Google Drive cloud: getting started. Google Cloud for Photos

Hello, my regular readers and blog guests. Ekaterina Kalmykova is with you. Have you ever wondered how much information is around us that we use willy-nilly? In the modern world, billions of terabytes of information are consumed. Just think about this value - billions, or even more.

The size of RAM in new computers is growing every year, but users still don’t have enough. The advent of external storage media, such as flash cards or removable hard drives, seemed to ease the situation. But even among high-quality storage media, many products appeared that broke a month after use and blocked access to the necessary data.

The latest trend in the world of information storage is cloud storage. One of the most popular virtual drives is Google Drive. The advent of cloud storage in the famous search engine has made the issue of lack of storage space less pressing.

What kind of beast is this, Google Drive? How to use it? Let's figure it out together, friends!

We will find out how to use Google Drive a little later. First, you need to figure out why you need a virtual disk to store information.

Google Drive allows computer users to save money on flash cards and external hard drives by storing personal files on the Internet, saving time and simplifying work with information data.

Do you have any idea how Excel Google works? It allows you to create tables online and store them in the cloud. If you wish, you can give access to the table to certain users, or you can hide it from everyone. Google Drive works on the same principle.

At the same time, the information on the disk is synchronized with other devices, including tablets and smartphones. The synchronization function eliminates the need to take removable media with you on the road, because all documents are on the computer, but do not take up space on it.

So, what can you store on Google Drive:

• documents in doc, pdf, ODF format, etc.;
• Excel tables;
• photos;
• video;
• audio.

Google cloud storage can replace your hard drive and eliminate the problem of eternal loss and breakdown of flash drives. This method of storing information can also be used by those who suffer from a constant lack of memory on their computer, those who like to download movies in high quality, and music lovers who download hundreds of songs every month.

Google Drive has undeniable advantages and minor disadvantages, like everything else in the world. Among the advantages is that cloud storage cannot be lost, forgotten, or broken. It's a stable place to store information that very little can happen to. The virtual disk does not need to be carried with you; it is located in your computer or tablet, even in your phone.

In my opinion, it has only one drawback: the amount of free space for storing files is limited. You can only take up 15 GB of space for free. But the surcharge for additional quantities is small.

If you think about it, one minus is not worth a lot of pluses. You agree with me?

What you need to know about using Google Drive

How to use cloud storage so that it brings joy? First you need to decide on what device you plan to create the disk. There is an option to work with the disk through the browser you are using, and there is another option - download Google Drive to your tablet or smartphone. Let's look at both options.

Creating a disk on a computer

Please note: to create cloud storage with Google, you must register on the Google website and have a mailbox in this system.

Typically it ends at gmail.com.

Owners of Google-based mail should log into their account, click on the square next to their avatar and you will see the “Disk” icon.

When you click on the icon called “Disk”, a page will open in a new tab or window, where in the lower left corner it will be written that the disk can be downloaded to your computer.

After this, a window will open where you will need to click the icon that says “Forward”, then the storage will open on your computer and you can transfer the necessary files there. Once the installation is complete, the Google Drive icon will appear in the taskbar and on your desktop. To open the drive, you will need to click on any of these icons.

As you can see, the process of creating a disk on cloud storage is very simple and does not take much time. Even a novice in computer matters, let alone professionals, can cope with this. You will feel the benefits of using cloud storage instead of removable storage media in the first hours of use.

Creating a disk on your phone

Want to create a drive on your phone? Please, this can be done on both iOS and Android operating systems.

As I wrote above, you can log into cloud storage via a computer, phone or tablet. To access your storage via your phone or tablet, you need to download the Google Drive app. You can download it either from the Play Market or from the Google website itself.

To open the My Page or My Drive tab, click on the application icon. You will see a login form where you will need to write your Gmail username and password. After logging in, your page with files will open.

Please note that all files can be changed in real time. Synchronization with other devices occurs instantly. Using the drive on your tablet or smartphone makes your work much easier.

The only condition for changing documents in real time and synchronizing them with other devices is a working Internet.

If you do not have a mobile device running Android OS, then you can use the mobile version of this resource. Working in the program on a phone or on a computer is no different.

Overall, using the drive on your smartphone or tablet is safe and effective, and you can now leave your heavy laptop at home.

Basic functions of Google Drive

After we open Drive, the first thing we can see is the search bar.

In order to find the document you need, simply enter its name into the search bar and the service will quickly find it for you.

Select the function you need and get to work.

The screenshot shows that we have the opportunity to work with different files, documents, tables, presentations.

