Class 12: What is Google Drive?

Google Drive is a Cloud File Storage Service, powered by the Google Inc.  On Google Drive, you can easily store your files (photos, documents, videos, etc.), and you can reach them from any devices (smartphone, tablet, PC, etc.).  If any of the files had changed, the change can be seen on any device. Google Drive is a free service from Google that allows you to store files online and access them anywhere using the cloud. Google Drive also gives you access to free web-based applications for creating documents, spreadsheets, and more.  Google Drive doesn't just store your files; it also allows you to create, share, and manage documents with its own productivity apps. If you've ever used a suite like Microsoft Office, some things about Google Drive's apps might seem familiar. For instance, the types of files you can work with are similar to files that can be created with various Microsoft Office programs. 

Google Drive is one of the most popular cloud storage services available today, offering 15 gigabytes (15GB) of free storage space. If you've never used a cloud-based storage service like Google Drive before, take a moment to consider the advantages of keeping your files online. Because files can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection, Drive eliminates the need to email or save a file to a USB drive. And because Drive allows you to share files, working with others becomes much easier.

Google Drive could become your centralized storage vault for all your documents on the cloud. Google Drive automatically becomes the home for all your Google Docs. In fact, when you sign-in, you won’t see Google Docs anymore in its traditional avatar. Your owned documents are located under My Drive while any shared documents are arranged under Shared with me. As in the screen below, you can easily create new documents or create specific folders to organize all your documents. You can also drag files shared with you to specific folders under My Drive.

Google Drive lets you create and collaborate in the old way as Google Docs did. It also tracks changes on documents and keeps revision copies of up to 30 days or the last 100 revisions. Above that and Google Drive deletes the oldest versions. Each file shared or otherwise comes with time stamps. Google Drive is all about uploading and storing files in the cloud. You can upload images and videos easily by dropping them into the Google Drive desktop app. You can convert files to Google Docs format with the Export to Google Docs feature and edit them online collaboratively.