New to the cloud? Watch this playlist- Tarver Academy 

• What is Google Drive?

  • Cloud storage for all your files

  • Ease of accessibility - get your files from any Internet-connected device

  • Logging in: go to https://drive.google.com. Log in with your full FFSD email address (for students, this address ends in @students.fergflor.org) and your network password.

• Storage Space

  • Google Workspace for Education (school) accounts are unlimited

  • Personal accounts are limited to 15G (before fee)

Creating a Google Doc

• Click New > Google Doc (Google Sheets or Google Slides)

• Blank doc comes up in a new window

• Each doc has its own web address instead of a file extension

• Upload a single file from your Drive by clicking New > File upload

• Upload a folder from your H: or S: drive by clicking New > Folder upload

• Move folders/files by clicking and dragging

• Create a folder by clicking New > Folder

• Change the color of a Google Drive folder by right-clicking > Change color

• Email/sharing

  1. You can share a Doc rather than attaching a document to an email

  2. Instead, you attach an email address to the Doc!

• When you delete items in Google Drive, you are moving it to the Trash. It doesn't actually delete until you empty the Trash folder. 

Turning this on will automatically convert an uploaded Word/Excel/PowerPoint file to a Google Doc/Sheet/Slide format.

• Click the gear at the top right of the Google Drive homepage, then click Settings. 

• Check the box next to "Convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format" then click Done.

• You only have to do this one time, ever.  You can undo this process by going back to the settings and unchecking the box.

• Upload a single file from your Drive by clicking New > File upload

Sharing files and/or folders allows you to collaborate with others on a document in real-time. You can also set the sharing settings to just enable others to view/comment but not edit. 

• If you're in an open Google Doc, click the Share button on the top right.

• If you're in your Google Drive, right-click the doc/folder that you'd like to share. Then choose Share.  

Sharing Settings

Google support page: Google Drive Sharing Settings

• Upload a single file from your Drive by clicking New > File upload

Sharing files and/or folders allows you to collaborate with others on a document in real-time. You can also set the sharing settings to just enable others to view/comment but not edit. 

• If you're in an open Google Doc, click the Share button on the top right.

• If you're in your Google Drive, right-click the doc/folder that you'd like to share. Then choose Share.  

Sharing Settings

Google support page: Google Drive Sharing Settings

Use bookmarks to link within a document to a specific section or page. Great for multipage docs, handbooks, or detailed files.

Create a bookmark: 

1. In the Google Doc, click where you want the bookmark.

2. Click Insert > Bookmark.

Link to a bookmark: 

1. In the Google Doc, select the text you want to link from.

2. Click Insert > Link.

3. In the window that opens, click Bookmarks. A list will show the bookmarks in your document.

4. Click the bookmark you want to link to Apply.

To remove the link or bookmark, click it, then click Remove.

Uploading a Word/Excel/PowerPoint File

Click on +New, then File upload. Then you will locate the Word/Excel/PowerPoint file to upload. 

If you want to keep it as a .docx (.xlsx or .pptx file), it will not be editable unless you convert it. So you'd essentially be storing the document in Drive. You can always convert it to a Google Doc/Sheet/Slide (which makes it editable) by opening the file from Drive and clicking Open With, Google Docs. 

After converting the Word/Excel/PowerPoint file to a Google Doc, a duplicate is made: 

Upload Settings

To change your settings to automatically convert Microsoft files (Word/Excel/PowerPoint) to Google Docs (Doc/Sheet/Slide), see the section on this site titled "Settings: Convert to Google Docs Format".

Support

Google Workspace Training Videos

Check the Sharing Settings

1. Make sure the sharing settings are appropriate for your purpose. For example, if sharing with people outside of the PISD organization (parents with a Gmail address), change the sharing settings to "Anyone with the link" and make them Viewers. 

Publish to the Web

1. Click on File

2. Publish to the web

3. Follow the prompts to finish publishing. 

4. Copy and paste the publish link where your users can access it. For example, in an email/your website/teacher page.

Teacher Username: first name.last name@mrhschools.net

Student Username: first name.last name@students.mrhschools.net

(Example: blue.devil@students.mrhschools.net)