Drive for Desktop Tutorial
Now that you have installed the Drive for Desktop program, here is how to use it:
Embedded Files
Locating Drive for Desktop on the Computer:
Click the Google Drive icon in the lower right corner of the screen. It is located to the left of the clock. If you do not see the Google Drive icon, click the small white arrow and then click the Drive icon.
The Drive for Desktop Dashboard:
Setting Your Syncing Preferences on Drive for Desktop:
Preferences allow you to determine which files on your computer you would like to sync with Google Drive. To set preferences, click the Gear Icon.
Select Preferences from the drop down menu.
There are two parts to the Drive for Desktop. 1) My Laptop: Here, you can sync the files from your computer to Google Drive and 2) Google Drive: A folder is placed on your computer to view the files from Google Drive offline (no internet connection required). This folder is located on the G Drive of your computer and is called Google Drive.
Part 1) My Laptop: Syncing Your Computer Files to Google Drive
Click the My Laptop option. Then click Add Folder.
Select the folder you want to sync to your Google Drive by simply clicking on it to highlight it.
Then click Select Folder.
Check the box next to Sync with Google Drive and click Done.
Note: If you only want to sync your photos and videos, click the second box Back Up to Google Photos.
Click Add Folder to add any other folders from your computer that you want to sync with Google Drive.
Once you have selected all folders to be synced with Google Drive, click Save.
Part 2) Google Drive: View Your Drive Files Offline on Your Computer
The Google Drive tab allows you to set up your Google Drive files on your computer.
Click the Google Drive option to open up the setup preferences.
There are two ways you can set up the Google Drive folder of files on your computer:
1) Stream Files: This option stores a virtual copy of the files on your computer. The actual files are not physically on your computer. They are stored in the Google cloud. The "files" that you see in the Google Drive folder on your computer are actually links to the files in the Google cloud. See the next two screenshots for examples.
Here is the Google Drive folder (Located in the G Drive) that is placed on your computer.
The Documents folder still contains the physical copies of your files.
When you open the Google Drive (G Drive) folder, you can see the "virtual" copies of the files from your Google Drive. You can view these files offline. That means you do not have to be connected to the internet to access them.
2) Mirror Files: This option places a duplicate physical copy of your files in the Google Drive folder located in the G Drive on your computer.
Not only are these files physically stored in your Documents folder on your computer, but a second physical copy of the same files are stored in the Google Drive folder.
So which option do I choose: Stream Files or Mirror Files?
1) Stream Files:
The Good:
Streaming uses less hard drive space on your computer. Since the synced files are not actually on your computer, you only have to utilize extra hard drive space long enough to open the files. This is less stress on your computer.
The Bad:
a) The files in your Google Drive (G Drive) folder on your computer are only virtual copies of the files from Google Drive. You cannot access the files in the G Drive on your computer offline. You must have an internet connection to open the files.
b) Even if you have an internet connection, if something happens to the Google Cloud server, these files will not be available.
c) IMPORTANT: If you delete a synced file or folder from your computer, the copy of this same file in Google Drive is also deleted and moved to the Trash folder. Likewise, if you delete a file or folder in Google Drive that is synced to your computer, the physical copy of the file or folder on your computer will also be deleted and go into the Recycling Bin on your computer. You must retrieve a file/folder from the Trash folder within 30 days or it will be deleted permanently.
If you accidentally delete a file or folder from Drive, you can go to the Trash folder in Drive, right click on the deleted file, and click Restore. This will bring the file back to Google Drive. On your computer, you can retrieve a deleted file by going to the Recycling Bin folder on the Desktop screen, right click on the deleted file and click Restore.
2) Mirror Files:
The Good:
The files in your Google Drive (G Drive) folder on your computer are actual physical copies of these files synced to Google Drive. You are not relying on the cloud (distant server) to hold these copies of your files.
The Bad:
The additional physical copies of these files in your Google Drive folder uses more of your computer’s hard drive space. If the Google Drive folder ends up with a very large number of files, this will greatly slow down your computer’s performance and quickly use up all of your computer’s hard drive space. Once you run out of hard drive space, your computer will no longer be able to function normally until you delete the excess files.
The decision is yours!
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