Let me briefly tell you about all the tabs of the main menu of the service:

• Available to me - here are those files that are available to you by other users;
• Recent - shows the documents you worked with most recently;
• Google Photos - contains all photos and pictures;
• Marked - files that you marked while working;
• Recycle Bin – stores all deleted data.

In general, all the tools for effective work are available to us.

Please note that on the right, directly below the avatar, there is an icon with settings. You might find them useful, so I advise you to take a look at them.

On my own behalf, I can say that the service interface is quite simple and, as it is fashionable to say now, “intuitive” :)

How to create a folder on Google Drive

Let me show you how to use Google Drive using the example of creating a folder, and you will see for yourself that everything is quite easy.

So, to create a folder, you need to click on the “Create” button you already know and select “Folder” in the window that opens.

After that, enter the name of the folder and click on “Create”.

As we can see, our “Test Folder” has already appeared in the work area. If necessary, you can add different files, documents, etc. to it during the work process.

It is worth noting that simultaneously with the appearance of the new folder, a new panel with tools also appeared.

Friends, let me briefly explain each of them.

1. by clicking on it you can show the link to anyone you want;
2. Using this button we can provide access to whomever we deem necessary, with different rights (reading, editing);
3. the well-known basket;
4. another submenu with some functionality, which I won’t dwell on now. If you are interested, take a look when working on your own :)

How to upload a file to Google Drive

Probably the most popular operation when working with Disk is downloading any files. Now I will show you how this can be done.

That's all - our file is loaded into the workspace. That’s how you can say it, with one movement of the hand :)

One thing I can say for sure: don’t be afraid to try to master Google Drive and, I’m sure, it will become your indispensable assistant.

How safe is it to use Google Drive?

When we are about to download any program, the question arises: “Is it safe?” It is so important that confidential information remains hidden from prying eyes.

How often do we hear about hackers breaking into celebrities' cloud storages and posting private photos for everyone to see? Yes, all the time. How can you not worry about your own files?

Fortunately, cloud storage on Google Drive is completely secure.

There are practically no cases when virtual disks of this system were hacked. You can safely upload any photos, videos and documents there without fear that your account will be hacked. Of course, to prevent hacking, we advise you to create the most complex password possible so that hackers don’t have a single chance.

Only you have access to your documents. If necessary, a function is available in the Google Drive system that allows you to provide access to a certain number of users. If you wish, you can open access to at least the entire Internet. This can be done, for example, if you are a photographer and want your photos to become public.

The same applies to other documents, tables, and videos. For example, I have access to information from my partner on a joint project. Let me tell you - it is very convenient to use and significantly saves time when interacting with a partner.

Since using Google Drive is absolutely safe, you can create any documents, presentations, or drawings on it. Many large organizations are replacing email and other information exchange methods with disk.

Currently, Google Drive includes a complete package of programs similar to Microsoft Office. Cool, isn't it?

Plus, you can use it to conduct surveys, create charts, and more. For example, in the article I conducted a survey of readers in exactly this way.

If you want to expand Drive's capabilities, visit the Google Chrome web store. There are a sufficient number of paid and free applications that will make its possibilities almost limitless.

Friends, in order to appreciate all the benefits of working with Google cloud storage, you just need to try it!

So, friends, let me summarize.

In order to use Google Drive you need to do three simple steps:

You can and should use Google Drive. This frees us from nerves about the loss of removable storage, from possible worries due to lack of space, etc. With a virtual disk, all our files are at hand, wherever we are, and for this there is absolutely no need to carry a laptop with us everywhere . Don't forget that you can use the drive on your tablet or smartphone, in addition to your laptop and PC.

Agree that this is very convenient.

In fact, I have come across a lot of courses on a similar topic, but this particular one is distinguished by the author’s professionalism and accessibility of presentation. All the features of working at a computer are presented by the author in a simple form, so applying the information in practice will not be difficult. After studying the material, “both old and young” will be able to use a PC, as they say, “on familiar terms.”

Our dear reader, we are very interested to know your opinion about virtual disks. Write, do you use cloud storage at work? If so, which one exactly?

Don't forget to subscribe to our social media page, Youtube channel and, of course, our blog.

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Google Cloud This is one of the best services on the Internet, which is convenient to use for storing, processing and managing digital photos. It has two independent services on the basis of which this can be done at a high level - Google Drive and Google+ Photos.

Google Drive it is one of the largest cloud storages of digital information on the Internet from Goggle. It was first introduced to users in April 2012 as a stand-alone 5 GB service for free storage of 30 different file types.

