Make Your Downloads Uploads with Google Drive for Desktop (formerly File Stream)

"Make your downloads uploads? Huh??"

Hear me out; it's actually not as complicated as it sounds, and learning this trick will save you a lot of time.

So, you have decided to use Google Workspace; you like the idea of storing your files in Google Drive where they always remain accessible, and safe from a poorly timed computer hard drive crash.

Great. But what about those files that you download from the web? What do you do with those? Those will have to sit on your hard drive until you can carve out enough time to upload them into a folder in Google Drive that you haven't yet created… And so these downloads accumulate.

Well, not if you have downloaded Google Drive for desktop. This is a small program from Google that creates a bridge to Google Drive and allows you to save your downloaded file directly to Google Drive.

Here is how it goes:

Install Google Drive for desktop:

1. Download and install Google Drive for desktop from here (ignore the other tools mentioned on the page).

Set your Chrome Settings in a way that Chrome will always ask you where you want to save your downloads:

2. To make it easy finding that setting, copy-paste the below into your Chrome address bar, and it will take you right to that setting:

chrome://settings/downloads

3. Turn on the toggle Ask where to save each file before downloading. This ensures that you get a prompt to decide where to save each file you download.

At the time you start a download:

4. When you get that prompt to choose a location for a file you are downloading, navigate to your Google Drive and select the folder (or create one) in the Google Drive location of your choice.

5. When you hit Save, your file will automatically upload itself to the Google Drive folder location you chose; no extra action required.

How cool is that? Two birds with one stone. Such a great time saver!

Other Google Drive for desktop (aka. File Stream) posts you may be interested in:

https://blog.kloudgem.com/2020/05/file-stream-bridge-between-google-microsoft.html 

https://blog.kloudgem.com/2021/02/seamless-bridge-google-drive-for-desktop.html 

Need a Google Workspace expert for your organization's digital transformation and change management? Contact me for a free first consult: https://www.kloudgem.com/get-in-touch/contact  

Do you know someone who could use these KloudGem tips? Feel free to send them this link: https://www.kloudgem.com/follow-resources/newsletter

KloudGem website: https://www.kloudgem.com

Seamless Bridge Between Your Desktop and Your Google Drive

Do you use Google Drive? Are you annoyed that you constantly have to go between Google Drive in Chrome and your computer's file management system? Use Google Drive for Desktop!

Tips for end-users and small businesses:

Google Drive for Desktop, formerly known as Google Drive File Stream, is a downloadable tool developed by Google which creates a bridge between your computer and the Google cloud.

It lets you visualize the contents of your Google Drive from the comfort of your computer's file management system. 

See Windows example below:

If you have been with me for a while, you may remember that in an earlier post we talked a bit about using this tool. I am bringing up the topic of Google Drive for Desktop (formerly Google Drive File Stream) again because Google recently renamed the tool, so you may notice a change.

💎 KloudGem 1: Google Drive for Desktop definitely makes things easier to store and access Microsoft files in Google Drive. When you have Google Drive for Desktop installed, if you open non-Google files from your Windows File Explorer/Mac Finder, they will automatically open in their native editors, eliminating the need to upload/download, and making it less likely to affect formatting, because you are not porting files between the Microsoft and the Google office systems. 

💎 KloudGem 2: With Google Drive for Desktop, you can save files you create with your non-Google software directly to Google Drive. Just use the familiar Save As functionality in your non-Google desktop software, and navigate to Google Drive.

💎 KloudGem 3: I recommend Google Drive for Desktop (Google Drive File Stream), but I am not a fan of another tool called Backup and Sync (which you may also see being mentioned in Google's Help articles), because of the amount of space the files might take up on your hard drive. 

Tips for mid-size companies and large enterprises:

You can configure your system to enable your users to use Google Drive for Desktop on their authorized work machines.

Need a Google Workspace expert for your organization's digital transformation and change management? Contact me for a free first consult: https://www.kloudgem.com/get-in-touch/contact  

Do you know someone who could use these KloudGem tips? Feel free to send them this link: https://www.kloudgem.com/follow-resources/newsletter

KloudGem website: https://www.kloudgem.com