them or share them with other people.

The application on phones has a search bar with which you can quickly find the files you need. To edit files, you can use the web version of Google Drive, optimized for mobile devices, to edit files you just need to select in the application required file, after which it will automatically open in the browser on the page for editing.

Conclusion

Google has turned out to be a pretty good product. Google Drive is one of the popular cloud storage services and is suitable for many. An inherent advantage and privilege over other similar storage facilities is the ability to edit files directly from the web version, which saves time. It is also worth understanding that the product is constantly updated and within a short time the developers have eliminated a large number of shortcomings, this confidently leads Google Drive to first place.

Cloud storage – convenient way store your files. For example, Google allows you to store up to 15 gigabytes on yours. This is extremely convenient: information is available from anywhere in the world and from any device that has access to the Internet.

Let's look at how to use this service - log in to your account, register for free (if not account Google Drive), install the computer application, upload and download data.

How to log into Google Drive account

To log into your Google Drive account, you can use the address http://www.drive.google.com/ . On your first visit, the “front” version is shown. To log in, use “Go to Google Drive.”

You can also use your phone to log into your account. Then click “Next” and enter your account password.

It is important to specify it exactly, respecting the case of characters. After this, click “Next”. Sometimes, before opening the service, the browser shows a loading message.

If you wait a bit, the interface will appear.

You can start working.

How to register

If you don’t have an account, you can register one directly from the login page. To do this, you need to click on the inscription “Create an account” (it is on the left and is not so obvious).

The registration page appears. You must indicate your first and last name, as well as enter a password and confirm it (all in the appropriate fields).

The service will offer a login. You can also indicate your own option.

The next step is to agree to the terms of use by clicking “I Accept”.

After this, what is conventionally called my page will open.

You can familiarize yourself with the introductory information by scrolling through it with the arrow to the right. Or you can immediately close it with a cross on a gray background.

How to install a computer application

It’s even more convenient to use the cloud in conjunction with the Google Drive application for Windows. You can download it directly from the main page - the link is in the lower left corner.

You can access the application download page at any time using this link https://www.google.com/drive/download/ .

After acceptance Google terms Disk may be saved in the default folder, or the system will prompt you to select a location.

You should wait for it to download and click on it to start the installation. Or you can click on the arrow and select “Open”.

The system may ask for startup confirmation. To install the Google Drive program, you must agree.

Once the installation is complete, you can close the installer.

The application is installed and can be launched from the Start menu.

The application language will be selected automatically according to the language operating system. If Google Drive does not work, you should repeat the download and installation.

How to upload data to the cloud

To send data to the cloud, you can use drag and drop: left-click, for example, on a video, then, without releasing the button, drag, point to the browser window and release.

An alternative way to upload a file to Google Drive is to use the “Create” button and the upload submenu in it.

Will open standard dialogue choice.

You need to select the one you want and click “Open”. If the computer is online, an indicator will appear in the lower right corner.

Loading time depends on the speed of your Internet connection.

How to download data

To download the downloaded file to your computer, you can right-click on it.

Another way to download a photo or other file to Google Disk is to select it with a left click, and then call up the menu by clicking on the three vertical dots in the horizontal menu of the site.

In both cases you need to select “Download”. A standard document saving window will open.

After saving from the Google cloud, you can fully use it.

Do you think you are familiar with a set of measures to improve online productivity? Google tools? Whether you've been using Google Drive for five minutes or five years, there's always something to learn, which is why we present below 10 useful tips and techniques to improve your skills when working with this service.

1. Enabling offline access to Google Drive

Google Drive can work offline, but to do this you must first activate the corresponding feature: click the gear icon on the main page of Google Drive, then select Settings(Settings). On the tab General(General) in line Offline check the box Sync..., and Google Drive will begin caching existing documents, spreadsheets, slides, and pictures onto your computer. You can't watch videos or open photos while you're offline, but you can view, edit, and create files in native Google Drive formats when you're offline.

2. Search inside PDFs and image files

Did you know that Google Drive can scan text in PDF and image files, making them fully searchable? Just upload a photo of a clear enough PDF and give it a try. You can even open and edit these files: right-click on the PDF file or image, then select Open with(Open with) and Google Docs. Depending on the quality of the file and the readability of the text, it may not produce excellent results every time, but it is a useful option for working with scanned documents.

3. Easier search for your files

Google is very good at searching, and so you can expect Google Drive to have quite a few advanced search features - click the drop-down arrow next to the search field to see some of them. Use "owner: [email protected]" to find documents that someone has shared, or "before:yyyy-mm-dd" or "after:yyyy-mm-dd" to limit the search to a date. You can add "title:searchterms" to search document titles rather than the full text.

4. Scan images into photographs

If you have the Google Drive app for Android installed, you can use your phone as a portable scanner (this feature, unfortunately, is not yet available on iOS). In the app in the front window, click the big plus icon, then select from the drop-down menu Scan(Scan). Images can be rotated and cropped manually (though automatic detection works great too), multi-page documents can be created, and your scans will be continuously uploaded to Google Drive as PDFs.

5. Ability to return to your files over time

Google Drive saves old versions of your files in case you want to return to them (very useful when you work on documents with other people). For the original Google Drive file, open it and select File, then See revision history(See archive of changes). For any other file type, right-click on it in the list of documents and select Manage versions(Version control). A drop-down menu on the side of each version allows you to top-download the file, delete it, and store it for the standard 30 days.