Google+ Photos This is a service of the global social network Google+, which was created along with the network in 2011. This service is not only a place for conveniently storing photos in the Google cloud, but also a very convenient photo editor that has many automatic functions.

What is the volume of the Google cloud?

After a change in the disk space distribution policy, three separate services Google Drive, Google+ and Gmail were merged into a single cloud on May 13, 2013. Now, when you register an account in the Google cloud, you will forever receive 15 GB of free disk space to store data from these three services (Fig. 1).

Fig.1 Google cloud storage capacity.

If the amount of allocated cloud space is not enough, you can purchase from 100 GB to 30 TB, but for an additional fee. The monthly price of Google cloud disk space for January 2015 is:

100 GB – 2$
1 TB – 10$
10 TB – 100$
20 TB – $200
30 TB – $300

In the Google cloud, you can simultaneously store mail, photos, and other types of files in the way that is most convenient for you. For example, you can store all these files in different volumes, or you can store only photographs or some other type of file.

The peculiarity of storing files in Google cloud services is that when calculating the occupied disk space, some files are not taken into account. For the user, this means that he can store an unlimited number of such files in the Google cloud.

In Google Drive, files saved in Google format are not taken into account; for Gmail, the contents of the Spam and Trash folders are not taken into account, and in Google+ Photos, all photos with a resolution of less than 2048 x 2048 pix and videos of less than 15 minutes.

Google Cloud Registration

In order to purchase part of your space in the Google cloud and gain access to all its services, you first need to register. On the page http://www.google.ru/ in the upper right corner you need to click on the “Login” button.

After this, a window will appear to log in to your Google cloud account and register a new account (Fig. 2). Under the data entry panel, click the “Create an account” link and begin registration.

In the registration window, you must correctly indicate your personal information. They will become the basis of your profile in the Google cloud. After this, in the lower right corner you need to click the “Next” button to go to the next window (Fig. 3). The button is not shown in the figure.

Fig.3 Google cloud registration panel.

But first, Google will check that the data is filled in correctly. If you made a mistake, you will be asked to correct it; if everything was done correctly, a window for creating a Google+ profile in the cloud will open (Fig. 4).

Fig.4 Window for creating a Google+ profile in the cloud.

In this window, you can add your photo, which will be visible in all Google cloud services, but you can do this after logging into your account. To complete registration in the Google cloud, you need to click on the “Create profile” button, after which a final window will open in which your email address will be indicated (Fig. 5).

Fig.5 Window for completing registration in the Google cloud.

After this, all Google cloud services will be available, including Google Drive and Google+ Photos. In order to open them, you need to click the “Services” button in the upper right corner and select from the list (Fig. 6).

Fig.6 List of selection of Google cloud services.

To select the Google Drive service in the Google cloud, you need to select the “Disk” service, after which the window of this service will open (Fig. 7).

Fig.7 Google Cloud – Google Drive service window.

To select the Google+ Photos service in the Google cloud, you need to find the “Photos” service in the list, after which the window of this service will open (Fig. 8).

Fig.8 Google Cloud – Google+ Photos service window.

How to remove Google cloud

There are situations when you may need to delete any services or completely all data and your entire account from the Google cloud. To do this, in the upper right corner of the screen you need to click on your profile avatar and follow the “Account” link (Fig. 9).

Fig.9 Window for logging into Google cloud account settings.

Immediately after this, the Google cloud account settings page will open. You need to scroll all the way down and select from the list the item that suits your purposes (Fig. 10), and then do everything according to the instructions.

Fig.10 Google cloud account settings.

Google Cloud Features

Google Cloud differs from most similar services on the Internet in its capabilities for working with photos. Not only can you store a large amount of digital photos for free, but you can also do a lot of other things with them that cannot be done in other services.

This is possible because Google cloud services are closely connected with each other, with the Google Chrome browser and the Picasa program. Each of them significantly increases the capabilities of Google cloud services and, in addition, they allow the photographer to do without installing many specialized programs on the computer.

Read about the main capabilities of photo services in the Google cloud and their integration with other programs in the following chapters of the article:

Other cloud services and principles of cloud storage are written in the following articles:

Technological progress does not stand still. One technology, which becomes impractical over time, goes away and is replaced by another, more advanced one. A clear example of this is the evolution of data storage methods. If previously CDs and DVDs were in use, now more and more people prefer to store information on flash drives, which are more compact in size and can hold much more information, and also support multiple rewrites.

