Google Drive

Access your documents from Google's cloud storage service

Google Drive is a useful option if you want a centralized place to store, access and manage your files from anywhere.

What you can do with Google Drive

Just like services such as Dropbox and OneDrive, Google Drive gives you free space to store your files in the Cloud (15GB at the time of writing). You can pay to get even more online storage through the service.

This official mobile app makes it easy to manage anything you've stored on Google Drive from your device. You can browse all the files and folders you have in your Google Drive through one interface. Files can be sent, moved, downloaded, renamed, or printed through the Google Drive app.

If you have documents stored in Google Docs format, you can open and view them through Google Drive. You can no longer create and edit documents within the app though, so for this you'll need the indivudal Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides applications installed. Likewise, if you want to view documents in Microsoft Office format, you do this through these apps.

Browsing your files

The interface of the Google Drive app is simple enough to navigate. There are options in the pop-out menu to view your entire drive or filter by incoming, starred, recent, or files stored on your device. The upload tool makes it very easy to get files from your device onto Google Drive.

Google Drive is great for browsing images. You can load them up them in thumbnail format then tap to open, before swiping through them at your leisure. Tap the info icon and you'll be able to share, send, star, download or rename the image.

It would be great to have Google Drive automatically back up photos you take on your device to the service, but unfortunately this isn't an option at the moment.

Another area where Google Drive could be improved is when it comes to batch operations. When moving files around or renaming a set of images, for example, you need to perform the operation manually for each file. There's no option to select multiple files, which gets tedious when you want to perform operations with lots of files.

Take it for a drive

Google Drive is one of the best online drives out there, and anyone with a Google account should take advantage of it. You can lament the fact that editing files can't be done within the app itself, but it's still a great service with an easy-to-use app.

6 Key Features for Enhanced Productivity and Security at Google Drive:

Did you know some nifty features can make your life even easier? Check out these six awesome tips to get the most out of your Google Drive experience:

Google Workspace BFFs: Google Drive plays nice with Gmail, Calendar, Meet, and Chat, so you can collaborate like a pro across all these apps.
OCR Magic: Snap a pic of text or scan a document, and Google Drive's Optical Character Recognition will turn it into an editable file. How cool is that?
Time Travel with File Versions: Oops, made a mistake? No worries! Google Drive has your back with its file version history. Just go back in time and restore an earlier version.
Off-the-Grid Access: Internet gone AWOL? Don't stress! You can still work on your files by making them available offline.
Search Like a Boss: Find that elusive file in no time with Google Drive's powerful search. Just use filters like file type, owner, or keywords, and you're good to go!
Security Superpowers: Keep your files safe and sound with encryption and, for an extra layer of protection, turn on two-factor authentication.

So, go ahead and give these tips a try to make your Google Drive even more awesome.

Swipe through your images stored in Drive View, create, reply, and resolve comments in Google Docs files