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Google Drive has become one of the most popular cloud storage services in the world, with over 1 billion active users as of 2018 (source: Google). It‘s not hard to see why – Google Drive offers an initial 15 GB of free storage, tight integration with Google‘s industry-leading productivity apps, and cross-platform access from any device.
But did you know that you can access all your Google Drive files right from the Windows File Explorer, without opening a web browser? By installing the official Google Drive desktop app, you can unlock a host of benefits:
- Easily manage cloud files alongside local documents
- Quickly open, edit and save Google files on your desktop
- Selectively sync folders to save disk space
- Share files directly from File Explorer
- Stream files on demand without permanent syncing
I‘ve been using Google software professionally for over a decade, and I‘m convinced that integrating Google Drive with Windows is a game-changer for productivity. In this guide, I‘ll show you how to set up and make the most of this powerful combination.
Advantages of Google Drive
While Google Drive faces stiff competition from OneDrive, Dropbox, and iCloud, I believe it offers several key advantages, especially for Windows users:
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Better free tier: Google Drive‘s free 15 GB plan is triple the storage you get from OneDrive (5 GB) or iCloud (5 GB). Only Dropbox matches this capacity.
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Compatibility: Google Drive works seamlessly with Microsoft Office files like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Any Office files you drag into Drive are automatically converted to their Google equivalents for easy web editing.
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Collaboration: Multiple users can work together on the same document in Google Drive, even simultaneously, something not possible with OneDrive. Version history also lets you revert changes.
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Security: All files stored in Google Drive are encrypted in transit and at rest in Google‘s secure data centers. Two-factor authentication and granular share permissions help prevent unauthorized access.
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Reliability: In my experience, Google Drive syncing is fast and consistent across Windows PCs. OneDrive and iCloud are prone to sync glitches.
Of course, Google Drive isn‘t perfect – you may prefer OneDrive‘s Office 365 integrations, iCloud‘s simplicity on Macs, or Dropbox‘s robust third-party app support. But for Windows users, Google Drive is hard to beat.
Setting Up Google Drive for Windows
Adding Google Drive to Windows File Explorer is a straightforward process. Just follow these steps:
- Download the Google Drive desktop app from https://www.google.com/drive/download/.
- Run the installer and sign in with your Google account.
- During setup, choose whether to sync your entire Drive or only selected folders.
- Specify a location for the Google Drive folder on your computer (e.g. "C:\Users\username\Google Drive").
- Wait for the initial sync to complete. This may take some time depending on how many files you have.
Once the setup is finished, you‘ll see a Google Drive icon in your taskbar and a new drive under "This PC" in File Explorer. You can browse and manage your files here just like any other folder.
Syncing Options
By default, the Google Drive app will download all your cloud files for offline access. However, this can quickly eat up disk space if you have a large Drive.
To selectively sync folders, open the Google Drive preferences and click "Choose Folders" under the Sync options tab. Uncheck any folders you don‘t need constantly synced.
For files in unsynced folders, you can still browse them in File Explorer and open them on demand. The file will be temporarily downloaded while in use and freed from your hard drive once closed. This "Files On-Demand" approach is a good compromise between convenience and space savings.
Speaking of space, here are some Google Drive storage stats to keep in mind:
| Plan | Storage | Price (monthly) |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 15 GB | n/a |
| Basic (100 GB) | 100 GB | $1.99 |
| Standard (200 GB) | 200 GB | $2.99 |
| Premium (2 TB) | 2 TB | $9.99 |
If you hit your storage limit, consider upgrading to a paid plan or moving some files to an external drive to free up space. Google Drive will warn you if you‘re running low.
Organizing Your Drive
To make the most of accessing Google Drive from File Explorer, it helps to start with a well-organized folder structure. Here are some tips:
- Use a consistent naming scheme for folders and files
- Nest folders hierarchically (e.g. "Project > Client > Deliverable")
- Avoid overly deep folder structures that require lots of clicking
- Use shortcuts (right-click > Create shortcut) for frequently accessed folders
- Consider using a separate folder or even a whole separate account for work vs personal files
I also recommend starring important files and folders for quick access. Starred items appear in a special "Starred" area in the Google Drive sidebar.
Google Drive Tips and Tricks
Here are a few more power tips for using Google Drive with Windows File Explorer:
- Save space: Zip folders by right-clicking them before uploading to Drive. Zipping compresses the data so it takes up less space. (Note: Don‘t zip files you plan to collaborate on, as you can‘t edit zipped files directly in Drive.)
- Use the Recents and Activity views: The "Recents" sidebar shortcut shows your most recently accessed files for quick access. "Activity" lists changes to your shared Drive files.
- Enable offline access: Go to drive.google.com/drive/settings and check the box next to "Create a Google Docs, Sheets, & Slides file offline." Your next 5 most-recently accessed documents will be made available offline.
- Use advanced search: The search bar in Drive supports filtering by file type, owner, date modified, and more. Learn the operators and save time sifting through files.
- Integrate with Backup and Sync: In addition to syncing your Drive files, you can back up other folders on your PC like Desktop, Documents, and Pictures. This provides an extra layer of cloud backup protection.
If you‘re a business user, you may also have access to Drive File Stream (now called Google Drive for Desktop). This is a separate app that lets you access all your files from File Explorer without syncing them to your computer. It‘s useful for working with very large Drives that exceed your hard drive capacity.
Future Improvements
While Google Drive integration with Windows is already very useful, there‘s always room for improvement. Here are a few features I‘d like to see:
- Thumbnail previews of Drive files/folders in File Explorer. Right now everything has a generic icon.
- Ability to share files as links directly from the File Explorer right-click menu, rather than having to open the web interface
- Real-time collaboration indicators in File Explorer to show who else is currently editing a document
- More granular syncing options, like the ability to exclude subfolders within a synced parent folder
Google tends to update its apps regularly, so I‘m hopeful we‘ll see some of these enhancements in the future. The company has a strong track record of responding to user feedback.
Adopting Google Tools as a Mac/iOS User
As someone who primarily uses Macs and iOS devices for my personal computing, I was initially hesitant to buy into the Google ecosystem. Apple‘s iCloud Drive is so tightly integrated with macOS and iOS that it feels effortless to use.
However, I‘ve found that Google‘s apps and services are remarkably platform-agnostic. Google Drive, Docs, and other tools work just as well on a Mac as they do on Windows (and often better than Apple‘s versions on Windows).
In fact, after extensively testing both products, I‘ve concluded that Google Drive‘s desktop app is faster and more reliable than iCloud Drive on both Windows and Mac. iCloud Drive‘s biggest advantage is its operating system integration on Macs, but Google isn‘t far behind.
If you prefer Google services but use a Mac, I‘d recommend using Google Drive for cloud storage and taking advantage of features like the Quick Access view in Drive to quickly find files. You can even add your Google Drive as a location in the macOS Finder sidebar for easy access.
Ultimately, the best approach is the one that fits your workflow. Mix and match services to get the benefits of each. Most cloud drives can even sync with each other!
Conclusion
Adding Google Drive to Windows File Explorer is a quick process that unlocks a ton of functionality. You get the accessibility of cloud storage with the familiar interface of your desktop file system.
Selective sync and on-demand file streaming help you save disk space, while powerful search and organization features make it easy to manage your digital life. Advanced users can even tap into Drive File Stream for full cloud access.
While Google faces stiff competition from Microsoft, Apple, Dropbox and others, its strong security, reliability, and cross-platform support make it a top contender in the cloud storage wars. So give Google Drive a shot – you may find it revolutionizes your Windows workflow!