There is also a more advanced technology that has not yet gained popularity among the masses, but has serious prospects - cloud information storage services.

Any user who has created an account in such a service can upload his files to the server and access them from any computer or other supported device (tablet, smartphone, etc.) on which he logs into his account. Agree, it’s very practical: you can save time and money. There is only one drawback - you must have access to the Internet. Lack of connection will prevent you from accessing the downloaded information. Fortunately, almost everyone now has access to the Internet.

Comparison of cloud storage services: Dropbox, Google Drive, Cloud Mail, MediaFire, Yandex Disk, Microsoft OneDrive, Copy Com, Apple iCloud

This article will compare nine popular cloud storage services, which will be assessed according to the three most important parameters for users: workspace size, security of use and functionality. So let's get started.

Size of space provided

For those users who work with large files, the size of disk space is a fundamental criterion. If a service cannot provide the necessary space, it will not be worthwhile for them to use it.

Dropbox, which at one time was one of the founders cloud technologies, we can now confidently call it an outsider, which cannot compete with other participants in the comparison in terms of disk space size. Only 2 gigabytes upon registration, one gigabyte for completing a simple task and 13 gigabytes for attracting users through the referral program (500 megabytes per user who registered and installed the client).
Google Drive did not show itself to be particularly generous, providing only 15 gigabytes of server space for free. And considering that the same space is used to store Google Docs documents and email, users will have to be content with little. You can increase your storage size by purchasing a subscription. For example, now 100 GB costs $2, 1 TB costs $10. The maximum you can get is several tens of terabytes (I wonder who might need that many).

Mail.ru cloud – no matter what they say about Mail.ru cloud storage, and enough free space on the servers is allocated to users. Each person who connects to the service can use up to 100 gigabytes of space by uploading files of unlimited size.
MediaFire – you can get 50 gigabytes of space in the MediaFire cloud, but the conditions for obtaining are quite complicated. The initial size of disk space is only 10 gigabytes. Another 8 gigabytes can be obtained by installing certain applications and extensions, and the remaining 32 by inviting other people to become clients of the service. 1 additional gigabyte for each user.
Yandex Disk - cloud storage of the domestic company Yandex initially gives 3 GB free space, which, through simple manipulations, can easily be turned into 10 GB. Additional space is opened by attracting active referrals (500 megabytes per person). It also makes sense to monitor various promotions on the Yandex website. For example, now any subscriber of the OnLime tariff plan from Rostelecom can open another 100 GB, and those who buy a Kingston flash drive with the Yandex logo can receive as many additional gigabytes as the size of this flash drive.
Microsoft OneDrive allows any registered user to use 15 gigabytes of information, and if he also owns a PC with Windows 8 installed, then the size increases by another 10 gigabytes.
Mega gives new users 50 gigabytes free space for any files. Although this is not much, there is no need to carry out any additional fraud, unlike many other competing services.
Copy.com is another cloud service with a referral program. Initially it gives out 15 gigabytes of free space, but for each attracted user you are credited not with 1 measly gigabyte, but as much as 5 gigabytes. If you want to remove all the restrictions inherent in the free version and get from 250 gigabytes to 1 terabyte of free space, you will have to subscribe and pay $5 monthly.
Apple iCloud - unlike many other Apple services, the storage can also be used by PC holders, as well as mobile devices from other manufacturers. iCloud gives you 5 gigabytes of free space. An expansion of 20 gigabytes will cost 39 Russian rubles per month, 200 GB – 140 rubles per month. You can get a maximum of 1 terabyte and it will cost 749 rubles monthly.

Security and privacy

Many people do not want to use cloud services because they are afraid of identity theft or are afraid that the information will be lost for some reason. Let's see what the creators of the services in question have done to prevent such situations.

Dropbox uses modern data protection methods: SSL and 256-bit AES, which guarantees secure transfer and storage of any files uploaded to the server. All applications and service extensions are checked for vulnerabilities and updated periodically. It is possible to enable two-step authentication.
Google Drive has no competitors in terms of technology protection. All data is securely encrypted, there is almost no risk of loss. Of course, this does not obviate the need to adhere to certain security rules - configure confidentiality in the settings, log out of your account when you finish working on a public computer.

