Google Drive at UD

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Google is now enforcing a storage limit by mid-2024 which will require the UD community to participate in a storage reduction effort. Please take steps to eliminate large files from your UD Google Workspace account.

Introduction

Google Drive is part of Google Workspace at UD and allows you to create, store, and edit documents in Google's cloud service.

  • You can store just about any type of computer file in your Google Drive folder, but it is best to avoid very large files such as research data, videos, etc.
  • Google Drive has a storage limit. Only important University data (class assignments, office files, etc.) should be stored on Google Drive.

Google Drive includes My Drive and Shared Drives

My Drive

My Drive serves as a personal digital storage space so that individual users can save their documents and files. Within My Drive, users maintain control and ownership of their stored content. Data saved in My Drive is counted against your individual Google storage limit, which means that files and documents stored here will use a portion of the storage capacity allocated to your individual University of Delaware Google Workspace account.

  • My Drive is the best place to store information that does not need to be shared. Information in your My Drive counts towards your individual storage limit.

Shared Drives

Shared Drives is a collaborative digital workspace designed for teams or groups. It serves as a centralized location where multiple users can store, access, and collaborate on files and documents. Shared content that resides here ensures continued access and control, even if an individual leaves the university, thereby preventing data loss and circumventing the need for complex access recovery procedures. Information stored in shared drives does not impact individual storage limits, but it does count against the UD's shared storage limit.

  • Shared drives are the best place to store information that needs to be shared with a team or workgroup. Documents stored in a shared drive do not count against your personal storage limit, but they do count against UD's pooled storage limit.

Key Distinctions between My Drive and Shared Drives:

  • My Drive has fixed storage limits, whereas Shared Drive at UD offers expandable, purchasable storage options suitable for larger group needs.
  • Shared Drive offers file preservation and team access, even after individuals leave UD, compared to My Drive where user departure can disrupt file availability.
  • My Drive and Shared Drive offer different storage limit options. My Drive is suited for storing information that does not need to be shared, and shared drives are suitable for team storage.

You can use Google Drive in a web browser, or you can download the Google Drive for desktop to sync files between your computer and drive.google.com. Google Drive for desktop provides an easy way to share files and collaborate on editing files.

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Using Google Drive in a web browser

  1. Log in to Google Apps at UD. Select Drive from the waffle menu (dotted square) next to your name at the top of the window.
  2. A list of folders and documents in My Drive appears.
    Download Google Drive.
     
    Note:
  • Click the triangle next to My Drive to see a list of your folders.

Google Drive windows with subcomponents of Google Drive

  • Click Shared drives to see the list of shared Google Drives that you have access to. Note that information in Google shared drives does not count against your personal storage quota.
  • Click Shared with me to see a list of the folders and files others have shared with you. Items that have been shared with you do not count against your individual storage limit. You can choose to see those items listed on your My Drive display by dragging them to My Drive.
  • Use Workspaces to organize documents into groups that you can easily find and access.
  • Click Recent to see a list of documents that you have recently opened.
  • Use the Google Search in Drive field to search by name for a file or folder. The search results will include items visible from both the My Drive and Shared with me listings.
  • The current Google Storage usage bar shows how much of your allotted Google Drive space you are currently using.
  • Click Storage to show a listing, by size, of your files in Google Drive. You can delete, move, and share files from the Storage window.

Learn more at the Googles Drive support site.

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Downloading and installing the Google Drive client

Windows

The Google Drive desktop client gives you the ability to put files into a folder that is automatically synced with the Google "Cloud" (drive.google.com).

  1. To download the client, to the left of your name, click the settings icon (wheel) on the main Google Drive window.
  2. Choose Get Drive for Desktop. 
    menu options from the settings wheel, including "Get Drive for desktop"
  3. Click the Download Drive for desktop button.
  4. Locate the downloaded file and open it to start the installation process.
  5. In the next pop-up window, review the Google Terms of Service, check the boxes according to your preferences, and click Install.
    Install screen with checkboxes to add app, Google docs, sheets, and slides shortcuts to desktop
  6. After Google Drive has installed, click Close.
  7. Click Sign in with browser, and when you see the "Make sure that you downloaded this app from Google", click Sign in again.
    Approval to sign in to Google Drive
  8. Sign in with your UD login credentials. 
  9. Close the browser window.

Mac OS

  1. To download the client, to the left of your name, click the settings icon (wheel) on the main Google Drive window.
  2. Choose Get Drive for Desktop. 
    menu options from the settings wheel, including "Get Drive for desktop"
  3. Click the Download Drive for desktop button.
  4. Locate the downloaded file and open it to start the installation process.
  5. On the installation welcome screen, click Continue. Then click Install.
  6. Log in using the password or touch ID authentication that you use to log in to your computer.
  7. Click Close.
  8. Click Sign in with browser.
  9. Sign in with your UD login credentials.
  10. On the Make sure that you downloaded this app message from Google, click Sign in.

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Using Google Drive for Desktop

After you download and install the Google Drive client, Google will automatically sync your online files with your computer's Google Drive folder.

  • You should see the Google Drive folder in your computer's list of folders. Double-click it to open it as you would open any folder on your computer.
  • In addition, your Windows computer's system tray or your Apple Macintosh computer's menu bar will contain a Google Drive icon, a miniature version of this image:
    Google Drive icon (expanded)
  • Clicking that icon will display the Google Drive menu, from which you view Google Drive activity and Notifications.  
    Google Drive Activity Window
    Clicking the Settings (wheel) icon will allow you to open Google Drive preferences.
    Google Drive Preferences window

Clicking directly on your account name reveals options to open Google Drive on the web, Google photos, or your local Google storage folder.

Open drive, photos, and local Google Storage folder from taskbar icon.

  • Remember, the Google Drive folder on your computer is a local folder. Moving or copying a file into that folder tells your computer what to upload to Google Drive cloud storage. Once you've moved a file into the local Drive folder, it will also be available from other systems where you have installed Google Drive and also available from Google Drive on the Web.
  • When you make changes to a document stored in Google Drive, the changes will be synced the next time you connect that computer to the Internet.
  • For more information about Google Drive, go to Google.com's Google Drive for Desktop Support Web site.

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