Google Drive and Docs: Uploading and Syncing Files

Google Drive makes it easy to store your files online, so you can access them any time, from
any computer. If you upload files from compatible programs like Microsoft Word or Excel, you
can even use Google Docs to edit them.
There are two ways to upload files to Drive: from your desktop, and from the web. In this
video, I'm going to show you how to do both.
If you plan to use Google Drive primarily as cloud-based storage system, this method
makes it easy to move files & folders from your computer to your Drive. That's because
Drive basically acts like any other folder on your desktop.
If you've already installed the software for Drive, you have everything you need. Just
look for the shortcut on your desktop; the icon should say Google Drive.
As you can see, I only have a couple things in my folder, but that's about to change.
I have several files that I want to upload, so I'm just going to drag this over here so
you can see how it works.
To move something to Google Drive, your first step is to find the files you want on your
computer. Here your experience will vary if you have a Mac, or an older version of Windows.
I'm using Windows 7. (Again, I'm just going to move this to the side so you can see the
steps in action.)
Now all you have to do is drag & drop your files from one location to the other… and
they'll be uploaded instantly to your Drive. You can even drag & drop an entire folder,
which is a great way to save time.
Now I can access these files online, from any computer. Here they are in the web version
of Drive.
Going back to my desktop, did you notice how the files disappeared from my computer when
I dragged them over to Drive? That's because, when you move a file, you're literally moving
it from your computer, to Google Drive. If you'd like to keep a version of the file in
both locations, you can create a copy to store online. However, keep in mind: creating multiple
versions will prevent you from taking advantage of Drive's powerful syncing features.
What exactly does syncing mean? In short, it means that when you open one of these files
(either online, or on your desktop), you're accessing the same version, every time. Any
changes you make will be saved, so you don't have to keep track of multiple versions.
To open a file, just click the one you want. It'll open in the appropriate program on your
desktop.
If the file was created in Google Docs (or converted to Google Docs format)… it'll
open in Drive on the web. Which brings us to the next part of our demonstration…
You can upload files to Google Drive from any location using the upload tool on the
web. It's a little more complicated than using the folder on your desktop, but it's an easy
way to upload files from different devices. It also gives you a chance convert the file
to a Google Doc.
To upload something to Google Drive on the web, click the upload button in the left pane.
Here, you can upload individual files, or an entire folder if you use Chrome as your
browser. For this demonstration, I'm going to choose Files.
All you have to do is find and select the files you want to upload. To select more than
one, hold CTRL on your keyboard while you click.
When you're ready, click Open… and something interesting happens. You'll see a dialog box
asking you to choose your conversation settings.
Files that you upload to Google Drive fall into two categories:
Files that you can edit online - like documents, spreadsheets, and other text-based files (for
example, PDFs).
And files that you can't edit online - like music, photos, compressed archives, and most
other file-types.
Files that you can edit have to be converted to Google Docs first. That's where these settings
come in.
Check the first box if you want to convert the files to the appropriate Google Docs format.
Keep in mind, though: some of the formatting from the original file may not translate to
the converted version. That's because Google Docs isn't as feature-rich as Microsoft Office.
The only way to find out if it's going to work is to give it a try.
When you're happy with your settings, click Start Upload.
The files will appear in your list. In this example, they've been converted to the Google
Docs version of Word and Excel.
As you can see, Drive is a great place to store all your favorite files, so you can
access them online, and even edit some of them in Google Docs.
Now you know how to upload files on the web, and using the folder on your desktop.