Any files uploaded to the Mail.ru cloud are scanned by Kaspersky utility for the presence of viruses and other malicious code. When the utility databases are updated, the scan runs again. Files, as in other services, are encrypted. As for the shortcomings, it is worth noting the terms of the service’s license agreement, which remove all responsibility of Mail.ru for any negative situations related to unauthorized access or technical problems.
Microsoft OneDrive creates multiple copies of your files at once, placing them on different servers. If one of them fails, you will not lose stored information. Protection against access by third parties is also presented at a decent level - two-step verification, account recovery using additional data. There is a promptly working technical support service.
Yandex Disk. An encrypted connection prevents hackers from intercepting your personal data, and the ability to set a strong password prevents penetration into the account of third parties. If suddenly your device (from which you access the storage) is lost, access from it can be blocked using a special option.
MediaFire has two-factor authentication and encrypted connection. For those who do not plan to store really important information in the cloud, this is more than enough.
Mega – all files that you upload to Mega servers, are automatically encrypted on your device, and an already encrypted version ends up in the storage, which even the administration of this service cannot access. To be honest, we are probably being deceived with the last statement, but it gives us additional confidence in security.
Copy.com not only protects user files from intruders in, but also from one’s own carelessness. Over a certain period of time, you can roll back files to previous versions and restore accidentally deleted ones.
Apple iCloud – any data that is uploaded to Apple iCloud, are encrypted using AES technology with 128-bit keys. The protection concerns not only the server itself where the files are stored - the process of uploading files to the server is also protected. If desired, you can enable two-step verification, which allows you to identify the storage user by the device from which he connects. On the other hand, everyone remembers the recent scandal with a huge number of explicit photos of celebrities stolen from their iCloud. The vulnerability was quickly fixed, but was it the only one?

Functionality and additional features

The ability to save files on a server is far from the only thing that modern cloud storage services are capable of. Almost any such service has additional functions that may be useful to users.

Dropbox works fine both through the browser interface, and through the installed application. All tools for creating and editing files are fully supported. What’s remarkable is that modified files load very quickly. This effect is achieved through partial editing (only the modified part of the edited file, pre-compressed, is copied to the server).
Google Drive is characterized by a convenient and functional interface, which is intuitive even for novice users. Loading, sorting and editing files is done in a couple of keystrokes. There are built-in tools for viewing and editing text documents and images of various formats. Mobile devices are supported and there are additional features designed specifically for them.

Cloud Mail.ru - many complain about the inconvenience of working with storage via a browser, periodic errors and stuff like that. The problem can be solved by installing software to work with the service. Otherwise, nothing special - there is a mobile client, integration with mail and other standard functions.
Microsoft OneDrive – OneDrive has quite a lot of useful innovations. The most significant of them is the ability to create and edit Microsoft Office documents (Word, Excel, etc.) directly to the storage and send files via Hotmail.
Yandex Disk boasts advanced functionality and a wide range of supported systems, including even mobile Windows Phone and Linux. Yandex Disk is integrated with a number of other Yandex services, which makes your work much easier.
MediaFire, in addition to its main function of storing files, allows you to share them on the Internet. More than 200 file formats are supported.
Mega performed well on iOS and Android devices, and also relatively recently acquired an official client application (previously the work was carried out exclusively through a browser).
Copy.com is quite similar in functionality to Dropbox discussed above, although it stands out for its beautiful and intuitive interface, as well as its wide cross-platform functionality.
Only owners of Apple devices can fully appreciate the functionality of Apple iCloud. Automatic synchronization with the cloud greatly facilitates the storage of data (photos, contacts, documents, etc.), and there is no need to install additional software. Windows owners who want to use iCloud will have to install iTunes, which is a bit inconvenient.

Let's summarize. What to choose?

Which of the following services can be called the best? It's quite difficult to decide. Each storage has its own advantages and disadvantages. But if you choose the optimal (average) option that most people will like, then the choice will fall on Google Drive.

Such storages are not new for a long time, an example of this is, but let’s take a closer look at what exactly Google Drive is.

How to log into Google Drive

To use Drive, you need to have a Google account. You may already have it if you once registered with .

Please note that after you create one single profile, you will be able to use a wide range of features from many services.

To work with Google applications, you can create several accounts that you will use at your discretion.

So, you have registered in the system and want to create a new account - I will not describe how to do this, because everything is extremely simple (you don’t even have to confirm your phone number).

Just follow Google's instructions and explore the world of its possibilities.

By going to the main page of the site www.google.ru, you will see at the top the access line to the account you are interested in, that’s where we will go.

You can also simply go to the general application menu and select Google Drive.

And now we move to the “holy of holies” - Google Drive is freely available.

In order to get comfortable, just pay attention to the pop-up tips. They will teach you how to create files and folders in which you will upload documents, and more.

Online version of cloud storage from Google

Google Drive provides 15 GB of free storage space for your files.

