Google Tip 18

Uploading Files to Drive (Part 1), To Convert or Not to Convert!

If you have existing files (e.g. Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, PDF files, photos, videos, etc.) that you want to be able to access from anywhere, you can upload them to your Google Drive. You can think of your Google Drive as an online thumb drive that's available from any internet connected device!

When you upload files to your Google Drive, you have two basic choices:

Choice #1 - Upload the files in their original format

Pros

The files retain all the original formatting
When downloaded, the files can be opened and edited using the application used to create them (e.g. Microsoft Word)

Cons

The files cannot be edited directly within Google Drive
When you share the files, you can only give collaborators "Can view" permissions. The "Can edit" and "Can comment" permissions will not function
Many of the other features of Google Drive (chat, research tools, history, etc.) are not available for files that have not been converted into one of the Google formats
The size of the uploaded files count against your combined Mail and Drive storage quota

Choice #2 - Upload and convert the files to the Google formats

Pros

The converted files can be edited directly within Google Drive
You can give collaborators the permission to Edit and Comment on documents
All of the features of Google Drive (chat, research tools, history, etc.) are available for files converted into one of the Google formats
Files uploaded and converted to one of the Google formats do not count against your combined Mail and Drive storage quota

Cons

The files MAY not retain all the original formatting through the conversion. This is especially true for more complicated documents with complex tables and columns
When downloaded, the files may not be able to be opened and edited using the application used to create them (e.g. Microsoft Word)

You can setup Google Drive to ask you each time whether or not to convert uploaded files to Google formats. Here's how:

Click the "Settings" gear button

Select "Upload settings"

Click to select "Confirm settings before each upload"

You can verify that you selected the setting correctly. If you click the Settings gear and click Upload settings, "Confirm settings before each upload" will be checked

Now, each time that you upload a file to your Google Drive, you will be prompted as to whether or not to convert the file to a Google format.

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