Are you looking for a secure location to store documents and other types of files? Are you on the hunt for a program that will let you collaborate with others on the other side of the country or world?
Google Drive can help you do all of that and so much more.
To help you understand how to use Google Drive, we’ve put together this guide. Aside from featuring explanations, you’ll also learn about some of the many benefits of Google Drive.
Keep reading to learn about Google Drive and the many benefits that it has to offer.
What Is Google Drive?
If you haven’t heard of it before, Google Drive is a cloud-based storage platform. Like Apple’s iCloud and Amazon Drive, it allows you to upload different types of files to a cloud then access them from anywhere.
Storing files in Google Drive is great since it can free up space and provide you with a secure place to put everything (more on that later).
However, unlike some of the other cloud-based storage platforms, Google Drive takes things a step further. Using it allows you to edit and create new types of files with an intuitive set of tools.
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular and powerful tools.
Google Docs
Google Docs is the tech giant’s version of Microsoft Word. It allows you to create and edit word documents that you can then share with others.
One of the best parts about Google Docs (and the other Google Drive programs) is that you can download files you create or receive to your computer. This allows you to work with them offline.
Check out this guide to learn how to download files from Google Drive: https://setapp.com/how-to/download-from-google-drive.
Google Docs also saves your files as you work on them. You won’t have to worry about your computer crashing and deleting the changes you made ever again!
Google Slides
If Google Docs is Microsoft Word, Slides is PowerPoint. Like its Microsoft cousin, Google Slides allows you to create presentations.
If you’re a business owner, you’ll find Google Slides to be especially useful. You can upload a presentation that you make then have your coworkers look it over from their own devices.
As you would expect, Google Slides comes with all of the editing and design features that make PowerPoint so great.
Google Sheets
Google Sheets is like Microsoft Excel. It gives you the tools you need to create detailed spreadsheets, tables, project plans, and other, more technical forms of files.
While Sheets lacks the computational power of Excel, it should be more than enough for most users. It also allows you to quickly generate a PDF version of a spreadsheet then send it to others via email.
How to Use Google Drive
While all of that sounds great, isn’t Google Drive hard to use? Not at all!
All you need is a Google account, and most people have one of those. If you don’t, it will only take a few minutes to set up. Making one also lets you use other great Google features, like Gmail and Photos.
Once you have your account, head to drive.google.com. Once the webpage loads, you’ll see the Google Drive interface. It’s pretty straightforward to use, but take some time to explore it all before trying to do something.
With some practice, you’ll be creating, uploading, downloading, and sharing files in no time.
The Benefits of Google Drive
As you might guess, this sort of system comes with a ton of great benefits. We’ve hinted at a few of them, but let’s take a look at some of the main benefits of using Google Drive.
Access Your Files From Anywhere
Have you ever been on your way to a presentation or meeting only to realize that you forgot to download a file to your computer? Google Drive keeps that nightmare from becoming a reality.
As long as you can sign in to your Google account, you’ll be able to access your files from anywhere. You can also do it from different devices, like your computer, phone, or tablet.
Allows You to Collaborate With Others
This sort of setup also means that it’s easy to share files with others. You can create a budget for your quarter then share the link with your boss so that they can access it.
You can also set it so that other people can edit the file as well. That makes remote collaboration possible—you no longer have to wait for other people to download files, edit them, then send them back to you.
A Safe Place to Store Data
One of the best parts of using Google Drive is that it’s safe. When you upload your files to the cloud, you won’t have to worry about someone hacking into them.
Google encrypts your files and backs them up. Any hacker or cyber criminal is going to find it almost impossible to access them.
Just make sure you choose a big enough storage plan to store everything that you need to!
Make the Most of Google Drive
If you’re looking for a reliable and secure platform to store all of your different files, look no further than Google Drive.
As this guide explains, there are many great benefits of Google Drive, and it’s also not hard to use. Create a Google account today (if you don’t already have one) to start making the most of it!
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