If you need more storage, pay attention to Google's pricing offers.

Of course, 30 TB is already the maximum possible volume, here are all the tariff offers from this cloud storage:

• Up to 15 GB – free;
• Up to 100 GB – $1.99/month;
• Up to 1 TB – $9.99/month;
• You can see offers from 10 to 30 TB above.

Let's turn to the working interface of Drive - this is a small panel on the left that allows you to quickly create folders and upload documents, as well as edit them.

There are two ways to start working with files - click on the “Create” button or go to the “My Disk” tab.

Let's choose the first method and get the following pop-up lists.

As you can see, there is a wonderful opportunity to connect and use numerous applications from Google. But let's take things in order.

Let's start with something simple - uploading an image and creating a folder.

We upload several images of the same topic so that we can later create a folder and place them there. The reverse order is also quite possible; you can create anything, anytime.

Just upload files from your computer or other device as usual. You can immediately download documents that you store offline in separate folders.

Access to files can be configured individually immediately after downloading using the “Access Settings” function.

To do this, you will either need to specify specific people from your address book, or send a link via social networks. The options can be configured separately – “Editing”, “Commenting” or “Reading”.

In the lower left corner, you will always have access to information about the amount of space occupied on Google Drive.

Now, through the same menu, select “Create a folder”, call it “Dolphins” and transfer the images there using regular drag and drop.

By clicking on the folder, you will see a small panel at the top where all the functions for interacting with it will be collected. Or simply right-click on the folder and access its options.

You can:

1. Start by setting up access and sending a link to the folder to those you want;
2. Delete the entire folder in a few seconds (it will go to the “Trash”, which is available in the storage in the menu on the left, so you will have the opportunity to restore all deleted materials if necessary);
3. Open a folder using connected applications, or do it directly when interacting with the folder;
4. Move the folder to other folders created earlier or directly at the moment;
5. Rename the folder, change the color, make a note;
6. Download a folder or any other files to your computer or other media online.

The top panel also gives access to the appearance of the drive, document sorting and properties - by selecting a specific folder, you can see all the information about it, and statistics will tell you about the actions on Google Drive from the very beginning to the present.

You can move the files to “My Drive” or leave them here. This distinction is convenient because even files sent by mail will not get lost or disappear without a trace, even after the letters themselves are deleted in the mailbox.

The next section is “Google Photos”. If you don't already know, Google has a special service where your photos can be stored.

In order for them to appear there, it is enough to set up synchronization with media connected to the computer. Once you get things going, you can always find files automatically in your Google cloud storage.

"Recent". This is a list of files you have ever worked with, starting with the last manipulations.

"Tagged". Each folder or file can be marked as important, so you can access what is of priority importance.

"Basket" . Deleted files and folders are stored here without taking up disk space. They can always be restored, even after deleting them from the Recycle Bin itself. True, for this you will need to contact Google Technical Support.

And don't forget about the numerous applications that are used when opening various kinds of files, in addition, you can simply open them and use them yourself online.

Installing the program on your computer

It's time to familiarize yourself with the capabilities of Google Drive when interacting with your computer. To do this, select the “Settings” icon on the panel at the top.

After clicking this tab, you will be sent to a page to download the application to your computer. I select the clarification - “For Mac/PC” and click on “Download”, accept the “Google Drive Terms of Use” and proceed to download.

By the way, these conditions are not mandatory, just so you can help the system improve its operation and, if necessary, notify about problems that arise.

We save the installation file where it is more convenient for you (I usually do this in “Downloads”) and run Google Update Setup. To do this, you will need to wait no more than one minute.

Files that are stored on your Google Drive will now be located in a special folder in the “Library” called “Google Drive”. And you can share files directly from this folder when connected to the Internet.

After you go through all the installation steps, you will be automatically redirected to the Drive files folder.

After installation, the Google Drive icon will automatically appear in your computer panel. Control is carried out using any button of your mouse - you can see all the files in the form of a list and access each of them separately.

Thus, there is no need to look into the Google Drive virtual space on the site every time, you will have access to documents constantly.

Google Drive for mobile devices

To download the Google Drive app for other devices, let's go back to the installation page - www.google.com/drive/download.

Select the required program - installation applications for devices on the Android and iOS platforms are provided separately.

So, if your device runs on Android, select the “For Android” tab accordingly.

After this, you will be taken to Google Play, an application store where you can download and install the Google Drive program for free.

In addition, you will be able to see the evaluation of the application by users who have already understood its advantages and disadvantages. You will get all the same features that are provided when using Drive directly on the site.

