Google Drive for Desktop

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Download Google Drive for Desktop

Follow these instructions to download Google Drive for Desktop:

Install Drive for Desktop

Browse and Open Your Files Using Finder and Explorer

IMPORTANT: You’ll need to set up and manage permissions for Google Drive folders - including Shared Drives - from your web browser, the way you typically do. You won’t be able to manage Drive folder permissions or share files from the Google Drive for desktop app. See Google Drive for more details. Once your drives and folders are set up and shared and Drive for Desktop is installed, you can begin working with your files.

Google Drive appears and functions just like other local computer drives you are familiar with:

Similar to local files listed in Explore or Finder, files that display under Google My Drive and Shared drives areas are available for browsing and opening.  Any new files or folders you create in Drive (via the web browser) or Drive for desktop sync and appear on all your devices. (For more about how to use Google My Drive and Shared drives, see Google Drive.)

It is not possible to see any files outside of your My Drive and Shared Drive areas that have been shared with you by others - those are only available when accessing Google Drive through your web browser, typically listed under “Shared with me”.

Open existing files from either the application or by navigating to the Google Drive (also G drive on Windows) on your computer. Files selected and opened will open in their native format (as configured on your system).

For example in this folder shown below, in My Drive, we see a Google sheet, an Excel spreadsheet, and two PDFs. The tiny cloud icon indicates that they are all stored in Google Drive. Selecting the Excel sheet will open that file in Excel, while selecting the Google sheet will open the file in a web browser. PDFs will open in Adobe.

Save and Edit Files

When saving a newly created Word, Excel, or other documents to Google Drive, save the file as you normally would from the application, navigating to the Google Drive area and desired subfolder. When you finish saving the file, it will now be in the selected Google Drive folder, accessible from both your desktop and Google drive on the web. Using this method, there is no need to upload the file to the Google Drive folder; it is already there.

You can also create a new Drive folder when saving. You will need to have the appropriate permissions for the Drive folders for saving new files and creating new folders. If you are not seeing My Drive and Shared Drives, check to see if you have hidden (or collapsed) your folders.

Google Drive for Desktop Application and Settings

You may need to open the Google Drive application from time to time to change a setting or update the app. To open the app, follow the operating system specific instructions:

Considerations When Multiple People Edit Files

When collaborating on Office files with others in a shared drive, it’s best to avoid editing the document at the same time. If multiple people make overlapping changes, new versions of the document may be created. To avoid this, refer to the status indicated on the document: safe to edit or wait to edit. 

Additionally, there may be delays when syncing updates in Office documents to Google Drive in the cloud, which can be confusing when multiple people are making changes. In some cases, an individual's changes may be overwritten.

If real-time collaboration and changes are necessary, using Google apps (Docs, Sheets, etc.) for those documents will provide more flexibility and better support.

More: Work In Office files with others in real time

I uploaded a document to our team’s Shared drive via Google Drive/using my web browser, but when I look at the Shared Drive via Google Drive for desktop. I don’t see it. What should I do?

There can sometimes be a delay in the syncing from your computer to the Google cloud and vice versa. Check back in a bit, or try refreshing.

People on my team have told me I should store things on either my H drive or an S drive. What are those and should I do that? 

H and S drives are locally hosted storage drives that are accessed via your Smith computer. Files stored on an H drive are only accessible by that individual; files stored on S drives are accessible by team members. If you are working remotely, you’ll need to connect to those drives via the college’s VPN. As we are encouraging employees to use Google Drive to store their day-to-day work, ITS no longer automatically gives new employees access to the H drive. If you have questions or a specific need you would like to discuss, please email ithelp@smith.edu.

Can I use Google Drive for desktop if I’m using Google applications, like Sheets and Forms, or is it only for use with non-Google software?

You can do this, but its real benefit is for use with non-Google applications. Opening a Google file (Sheets, Doc) from Google Drive for desktop does not automatically convert it to another file format (Microsoft or Adobe). It will open in its native application format in your web browser.

I see there’s an option for working with my files offline. Should I do that?

We recommend not using that feature. It’s especially important not to do this for documents with sensitive information that should not be stored on your computer.

Q. If my team is using Google Drive for desktop, can we access the same Microsoft Office file using the same Microsoft application at the same time? Can team members edit it at the same time?

Multiple team members can simultaneously open and view a shared file that is visible in their Google Drive for desktop folder. Make sure that Google Drive for desktop setting for Real-Time Presence in Microsoft Office is checked (located under  Preferences > Settings) so that you can see when other people are in the document. If two or more people will be simultaneously editing the document, i.e. real-time collaboration is necessary, we recommend using Google apps.

If my team is using Google Drive for desktop, can we edit the same Adobe file using Adobe Creative Cloud at the same time?

Although it is possible to do this, we do not recommend it as the editing is not truly simultaneous. Adobe opens a copy of the file for each of the users and does not show modifications to all users in real-time until the file is saved.