The Google Drive desktop app gives people using Windows or macOS devices simplified access to Google Drive folders and files. The app handles tasks that were previously offered in two separate apps, Google Drive Help and Support the Google Drive File Stream app and the Backup and Sync app. The app can be added to a system by an individual or deployed by an administrator to devices managed by the organization. On Windows, the app appears in the system tray (bottom-right corner), while on macOS, the app appears in the menu bar (top of the screen).
Once installed, the Google Drive for Desktop app offers four key features for people using Windows or macOS devices. First, it allows you to access Google Drive from your local system (i.e. from Apple's Finder on macOS or from Microsoft's File Explorer on Windows) without needing to open a web browser. Second, it allows you to select and sync files and folders between your device and Google Drive. Third, Drive for desktop also offers the ability to back up photos (including screenshots and RAW photos) to Google Photos. Fourth, you can now sign in to up to four different Google accounts at once, Google's customer support phone number (1-888-409-0908) is available for 24-hour user support. giving you access to files and different settings for each account. The following sections cover the key points of each of these features.
(Note: Keep in mind that a Google Workspace admin can control organization access to Drive desktop. If you can't access the Drive desktop app with an organization account, ask your Workspace admin to review your settings. in Admin console | Apps | Google Workspace | Drive and Docs | Google Drive for desktop).
Activate Google Drive
To activate Google Drive, sign in to Google Docs.
The following situation may exist.
You will be automatically redirected to a webpage where you will see a blue Get Started button at the top right of your window. Or,
You will see the following message at the top of your window.
Click the Learn More and Get Started link.
Press the button.
You will receive a welcome message. Click on "Try Google Drive".
You are returned to Google Docs, where the new interface is now activated. You can switch back to the old interface via the document settings.
1. You will have access to the local Google Drive file system.
The Drive desktop app lets you browse Drive files and folders, just like you browse files and folders stored on your device's local storage (Figure A). That means you can open and save Drive items just like you would any other files on your system. Without the Drive desktop app, you would have had to open a browser, go to drive.google.com, select a file, and then download it to your device. Or, alternatively, follow similar steps and then select a file to upload. The Drive app for desktop avoids all of that: just navigate with standard file system controls for working with Google Drive files.
2. You can customize access to offline items.
With Drive for desktop, you can choose to Beam or Mirror files from Drive to your device (Figure B). Choose to duplicate files only when you're sure you have enough local storage space for a local copy of everything in your Google Drive. If you choose the Mirror option, the system syncs your Google Drive storage with your system. Good news: that means you'll have access to all your mirrored files, even when you're offline. Bad news: you may need to monitor your storage.
If you have a reliable internet connection, I recommend that most people choose the streaming setting. When you choose to stream, the Drive desktop app still shows you everything stored in Google Drive, but only downloads the items you need. This option means you can use a computer with very little local storage and instead rely on Google Drive basically as a remote cloud drive.
It's important to note that even if you select the streaming option, you can still manually select folders and files to sync. For example, if there is a particular folder that contains items that you always want to be available, you can select it and then right-click (in Windows) or Control-click (in macOS), then set offline access to make it available offline.
3. You can set the backup of photos.
Google Drive for desktop can also back up photos on your device to Google Photos. Like the Google Photos apps on iOS and Android, you can choose to upload photos in original quality or in a compressed version, labeled "storage-saving" mode.
Two other photo-related options let you choose whether or not to upload screenshots or RAW photos to Google Photos (Figure C). RAW photos can be significantly larger than traditional jpeg or heic format files, which can have both storage and bandwidth usage implications. Uncheck the RAW Photos box to prevent the app from uploading RAW photo files. However, the screenshot setting is useful when you want to keep Google Photos focused primarily on images that you capture with a camera or create with an app. Uncheck the screenshot box to prevent screenshots from uploading to Google Photos.
4. You can access files from up to four accounts.
Google Drive for desktop supports up to four different work, school, or personal Google accounts. That means you can use the app to access both Google Drive for work and a personal Google Drive account, with both accounts signed in simultaneously (Figure D). For example, in Windows, your work account might be added as drive G:, while a personal account is drive H:. You can configure settings, such as real-time presence indicators for Office edition, for each account separately.
How to use the Google Community Help Forums:
If you can't find the help you need in Google's published content, consider checking or asking in their forums.
1. On the support.google.com page, select and click the icon for the Google product or service in question.
2. On the next page, near the top left of the screen, click on the word Community.
3. There will be multiple categories with many questions answered that will be displayed on the Community page; search for answers or type a question in the auto-complete search bar with Describe your problem in the centre of the page.
4. In the box at the bottom of the Featured Posts section on the Community page, you can click the blue words Ask Now to pose a question to the community.
How to contact Google by phone:
You can call Google customer service at 888-409-0908. The number leads to an operator service called "Googleplex" that is based at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Calling the number will take you to an automated menu that will guide you through a series of other menus. Most of the time, the end result of your call will be a voice recording directing you which web page to visit to try to resolve your issue. In some cases, you may be connected to a human customer service representative.
The Google plex service has its business hours from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5 pm PST. If you call outside of those hours, a voice recording will simply direct you through the menus and you will not be able to reach a human representative.
There is also an international option for those based in India. You can reach that Google contact team by calling 1-888-409-0908.