There is a separate iOS-based application for iPhone and iPad owners. When you select this option on the loading page, you will be redirected to itunes.apple.com/en/app/google-drive/id507874739.

The site is in English, but you only need to click a couple of buttons to start the installation.

So, select “View in iTunes”, which will take you to a page where you will need to select the “Download Now” icon.

For everyone who has mobile phones running on the Windows Phone platform, I recommend reading the article “”, which tells you how to install applications on such devices.

To summarize, I would like to say that Google Drive is an application of its time, which is extremely simple and convenient to use.

Perhaps 15 GB, which is provided for free, is too little space for some. However, for most users this volume is more than enough for occasional use or for work and educational purposes.

Synchronizing files in cloud storage with those that will be in folders on your computer or mobile devices allows you to quickly access any of them.

You'll never lose documents sent to you via email, and you can create new ones using Google Drive's many companion apps.

And Google Photos will become for you an alternative to other editors that take up extra space. In general, all the possibilities at once and in one place are perhaps one of the main characteristics of this cloud storage.

Greetings, friends! Cloud storage is very popular now. Their main purpose is to store and access information from any device at any time, as well as the ability to share this information (documents, photographs, and other files) with other people. In addition, popular cloud services provide a number of useful functions for users - creating and working with documents online, sharing, etc.

On my blog I have already posted instructions on two large cloud services - and. And I dedicate today’s article to one more thing – Google Drive. Until recently, I didn’t use it so actively - I mainly relied on Yandex.Disk. But, due to recent events, I started thinking about backup options.

I suggest you understand the interface and main functions of Google Drive. Let's talk about how to use it - upload and provide access to files and folders, perform other actions on files, work with documents and applications online.

If you prefer video format, then you can view my detailed tutorial below:

How to log into Google Drive?

The disk is linked to your Google account, and to get inside the cloud, you need to log in to your account - enter your login (gmail) and password.

You can access Drive from this page www.google.com/intl/ru/drive/

Or go from mail by clicking on the “Google Apps” icon at the top right.

How much disk space?

15 GB are provided for free. This space is divided into files on the disk itself, files and letters in Gmail, and Google Photos. By the way, the latter automatically includes images that you upload to posts on the Google Plus social network. You can remove them from Google Photos so that they don’t take up space, but they remain in your posts.

If you need more space, it can be purchased for money. There are several tariff plans with monthly or annual payment for up to 30 TB of memory.

You can also have several Google accounts and each will have its own disk with free space.

Cloud storage interface

Let's go over the main sections, buttons and settings of Google Drive.

Via the “Create” button in the upper left corner you can upload files and folders from your computer to your disk. And also create folders and documents directly in the cloud. You can create text documents, tables, presentations with slides, Google Forms (for surveys, questionnaires, recordings of Skype consultations), drawings, maps and websites.

Below this button is panel with the main Disk partitions.

In the "My Drive" section contains all files and folders uploaded to the cloud, as well as documents and folders that you created in the cloud.

By selecting a particular file/folder with the mouse, you can perform various actions on it; I’ll talk about this later. To select several files at once, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and click on the desired files.

The display of files on Disk can be sorted by name, by date of modification, by date of viewing.

In the "Available to me" section files from Google Drives of other users to which you have access are displayed - for example, you followed a link to this file, or you were sent an invitation with access. To open a file, double-click on it.

In the "Recent" section– files that you have recently worked with (opened, downloaded, edited, etc.) are displayed.

Google Photos section– This is where the images you've uploaded to the Google Photos app appear. Also, pictures uploaded to posts on Google Plus are automatically saved here. You can get into the application itself by clicking on the Google applications icon from disk, mail, or the start page of the Google Chrome browser.

In the application settings, you can check a useful box so that photos and videos do not take up unnecessary storage space.

To do this, go to Google Photos, click on the three vertical bars at the top left, go to settings.

And check the appropriate box:

"Tagged" section– files and folders that you mark as important to you go here. Marking is very simple - select the file, right-click, and select “Add mark” from the list that opens. To remove a file from “Marked”, right-click again and select “Unmark”.

Basket- it contains files that you delete from your Google Drive. The Recycle Bin can be emptied, then the files are permanently deleted. You can also restore any file from the Recycle Bin by selecting it with the mouse and clicking “Recover from Recycle Bin”.

There are several more useful icons in the upper right corner of Google Drive.

