Google Drive for desktop makes it easy to get to and use your cloud storage files quickly. How to Use Google Drive?
What is Google Drive for desktop?
Google Drive is a great tool for work and one of the most popular cloud storage services. To store and share files, people who have a Google account can use it. This means they can use it on many different devices and platforms.
If you have a desktop computer, we’ll show you how to use this very useful tool. You can use it on a Mac or a Windows computer.
How to Download and Install Google Drive on Your Desktop
Here are the steps to download and install Google Drive on your desktop:
1. Visit to the Google Drive download page and click on Download Drive for Desktop. The website is smart, and it will know right away if your computer runs Windows or Mac OS. Then, it will download the right file type for your computer.
2. In the next window, choose where you want to save the installation file and then click Save. In Windows, the file should be called GoogleDriveSetup.exe or GoogleDrive.dmg for Mac OS. To have the file start automatically after it has been downloaded, you can also choose to do this.
3. When the program is done downloading, click on it to start installing and follow the instructions on the screen to get it set up.
4. When the installation is done, click Close.
5. Google Drive should now show up on your desktop, and you should see it. Make sure you find a window called Sign in to Google Drive. Click on Sign in with browser.
6. Type in your Gmail address, then click Next, and then type in your Gmail password. Then click Next again to finish. In the new page that shows that you’ve downloaded the app from Google, click Sign In to sign in.
In your preferences, you can choose which folders you want to sync with Google Drive, and you can add them. The easiest way to do this on Windows is to right-click the Google Drive icon in your system tray, click on the gear icon, select Preferences, and click Add folder.
Note: All folders on the Mac can be accessed in a similar manner to Windows folders. The Google Drive icon is now located in the Menu Bar at the very top of your screen, rather than in the system tray as before.
7. Once installed, you’ll be presented with shortcuts to Drive applications such as Drive apps like Drive (Google Drive) and Drive apps like Drive (Google Sheets).
How to Use Google Drive for Desktop
All your Google Drive files and folders can be synchronized to the desktop using Google Drive for Desktop. You can also upload files from your desktop to Drive. Using Drive for Desktop, you don’t have to wait around for files to sync because it’s a sync service that does it automatically in the background.
After opening your Drive, select the Settings (gear symbol) and select Preferences. Click Add folder on the left sidebar of your Mac’s screen after selecting your PC from the list. Here, you can select the folder you want to sync to Google Drive from your system’s files directory.
If you wish to sync all of the files in the folder to Google Drive, choose Sync with Google Drive. Select the Back Up to Google Photos option if you just want to sync photos and videos.
On Windows, select Sync or Backup This Folder from the context menu when you right-click on the folder you wish to sync to Google Drive from your desktop. To sync a folder to Google Drive, go to the same screen as the one shown above and pick the folder you want to sync.
It’s important to remember that Google Drive is not a backup service. In other words, any changes you make to a document on one device will be reproduced on all the other devices you’re signed in to. If you make changes to a file on your desktop computer, the alterations will be reflected on your smartphone, for instance.
How to pause or check sync status
You may choose to stop syncing to Google Drive to conserve space or data. To accomplish this, follow these instructions:
1. Open Drive for desktop.
2. Click the Settings gear icon and then select Pause Syncing.
You may check the status of your sync in two ways: online or on your computer.
When you see the message “Upload complete” on the web, the synchronization process is complete.
Your PC has files tagged Sync and Done that haven’t been uploaded yet, but they can be accessed on any device registered into your Drive account after they’ve been successfully uploaded.
