Google Drive :
Google Drive is a storage area available to people with Google accounts. All users of Gmail have Google
accounts. All Emory & Henry Gmail users have access to Google Drive.
Google Drive allows users to store files on an internet drive (the cloud). This means that a user can
access those files from any machine connected to the internet. Users can also add files to the storage
area from their office and home machines.
This provides a very convenient way of moving files from one location (e.g. work) to another e.g.
(home). Users can then work on a file in several different locations, on different machines, and have the
same, updated, file available at each location.
If you can log into your Google account (e.g. get into see your Gmail messages), you can view and copy
any of the files in your cloud-based Google drive storage area.
However, you can only upload files to your Google drive space from machines where you have “Google
synch” installed. This is easy to do your office machine, laptops, and home machine. However, you
cannot install “Google Sync” for your account when using college lab machines or classroom podium
machines. This is because you are not authorized to install software on those machines.
How to get confused?
It’s not hard to do! When you are logged into your Google account, you can access the files stored in
your Google drive by clicking on the “Drive tab” on the web page.
You must be connected to the internet to view the files in your internet based “Google Drive”.
The confusing part is that if you have installed “Google Sync” (which you should do) on your computer
you will also have a folder labeled “Google Drive”. When you want to upload a file from your computer
to the Google drive internet storage area, you put the file in this folder. The system will then
automatically upload it to your internet storage area.
The confusion occurs when you open the local Google Drive folder expecting to find the same files that
are stored in Google Drive storage area on the internet. This folder will contain ONLY those files you
put into it on your local computer. Files added to the internet Google Drive on other computers will
not be in the local folder. To see those other files you have to click on the “Drive” tab shown above.
Bottom line statements:



You can view files stored in your internet Google drive storage space from any computer with
internet access. You do this by clicking on the “Drive” tab when logged into Google (or logged
in to your Gmail account).
You can upload files to the “Google Drive” internet area by putting them in the local “Google
drive” folder on your machine. This folder was created when “Google Sync” was installed on
your machine.
You cannot upload files to your Google drive internet area when you are logged into your E&H
account on a classroom podium machine or a college lab machine. You can view files stored
there, but you cannot add new ones.
NOTE: You can also share (give access to) your Google drive files with other users and defined groups of
users (Distribution lists). The users available for sharing must be have Gmail accounts. Fortunately this
includes all E&H email users. There is a separate memo on Google Groups.