You can configure the display of files in the cloud as a list or grid. By clicking on the letter “i” in the circle, you can view the history of your actions on the disk, as well as the properties of any file by selecting it with the mouse. Clicking on the gear will open an additional list of tabs.

In the “Settings” tab:

You can change the interface language.
Enable offline access (saving Google documents to your computer to work with them without an Internet connection). On this issue, you can read the separate instructions.
Disable automatic downloading of photos from Google Photos to a folder on disk.
Choose an interface option – spacious, regular or compact.

There are also alert settings.

And the ability to connect different Google applications to your drive.

Clicking on the tab “Install disk on computer”, you can download the application for PC, as well as for smartphones on Android or iPhone. Here, keep in mind that the PC application is synchronized with the online cloud and all files end up on your computer, taking up space. Since this does not suit me, I prefer to use only the web interface. The only advantage of synchronization is the ability to quickly send a large file to the cloud or save all files from the cloud to your computer at once, and then disable synchronization.

Actions on files and folders in Google Drive

To upload files and folders from your computer to the cloud The "Create" button is used. You click on it and select the corresponding menu item - a window for selecting files on your computer will open. To select multiple files at once, hold down the Ctrl key.

When the file is selected, click on the “Open” button, and it will begin downloading to Disk. Information about the process will appear in the lower right corner.

An alternative download option is to minimize the Google Drive tab to a smaller window and drag files from your computer to the “My Drive” section with your mouse.

You can do a number of things with files, folders, and documents on the drive. To do this, select the desired file (or several) with the mouse and right-click. A list of available actions appears. The same actions are duplicated on the panel above.

The contents of the file can be viewed by clicking Preview. If you want to edit the document, then select "Open with". The drive will offer you an application through which you can open the file.

To open the contents of a folder– click on it 2 times. You can perform all the same actions on files and documents in a folder.

You can give access to any file, folder or document on the disk to another person. To set up sharing, click on the corresponding menu item.

In the window that opens, you need to enter the gmail email of the person to whom you want to give access. Click on the pencil icon to indicate the access type. This can be commenting, viewing and editing.

If you have granted commenting or viewing access, you can prevent the user from downloading, copying, or printing the file. Just tick the boxes you need. Don't forget to save your changes.

Then click "Submit". The user will receive a letter informing them that you have granted them access to the files. He will see this file on his disk in the “Available to me” section.

To block access, you again need to right-click on this file, select “Sharing”. In the window that opens, click on the user name.

Access is denied, the user will see this message:

You can also configure access settings. The default is view. Also, using the link, the user will be able to download the file or save it to his disk. You can also enable commenting or editing.

If you click “More”, you will see other settings. For example, you can enable access for absolutely any user on the Internet, that is, the file will be available through search. Or disable access via a link and send an invitation for shared access to a specific user via email (we discussed this process above).

The next point of action on files is "Move". It can be used to move files into folders. This is convenient if you have a lot of files and want to organize them. You can also move files by dragging them with the mouse.

Creating folders on disk is easy. Click on the “Create” – “New Folder” button.

By the way, you can change the color of the folders.

Paragraph "Add a note" useful if you want to add your favorite files to the Starred section for quick access to them.

Paragraph "Rename" will allow you to change the name of a file or folder.

Paragraph "Show properties"– to view the properties of a file and the history of actions on it.

Paragraph "Versions"– it is available for those files that you upload to Disk.

Let's say you downloaded an archive of materials from your computer and shared a link to it with subscribers. Then you needed to make edits to this archive, you downloaded it to your computer again and edited it. Then we re-uploaded it to Disk with the same name so that the link to the archive did not change. By the way, when you download it again, you can choose how to save this file - separately (the link to it will change), or as a new version that will replace the previous one.

However, the previous version will not be deleted immediately (by default, it is saved on disk for another 30 days). But, you can delete it manually or check the box so that previous versions are not deleted. This is done precisely through this “Versions” item.

The remaining actions on the files: create a copy, download it to your computer and delete it in the trash. By the way, to delete the file in the trash, you can drag it with the mouse to this section on Google Drive.

So, we figured out the main points of the Google Drive web interface. Now a few words how to download to your computer or save to disk a file that was shared with you via a link from another Google Drive.

If you followed the link and are logged in to your Google account, then you will see a Google Drive icon at the top, by clicking on which you can save this file to your disk. Nearby there is an arrow for downloading the file to your computer.

Well, I hope my Google Drive instructions will help you navigate the settings and functionality of this cloud service. Well, if you still have questions, I will be happy to answer them in the comments.

I wish you success!

Best regards, Victoria Karpova