6. Voice input documents

Typing has been around for a long time, but it's not the only way to create documents - you can dictate a document, which may be a faster process for you. While in a document, select Tools(Tools), then Voice typing(Voice input) and click the microphone - you're good to go: right-click underlined words to see an alternative if you need one. There are also different voice commands, such as “italics”, “go to the end of the line” or “question mark”.

7. Search files using a virtual assistant Google Now

Another tip for searching files on your Google Drive account: use this virtual assistant Google Now. Launch the Google Voice Search app (note that it currently only works on Android). Then say “search Drive for” followed by your query. For now you can only search for special search words, and not something advanced, but it is still a very useful option. To return to the Google Drive home page, click the back arrow (top left).

8. View the largest files on your Google Drive account

Do you want to free up some space on your Google Drive so you don't go over your limit? This is easy to do: from the front window of the web application, click the link on the left and you will be shown how much disk space you have taken up. Then click Drive(or just go to this link). The most large files will be shown at the top. You can click the title Quota used(Used quota) to instead see the smallest files at the top (remember that the original Google Drive files are not included in the amount of memory space allocated for you (quota)).

9. Inserting links to documents

You're probably already familiar with inserting links to external sites from your documents, but you can also link various Google Drive files, which is very useful for searching for articles and the like. Select Insert(Paste), then Link(Link) as usual and enter one or two search terms to find matching documents in your Google Drive account. If you prefer, you can copy the URL from the top of any of your Google Drive files and paste it into the link field.

10. Synchronization with a desktop computer in both directions

Install the Google Drive desktop client for Mac or Windows and you'll also have access to all your files on your local computer(you will be able to view and select folders to be synchronized). Not only does this make it extremely easy to upload folders and files (simply copy them to your Google Drive folder), but it also gives you offline access to any of your files you might need on the go. In this case, changes will be automatically transferred to the cloud when you log on to the network.

Hello dear visitors! If you have come to this page, then most likely you are interested in the question of storing files in the cloud. I’ll write now and, as is already customary on this site, I’ll show you in pictures, how to install and configure Google Drive. But I think it wouldn’t hurt to write a few words about what cloud storage is, why they are needed, and tell a little about Google Drive, also known as Google Drive.

In simple words, cloud storage is a service that provides you with a specific place on the Internet to store your files. One of such services is. He appeared on the market almost simultaneously and began providing his services. There are many more similar services, among which Dropbox is worth highlighting; perhaps there will be a separate article about it.

Why am I writing today about Google Drive? As you probably already guessed, I myself am using it now, and just yesterday I reinstalled the systems and I need to install this program on my computer again, I’ll just take screenshots :).

The convenience of such services, in particular Google Drive, is that you get a “flash drive” on the Internet on which you can store information, and most importantly, have access to it from anywhere where there is Internet and the ability to access service website. All you need is to know your username and password to access. Of course, Google has created applications for computers, tablets and smartphones on different platforms. All this is for the convenience of using the Google Drive service.

Immediately after registration, you will be given 5 GB of file storage for free. For 2.5 dollars you can increase it to 25 GB, and this is not a limit.

I think this useless theory is enough :), let's get down to business.

To use Google Drive, you need to create a Google account.

Of course, you need to register with Google in order to receive a username and password. You can read about how to create an account on Google in the article. Or if you already use at least one of Google's services, for example Gmail, then you can use the login and password that you already have to log into Google Drive.

To register with Google Drive, or to learn more about its capabilities, go to https:// drive.google.com/start. Click the button on the right “Go to Google Drive”.

After registration, log into the site using your details.

How to install Google Drive on your computer?

Now we have come to the most important part of this article; now we will install a program that will allow you to conveniently work with Google Drive.

Select the version for computers and click “Download”.

A window will appear in which you simply click “Accept the terms and install”.

A message will immediately appear that Google Drive is loading. Then the installation will begin.

When installation is complete, click “Close”.

That's it, the installation is complete. The program will launch itself, click the “Login” button. Enter your address Email and password, and click “Login” again.

A window will appear in which we click “Forward”.

In the next window, the program will inform you that all files that are already on Google Drive will be synchronized with a specially created folder on your computer. For additional settings click "Advanced settings", but you won’t see anything interesting there, you can change the location of this very folder, and indicate whether Google Drive can be launched when you turn on the computer, and that’s essentially all. Click the button "Synchronize".

That's all.

How to use Google Drive on a computer?

A Google Drive folder will appear on your desktop, and it will also appear in Explorer. Once you move your files to this folder, they will automatically be uploaded to the cloud and you can access them from any device. Or, when adding files from another device, say a tablet, they will automatically appear in this folder.

For example, when I need to transfer photos from my phone to my computer, I simply upload them to Google Drive, then on my computer I go to the Google Drive folder and copy them from there. It's even faster than connecting your phone via cable.

Also, a program icon will appear on the taskbar (in the tray), by right-clicking on it, you can see how much you still have left free memory to Google Drive, you can also go to the program settings.

That's all, we have installed and configured a program that allows you to comfortably work with Google cloud storage. Such programs are also available for mobile platforms, in application stores such as Google Play, App Store etc. You can install them without any problems. Well, that seems to be it. Good luck!