There are many cloud storage services out there, one of which is Google Drive. We’ve pitted it against Dropbox and SkyDrive, another two crowd favorites and each cloud storage service have their strengths and limitations that would cater to a wide range of customer needs. But if you have decided on Google Drive, here are some handy tips to help you work better with them.
The good thing about Google Drive is that it’s linked to your Gmail account and of course, the 5 GB free storage space. It also supports basic document editing through web browsers. But we have found 15 more tips and tricks that to get more out of Google Drive.
1. Attach Google Drive Files On Gmail
Because Google Drive is linked to your Google account, you can attach files stored in Google Drive directly to your Gmail.
Unlike traditional attachments where you first have to upload an attachment, attaching a file through Google Drive does not require you to re-upload the file. The filesize limit does not apply since a link is given for the email receiver to download.
2. Keyboard Shortcuts
Google Drive allows you to use keyboard shortcuts for navigation right in your web browser. Here are some of the keyboard shortcuts you can use.
| Shortcuts | Descriptions |
| S | Star or unstar current highlighted item |
| X | Select or de-select current highlighted item |
| . | Share current highlighted item |
| J or K | Navigate to previous or next item in the list without selecting it |
| Up Arrow or Down Arrow | Select previous or next item in the list |
| Shift + Up Arrow or Down Arrow | Select multiple previous or next items |
| Shift + A | Select all items |
| Shift + N | De-select all items |
| Shift + T | Create a new text document |
| Shift + P | Create a new presentation |
| Shift + S | Create a new spreadsheat |
| Shift + D | Create a new drawing |
| Shift + F | Create a new folder |
| Ctrl + Alt + G | Opens Revision History in files |
3. Easily Share Photos On Google+
Since your Google+ account is also linked to your Google Drive account, you can easily upload and share whatever pictures you have on your Google Drive onto Google+. All you have to do is select the From Google Drive option when adding a photo.
4. Use Forms To Collect Data
You can create forms to help you collect data, whatever information that has been input into the form will be automatically compiled into a Spreadsheet document.
You can create a new form by clicking on the Create button and selecting Form.
You have many options or ways to collect data. You can use textboxes, checkboxes, multiple choice, lists, scales and grids. Once you’ve created the form, you can easily share it with other people by providing a direct link to the form or sending it to their email.
Once the form is filled, the results will be automatically and conveniently compiled into a spreadsheet. Google Drive’s spreadsheet works similar to Microsoft Excel where you can calculate values and use mathematical formulas.
You can view it in a list as well for easier organization. To do this, click on View and then List.
You’ll then see a cleaner version of your collected data.
5. Save Images On Websites To Google Drive
If you want to instantly save images, documents, HTML5 audio and videos to your Google Drive, you can do so by installing the Save to Google Drive Chrome extension.
With the extension, whenever you right click on a link or image, you get the option to save the image or link directly to your Google Drive.
6. Listen To Music Files
By default, you can only download music files from the Google Drive website. If you want to listen to those files, you can install Drive Music for your Google Chrome web browser. After installation, whenever you click on a music file, Drive Music will launch in a separate tab that has basic functions similar to a music player.
7. Add Google Drive To Windows ‘Send To’ Menu
Isn’t it cumbersome to have to open Google Drive first before you can add items to it? Yeah, we thought so. To skip this step, download and install Google Drive into your desktop PC.
Once you have it installed, navigate to Users > [yourusername] > AppData > Roaming > Microsoft > Windows > SendTo.
Now use the Right Click on your mouse to drag Google Drive from the Favourites panel to the SendTo folder. When you let go of the Right Click, a menu will appear; click on Copy here.
8. Pin Google Drive To File Explorer Jumplist
Pin the Google Drive folder to the file explorer jumplist for fast access to Google Drive.
To do this, all you have to do is drag the Google Drive folder to the file explorer icon on the taskbar. Once you’ve done that, you can easily navigate to the Google Drive Folder by right clicking on the file explorer icon and selecting Google Drive.
