Simpletivity - How to use Google Drive - Tutorial for Beginners (2025)
The tutorial begins by familiarizing users with Google Drive's navigation, emphasizing the left-hand side menu where users can access their home screen, My Drive, shared files, recent files, starred files, spam, trash, and storage space. It highlights the importance of the 'New' button for uploading or creating files and folders, and demonstrates how to drag and drop files into Google Drive. The video also covers organizing files by creating folders, changing folder colors, and using the search bar for efficient file retrieval. Sharing files is explained in detail, including setting permission levels and notifying recipients. Bonus tips include managing version history and enabling offline access to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, which are particularly useful for users working without internet access.
Key Points:
- Use the 'New' button to upload or create files and folders easily.
- Organize files by creating folders, changing folder colors, and using the search bar.
- Share files by setting appropriate permission levels and notifying recipients.
- Manage version history to keep track of file changes without cluttering storage.
- Enable offline access to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides for uninterrupted work.
Details:
1. 📂 Introduction to Google Drive
- Google Drive's left-hand side menu includes essential features for organizing and accessing files, with a focus on ease of navigation and file management.
- The home screen provides a search bar and a combination of suggested folders and files based on recent behavior, though it may not always reflect the most recently edited items.
- The 'My Drive' section is the main area for file management, supporting folder organization with breadcrumb navigation for easy file access.
- Google Drive allows viewing of files and folders in an expandable format similar to Windows File Explorer, enhancing file navigation capabilities.
- The 'Shared with Me' section lists files shared by others, displaying collaborators' email addresses for quick access to shared content.
- The 'Recent' section sorts files by recent activity, facilitating quick access to recently used documents.
- 'Starred' items enable prioritization of frequently used files, though the user currently has none starred.
- The 'Spam' folder automatically filters potentially unwanted shared files, emptying after 30 days to maintain security.
- The 'Trash' folder holds deleted files for 30 days before permanent deletion, offering a safeguard against accidental file loss.
- The 'Storage' section provides insights into file sizes, sorting from largest to smallest to help manage storage limits.
2. 🆕 Uploading and Creating Files
- The 'New' button on the top left of Google Drive allows users to upload files or folders and create new folders seamlessly, enhancing organizational efficiency.
- Files or folders can be quickly added by dragging them directly into the Google Drive interface, which automatically uploads them without additional steps.
- To maintain organization, files uploaded on the home screen are not automatically sorted into folders; users should manually sort them by dragging them into specific folders.
- For direct organization, users can add files directly to a specific folder by entering the folder first before uploading or dragging files, streamlining the process.
- The 'New' button also facilitates the creation of new Google Docs, Sheets, and other Google file formats, expanding the scope of document management and productivity.
3. 📁 Organizing Files and Folders
3.1. Creating and Moving Folders
3.2. Customizing and Prioritizing Folders
3.3. Advanced Search and Filtering
4. 🔗 Sharing Files and Permissions
- To share a file in Google Drive, right-click on the file or folder and select the 'Share' option. This approach prevents the file from becoming public, unlike using 'Copy Link'.
- You can share files with people, groups, or calendar events, with default permission set to 'Editor'. This allows recipients to edit and further share the document.
- Permissions can be adjusted: switch from 'Editor' to 'Viewer' to restrict access to viewing only or to 'Commenter' to permit comments without editing.
- It's advisable to keep 'Notify people' checked to ensure recipients receive an email notification of the shared file.
- You can review and adjust sharing permissions anytime by revisiting the 'Share' option, allowing you to see who has access and modify or revoke permissions.
- Advanced settings include sharing files with non-Google users by generating a shareable link with specific access levels and setting expiration dates for access.
- Examples of using different permission levels include setting 'Viewer' for files intended for a broad audience and 'Commenter' for collaborative feedback sessions.