How to Use Google Drive

This article was reviewed by Luigi Oppido and by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work.

This article has been viewed 956,358 times.

This wikiHow teaches you how to use Google Drive to store and share documents. You can use Google Drive both on desktop and on mobile platforms, but you must have a Google account in order to use Drive.

Getting Started with Google Drive

To get started with Drive, go to the Google Drive website and sign in with your Google account. If you don't have a Google account, you can sign up for one from Drive's website. If you want to upload files from your computer or make a brand new document in your Drive, click the New button in the upper left corner.

Part 1 of 7:

Signing into Drive

Step 1 Open Google Drive.

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Step 2 Click Go to Drive.

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Step 3 Enter your account details.

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Step 4 Review your Google Drive home page.

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Uploading Files on Desktop

Step 1 Click NEW.

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\n"> Click NEW . It's a blue button in the upper-left corner of the page. A drop-down menu will appear.

Step 2 Click File upload.

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Click File upload . This option is in the NEW drop-down menu. Doing so opens a File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) window.

Step 3 Select a file.

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Step 4 Click Open.

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Click Open . It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. The files will begin uploading to Google Drive.

Step 5 Wait for the file(s) to finish uploading.

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Uploading Files on Mobile

Step 1 Tap +.

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\n"> Tap . It's in the bottom-right corner of the screen. A pop-up menu will appear.

Step 2 Tap Upload.

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\n"> Tap Upload . You'll see this in the pop-up menu.

Step 3 Tap Photos and Videos.

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Step 4 Select a location.

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\n"> Select a location. Tap the album or folder in which the file that you want to upload is located.

Step 5 Select a file.

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Select a file. Tap a photo, video, or document to select it. If you want to select more than one file, tap each file that you want to select.

Step 6 Tap UPLOAD.

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Tap UPLOAD . It's in the top-right corner of the screen. This will prompt your selected file(s) to begin uploading to Google Drive.

Step 7 Wait for the file(s) to finish uploading.

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Creating Files on Desktop

Step 1 Click NEW.

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Click NEW . It's the blue button in the upper-left corner of the Drive window. A drop-down menu will appear.

Step 2 Select a document type.

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Step 3 Name your document.

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Step 4 Create your document.

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Create your document. Enter your document's text, images, and so on, then make sure that the phrase "All changes saved in Drive" is displayed at the top of the page.

Step 5 Close the document

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\n"> Close the document's tab and return to Drive. Your document will be saved on the Drive home page. Advertisement Part 5 of 7:

Creating Files on Mobile

Step 1 Tap +.

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Step 2 Select a document type.

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Step 3 Enter a name.

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\n"> Enter a name. Type in a name for your document when prompted.

Step 4 Tap CREATE.

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Tap CREATE . It's in the bottom-right corner of the pop-up menu. Doing so applies the name to your document and opens the document.

Step 5 Create your document.

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\n"> Create your document. Enter the document's data, text, and so on.

Step 6 Tap icon.

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. It's in the top-left corner of the screen. This will save the document in Google Drive. Advertisement Part 6 of 7:

Sharing Files on Desktop

Step 1 Select a file.

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Step 2 Click the

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Click the "Share" icon. It's an image of a person with a "+" next to it; you'll find this icon in the upper-right side of the Drive page. Clicking it prompts a new window to open.

Step 3 Click the

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. This pencil-shaped icon is on the far-right side of the pop-up window. A drop-down menu will appear.

Step 4 Select <a href=a share option." width="460" height="345" />

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Step 5 Enter an email address.

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Step 6 Add a note if you like.

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Add a note if you like. If you want to include a set of instructions or a brief statement about the item which you're sharing, enter it in the "Add a note" text box.

Step 7 Click Send.

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Click Send . It's a blue button in the bottom-left side of the window. This will share the file with your selected recipient(s) via email.

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Sharing Files on Mobile

Step 1 Find a document that you want to share.

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Find a document that you want to share. Scroll through your Google Drive until you find a document that you want to share with someone.

Step 2 Tap ⋯.

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Step 3 Tap Add people.

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Step 4 Enter an email address.

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Enter an email address. Tap the "People" field near the top of the page, then enter an email address.

Step 5 Tap

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. This pencil-shaped icon is on the far-right side of the email field. A drop-down menu will appear.

Step 6 Select a sharing option.

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Step 7 Enter a message.

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Enter a message. If you want to include a message with your shared document, tap the "Message" text field and then enter the message that you want to include.

Step 8 Tap

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Android 7 Send

. It's in the top-right corner of the screen. Your document will be shared via email. Advertisement

Community Q&A

How does security work? Top Answerer

Your account and all content on Google's servers are protected by a 128-bit TLS (SSL) certificate given by GeoTrust Global CA. Authenticity is also verified by GeoTrust Global CA.

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Will my uploaded photos be visible to everyone? Community Answer

Only if you make your password publicly known. (Note: If the FBI or NSA wants to look at them, they can. End of story).

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How do I attach a photo from Google Drive to Gmail text? Community Answer

If you choose to insert an image from within Gmail, you should have the option to insert a photo from Google Drive. You can only use the image if it's already been uploaded to Google Drive, however.

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When using Google Drive on mobile, avoid uploading or downloading files over a data connection. Use Wi-Fi whenever possible.

You can use a folder on your computer to store files that will upload automatically to Google Drive when an Internet connection is present.

Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Please provide your name and last initial Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Advertisement Closing the Google Drive page or app before files finish uploading will cancel the pending uploads. Advertisement

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