Shared Drives

What can you do with Shared Drives?

Before you run through this lesson make sure you have completed Drive basics. Shared Drives is a shared space where teams can easily store, search, and access their files anywhere, from any device.

Unlike files in My Drive, files in a Shared Drive belong to the team instead of an individual. Even if members leave, the files stay exactly where they are so your team can continue to share information and get work done.

Not sure whether to use My Drive or Shared Drives?

Ask yourself these questions:

• Are the files of interest to most or all members of a particular project team?

• Do the files share a consistent theme?

If you answered "yes" to both questions, creating a new Shared Drive is a good idea. If the files are for a variety of projects, create multiple Shared Drives.

What you need:

Google Workspace account

10 minutes

1.1 Create folders

Create a new folder:

1. In the left navigation, click a Shared Drive or existing folder.

2. Click New > Folder.

3. Enter a folder name.

4. Click Create.

Note: To move folders, contact your admin.

Upload an existing folder from your computer:

1. In the left navigation, click a Shared Drive folder.

2. On your computer, drag an existing folder into a Shared Drive. Or, click New > Folder upload. Navigate to the folder and open it.

1.2  Add and edit files

Requires at least Contributor access

Any files you add are owned by the team. If you leave the Shared Drive, your files remain.

1. On the left, click a Shared Drive.

2. Drag an existing file (that you own*) from your computer or from My Drive into a Shared Drive. Or, click New and choose an option:

   • To create a file, select the file type you want to create, such as Google Docs.

   • To upload a file, click File upload. Navigate to the file and open it.

3. Double-click a file to open and edit it.

Note: To store and access files on your desktop, use Drive File Stream. 

2.1 Star important files

Flag important files or folders to find them quickly later. Just right-click a file or folder and select Add star.

To see all your starred files and folders, in the left sidebar, click Starred.

2.2 Move files

You can move any file you own into a Shared Drive, whether it’s from another Drive location, or from your computer or mobile device.

To move files between Shared Drives or from My Drive into a Shared Drive, drag the files into the destination Shared Drive folder.

Notes:

• To move files between Shared Drives, you must have Manager access to the original Shared Drive and at least Contributor access to the destination Shared Drive.

• If someone else owns the file, you need to ask them to move it.

• To move folders, contact your admin.

2.3 Delete or restore files

Move a file to trash:

You must have at least Content manager access.

1. Click the file you want to delete

2. At the top, click the trash can.

3. Click Delete for Everyone.

The file moves to the Shared Drive's Trash folder. 

Files in a Shared Drive’s Trash folder are automatically deleted after 30 days. 

If someone accidentally deletes a file, you can restore it.

Restore a file (up to 30 days):

You must have at least Contributer access

1. In the left navigation, click a Shared Drive.

2. At top, next to the Shared Drive name, click the Down arrow  >View trash.

3. Click a file and click Restore.

Permanently delete a file in trash:

You must have Manager access

1. In the Trash folder, right-click the file you want to delete and select Delete forever.

2. Click Delete Forever to confirm.

2.4 Search for files

Find a file in a specific Team Drive:

1. In Search, click the Down arrow.

2. Next to Location, click Anywhere.

3. Double-click Shared Drives and select a particular team drive.

4. Click Select.

5. (Optional) Enter additional search options, such as the file type or date the file was modified.

6. Click Search.

3.1 Share files

Just like in Drive, there are different ways to share files with people in your organization who aren’t in your Shared Drive. To share files, you need to have at least Contributor access.

Note: Your ability to share files outside the company may be limited by your organization. Ask your admin for more information.

Share files with individuals or groups:

1. In a Shared Drive, click the file you want to share. 

2. At the top, click Share.

3. Add names, email addresses, or Google Groups.

4. (Optional) To change the permission from edit, click the Down arrow  and choose another permission.

5. (Optional) Add a message.

6. (Optional) If you don't want to send notifications, check the Skip sending notification box.

7. Click Send or Add.

If you set permissions to view or comment, you can prevent people from downloading, printing, and copying shared files.

Share a link:

1. Click a file to share.

2. Click Share person_add.

3. Click Who has access.

4. Next to Link sharing off, click the Down arrow 

5. Next to Link Sharing, click Turn on to make the link accessible to anyone in your organization.

6. Under the URL, click the Down arrow and choose a permission level.

7. (Optional) To allow sharing outside your organization, click Allow external access.

8. (Optional) To make the document searchable in Drive, click Findable in search results.

9. Click Copy to copy the link.

10. Click Done.

11. Paste the link in any email, website, or wherever you need to share it.

Anyone who gets the link can access the file.

Note: You might not see certain options if your admin has turned them off.

Unshare files with individuals:

1. In a Shared Drive, click the file you want to unshare.

2. Click Share.

3. Click Who has access.

4. Next to the person, click the Down arrow  > Remove.

5. Click Done.

Note: If the file you unshared is still shared with an organization or group that includes the person, they can still access the file.