Creating Folders in Google Drive
Top Tip: To create a sub folder, double click on the folder you want it to live in, then click the NEW button to create a folder inside the folder you just opened.
Moving Files to a Folder
- Drag and Drop from inside Drive
- Clicking the Folder icon at the top of any open Google Apps file
- Right-click any file and select Move to…
- Select a file by clicking on it, click the three dots in the top right-hand corner, then Move to…
Top Tip: If you can get into the habit of creating files in a folder, or choosing a folder for them when you have the file open, you will have much less orphan files floating around your Drive. (Thanks to Ann Woolridge at @CPUSchools for this top tip!)
Changing Folder Colors in Google Drive
Top Tip: Many teachers do this to differentiate between the different classes they have, or for team documents, school policies and so forth. This lets you quickly see things at a glance and navigate to the color of the folder you have chosen.
Accessing Recent or Frequently Used Files
Another option is to add a Star to a file or a folder. Stars are like bookmarks for your files. You can right-click on any file or folder, (Ctrl+Click on a Mac), and choose to Add Star. This adds it to your starred files, which can be found on the left-hand sidebar underneath your Recent files.
Top Tip: Try to revisit your starred files on a regular basis and remove stars from files or folders that no longer need to be starred. This will help you find what you really need.
Searching for Files and Folders
Top Tip: Click the down arrow in the search box to narrow down the file type and document ownership. Watch the video below for a demonstration of how that works.
Sharing Files and Folders with Others
Top Tip: Google uses a hierarchical sharing structure. This means that if you share a folder with someone, all the files and sub-folders inside are also shared with that person. Any new files that you add to that folder are also automatically shared with that person whether you adjusted the sharing permissions on your file or not.
Organizing Shared Files and Folders
Top Tip: You can't delete files that were created by other people. You can remove them from your Drive if you no longer need them, but they won't disappear from the Drive of the person that created them. Only file owners can delete files permanently.
Using the Google Drive Desktop App
Top Tip: You can also save things directly to Google Drive from desktop applications. So, if you are using Microsoft Word and want to save the file directly to your Google Drive, simply go to File > Save As and select the Google Drive desktop app as your save destination. Once the file is saved in the folder of your choice, it will be automatically synced to your Google Drive.
Any Questions?
~Jonathan Wylie, Technology Consultant at Grant Wood AEA (@jonathanwylie)
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